New South Wales jockey Rory Hutchings will also return to New Zealand for the Zabeel and partner El Vencedor.
Damask Rose is the $2.35 favourite for the Guineas, which her connections have chosen because it is a 1400m event rather than the 1600m of the Hallmark Stud Eight Carat Classic.
Shinn is no stranger to major race success at this meeting, having ridden Molly Bloom to win the Eight Carat last Boxing Day, when the meeting was staged at Pukekohe.
He is also confirmed to return to Ellerslie for the Karaka Millions meeting on January 25, with Damask Rose the early favourite for the $1.5 million Karaka Million Three-Year-Old.
The Karaka Millions meeting is being targeted by several leading Australian-based jockeys, such as ex-pat Daniel Stackhouse, who rode a treble at Pakenham on Saturday, including Kiwi-bred Here To Shock in the A$1m Supernova.
Campionessa may be the defending champion in the Zabeel Classic but she is rated a $13 chance by TAB bookies for what’s shaping up as one of the weight-for-age highlights of the season.
Snazzytavi is odds-on at $1.80 for her first right-handed start since winning the Stella Artois final over 1500m at Pukekohe last Boxing Day, but the Zabeel also contains Group 1 winners Ladies Man, El Vencedor and La Crique.
TAB bookies moved quickly to open Ellerslie’s Boxing Day races yesterday, and while there is no domestic racing in New Zealand on Christmas Day, the Boxing Day markets will remain open online.
Changing trends
Ellerslie boss Paul Wilcox says changing trends are providing racegoers with a rare Boxing Day opportunity this week.
The prime hospitality areas at Ellerslie are usually sold out weeks in advance for the huge Boxing Day meeting, but Wilcox says the club has noticed a change in recent years.
“We have found since Covid, people are booking later, even for our top-range areas like Cuvee,” says Wilcox.
“So we have really strong bookings and are certain to get more this week but things have definitely changed, both in people’s habits and also with money being tighter for some people.
“So we’re in that rare position of having even Cuvee tables available, but they will go pretty quickly.”
Ellerslie has the full range of options for punters on Thursday, from the collar-and-tie crowd to families using the infield.
“We have a lot going on, with a fashion event and a real variety of ways for people to enjoy the day, so the best way to see what is available is the website [ellerslie.co.nz], as then people can tailor the day to what they want.
“But one of the biggest determinants of the eventual crowd size will be the weather. If it’s fine by late morning, then we get a lot bigger walk-up crowd.”
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
