Racing: Shikoba produces sparkling effort

Leith Innes on Shikoba (left) holds out Pulcinella, ridden by Noel Harris. Picture / Greg Bowker

Micaela Murray looks you straight in the eye when you ask if she's a competitive person.

"Well," she says, "I like to win, second doesn't really count does it."

Four minutes earlier Murray's class filly Shikoba proved she thinks along much the same lines when she kept Pulcinella out in a desperate finish to the $100,000 Cambridge Stud Eight Carat Classic at Ellerslie yesterday.

Micaela Murray works with a London-based art investor and is one of New Zealand's new breed of racehorse owner.

Her mother Suzanne bought her Shikoba's dam, the Australian-bred Summary, and the results have been spectacular.

"I'd like to thank Mark Walker, he's a fabulous trainer and [Sir] Patrick Hogan has been very encouraging and helpful with our breeding efforts."

Later Murray was probably also very thankful for the efforts of winning rider Leith Innes and absent injured jockey Michael Walker.

Walker may have been lying on a couch watching yesterday's races on television, but he proved he was very much a team player.

Walker would have ridden Shikoba but for his broken hand and called Innes on his cellphone between races at Ellerslie yesterday to give him the benefit of his experience on the filly.

Shikoba has a massive stride for a smallish filly and out in the open with plenty of galloping room is where she likes to be.

One of the bits of advice would have been to clear any pockets in the home straight and head for the middle of the track.

Innes did exactly that, bounced off another runner and straightened to dash to the winning post.

She looked likely to win clearly, but the luckless Pulcinella flashed home so quickly only a neck separated the two fillies at the finish.

"She deserved that," said Walker, "she hasn't had a lot of luck."

Walker was not the only disappointed jockey - Noel Harris had been beaten a nose on Shikoba in the group one Levin Stakes at her previous start and this time rode Pulcinella.

"Only the wide draw beat her this time," said Harris of Pulcinella, who had to drop back to the tail of the field from her outside gate.

"In the home straight I don't know how much start I was giving them, but at one point I thought if I finish in the first five I'll be rapt."

Shikoba will back up into the Royal Stakes this weekend, an obvious target for Pulcinella if she does well through this tough effort.

This is always an awkward decision time for trainers of top class 3-year-olds - how much of a target do they set their horse.

Asked if he would consider an Australian autumn campaign with Shikoba, Mark Walker said: "They've got to have a break some time - I might do that when she's a 4-year-old."

Everswindell was a massive disappointment beating only Bo Bay and Irish Sting home.

"She was back in the field, but the winner and the placegetters were back there with me," said her rider Vinny Colgan.

"In the home straight she found nothing. It was a terrible run."

But Colgan warned punters not to drop Everswindell.

"I wouldn't want to be on anything else when we get to Trentham - bigger track, other way around."