It’s a tough task for last-start winners to come off a seven-day break and win the G2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m) but it’s not beyond Snippetson filly Shell Bell.
The last horse to double-up on a quick turnaround was Diffraction (Spectrum) in 2003. He was the middle-leg of a Karrakatta treble for trainer George Daly between Jacks Or Better (1994) and Canny Jack (2006).
Loloma Farms owner Kevin Fowler races Shell Bell with trainer Dion Luciani and they will be gunning for their first Karrakatta this Saturday although they do know how to set a young horse having won Initial Plates with Pot Shot (Demerit) and Bumper Humper (Alfred Nobel).
Shell Bell (2f Snippetson – Jungle Mak by Teofilo) was a front-running winner of the TBWA Westspeed Platinum Plate (1000m) at Ascot in December and the grey flyer resumed with another barrier-to-box victory in the Mrs Mac’s Plate (1000m) at Ascot on Easter Saturday.
(Photo / Western Racepix)
“We were confident despite going in underdone after a couple of easy trials at Lark Hill,” stable rep Ian Glading said. “She was up against a good field and will improve off that win.
“The obvious way to go now is the Karrakatta.”
Her dam Jungle Mak was an Ascot 2yo winner a decade ago for Wally Mitchell and there’s stamina in the bottom half of her pedigree through third-dam Hill High (NZ) whose half-brother was Champion Group 1 stayer Veandercross (NZ).
Former Scenic Lodge sire Snippetson came close to winning a Karrakatta with Tin Snip when he was beaten a neck by Dig Deep in 2019. In-form Scenic Lodge sire Universal Ruler also had to settle for second with Lady Cosmology behind Valour Road in 2018.
Shell Bell has opened at $15 for the Karrakatta while Universal Ruler filly Wiley Girl is on the third line at $8.50 behind her stablemate Live To Tell (Territories) who is the $1.90 favourite.
Wiley Girl will be racing second-up following a fresh win at Ascot in March for a large syndicate managed by Amelia Park owner Peter Walsh who also has Amelia’s Jewel favoured to win The Quokka on Saturday. “Wiley Girl is in with a chance,” Walsh said. “She can finish top three or four.”
