‘It does hurt': Paul Shailer's hunt for first Group 1 in Queensland Derby rocked by wide barrier
Shailer, fresh off winning a $1m juvenile sprint with Isti Star, was convinced he had a huge chance to win his first Group 1 in the Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Deep Focus was arguably the run of the race in the Derby lead-up of the Rough Habit Plate (2000m) when surging home from the back to finish runner-up and he was as strong as an ox late.
All Deep Focus needed was a half decent barrier to solidify his Derby prospects.
Up popped barrier 18.
It means Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michael Rodd is probably going to have to drop right back on Deep Focus when a kinder barrier would have meant he wasn't conceding nearly as much ground.
'The barrier is what it is, but ideally we would have drawn towards the inside somewhere and we would have just landed in the first half of the field or midfield getting a cosy run,' Shailer said.
'But now we are going to be a bit dictated to, where we end up, and I'm tipping it's going to be back in the field.
'Then we will probably have to get into a three-wide line, it's not ideal and it has certainly impacted our chances.
'Our whole preparation has been built around this race and we have been teaching him how to relax and stretch out and get home.
'The barrier does hurt, if we drew inside of seven I would have thought we would have been a really genuine chance of winning.
'Now, we just need things to go our way.'
Putting the disappointing barrier to one side, Deep Focus has been tracking nicely towards the Derby and his Rough Habit effort was a real eye-catcher.
Deep Focus is sired by Deep Field but there seems little issue with him staying the 2400m of the Derby trip and Shailer is convinced he will.
'From a Derby trial point of view, what we saw in the Rough Habit was what we wanted to see,' Shailer said.
'That race is a genuine lead-up to the Derby and there is a lot of history which suggests the Rough Habit is the race you want to come out of.
'I think he is the horse you would want coming out of that race, well, maybe until he drew barrier 18 in the Derby, anyway.
'One thing for sure is that I am very confident he will stay the trip of the Derby.'
Heavy-hitters including Peter Tighe, Max Whitby and Neil Werrett are in the ownership of Deep Focus which has remained solid at $18 in the betting market since the Derby barrier draw.
Shailer's stable has been in form and he enjoyed a huge moment recently when Isti Star scored in the $1m Magic Millions National 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast.
Another of Shailer's two-year-olds – filly Ha'penny Hatch – will take her place in Saturday's $1m BRC Sires' Produce Stakes (1400m).
'She will run from a nice barrier and be backing up from last Saturday (finishing fourth in the Listed Bill Carter Stakes),' Shailer said.
'She has gone out to the farm for three days and she will come back to us on Thursday afternoon.
'That will just keep her mind nice and sharp.
'She is a tough filly and she had no luck in the Bill Carter.'
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Leveraging the new National Housing Delivery Coordinator to deliver your $10bn commitment to build 100,000 homes Policy reform opportunities Table 3.3 Sample of interim Coordinator's findings Table 3.3 Sample of interim Coordinator's findings Bilateral agreements Bilateral agreements Recommendations 3.4 Housing Australia and successful delivery State of play Challenge 1: The balance between independence, responsiveness to policy, and Ministerial oversight. Challenge 2: Organisational governance and capability Challenge 3: Speed and coordination of program delivery State of play Policy reform opportunities Review Housing Australia Take steps to improve oversight and re-set the relationship with the CEO and Board. Policy reform opportunities Recommendations • 3.5 Finance for social and affordable housing State of play State of play Your agenda Your agenda Opportunities to build on your agenda Focus the HAFF on delivering more houses, quickly Integration and improvement of Housing Australia's offerings Lead a sustainable and modern CHP sector Opportunities to build on your agenda Recommendations 3.6 Home ownership State of play State of play Implementing your agenda Implementing your agenda Help to Buy Help to Buy Opportunities to build on your agenda Opportunities to build on your agenda Recommendations 3.7 Rental affordability and conditions for tenants State of play State of play Policy reform opportunities Undertake a review of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) Extend A Better Deal for Renters Fostering institutional investors Policy reform opportunities Recommendations 3.8 First Nations housing State of play Summary of current policies and programs: State of play Table 3.4: Current Commonwealth policies and programs for First Nations housing Table 3.4: Current Commonwealth policies and programs for First Nations housing Policy reform opportunities Improve the delivery of social and affordable housing finance to the First Nations cohort Policy reform opportunities Recommendation 3.9 Migration and housing State of play State of play Your agenda Your agenda Policy reform opportunities 3.10 Housing research State of play State of play Policy reform opportunities Deepening the evidence-base through NHSAC research Better targeting housing research Policy reform opportunities Recommendations Chapter 4: Implementing your Agenda 4.1 Priority decisions (30 days) Table 4.1: First 30 days — urgent actions 4.2 The next 12 months Table 4.2: The next 12 months Table 4.2: The next 12 months Housing supply Housing supply Social and Affordable housing Social and Affordable housing Home ownership Home ownership Other Other Implementation Briefs 4.3 $10 billion housing delivery fund Legislation Legislation Implementation considerations Proposal scope Next steps Opportunities for consideration Risks and challenges Implementation considerations 4.4 Expanding the Home Guarantee Scheme Legislation Legislation Implementation considerations Constitutional considerations Banking competition considerations Start date Sensitivities Implementation considerations 4.5 Fast track qualifications for 6,000 tradies Legislation Legislation Implementation considerations 4.6 Contact details for industry and government stakeholders Statutory housing bodies Statutory housing bodies Housing Industry Housing Industry Community and First Nations housing Community and First Nations housing Housing finance Housing finance Housing research 4.7 State and territory Housing and Homelessness Ministers contact details
