A gear addition and a change of riding tactics paved the way for Jabbawockeez to overpower his rivals over 2000 metres at Caulfield.
Bred by Gerry Harvey who remains in the ownership group, he is trained by Ben, Will and JD Hayes who opted to put headgear on the five-year-old on Saturday and settle him further back in the field.
Rider Blake Shinn executed the pre-race plan to perfection and put the son of Westbury Stud stallion Redwood to sleep in midfield on the fence.
They were off the rail before the turn and the gelding speared between runners in the closing 150 metres to claim the major prize and now owns the tidy record of five wins and eight placings from 16 appearances.
Shinn was having his first ride on Jabbawockeez, but his extensive homework paid off.
“The key was to switch him off and ride him cold,” he said.
“I went back through the replays and Ollie (Damien Oliver) had ridden him a few times, so we went back to how he had ridden him back.
“The day he won at Sandown was a similar ride to this one. I took a lot away from the way Ollie had ridden him.
“He had been a bit plain ridden closer to the speed, so with blinkers on and up to 2000 metres we just put him to sleep and hence why he was so strong late in the piece.”
Will Hayes was rich in his praise of his jockey in bringing out the best in Jabbawockeez.
“It was a great ride and Blake had him in a good rhythm and he hit the line strongly,” he said.
“He’s a quirky horse and can hit a flat spot from the 800 to the 600 in his races, that’s why we were confident to put the blinkers on.”
Jabbawockeez is a son of the late Danehill Dancer mare Dance Partner who was successful on two occasions and was a half-sister to the G3 Bunbury Cup winner Celestial Show and the Listed Maribyrnong Plate winner Fashion Victim.
