Almanzor filly boosts Guineas hopes

Andrew Forsman asked a Classic question of Mary Shan at Tauranga and she responded brilliantly.The Cambridge trainer has the daughter of Almanzor nominated for the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and needed to see a positive performance to enhance the filly’s prospects of a trip south.Mary Shan had placed in both of her previous appearances and as a result was backed into hot favouritism against the older horses over 1400 metres.She jumped well for rider Craig Grylls to sit fourth on the outer before peeling wide at the top of the straight and was far too good in the run home.As a result, Mary Shan’s 1000 Guineas odds were trimmed from $16 to sharing the third line of betting at $10.The filly was purchased out of Prima Park’s draft at Karaka by Forsman for $180,000 and is out of the High Chaparral mare Shanzam with the second dam Shanzero, who won the G3 Wellington Stakes and placed in the G1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes.