In Brief
- Ryan confident Sh'bourne Renegade will measure up to Devonport Cup.
- Five wins in succession is proof Renegade is a genuine up and comer.
- Hobby trainer enjoying the ride.
HALL OF Fame trainer Bill Ryan will target the $100,000 Devonport Cup for his talented five-year-old Sh’bourne Renegade after the gelding notched his fifth win in succession in Devonport on Sunday.
Sh’bourne Renegade (Wordsmith-Malandrina) tackled an open handicap over 1880m and while it was a steep rise in class the gelded son of Wordsmith made light of the task.
With David Pires aboard, Sh’bourne Renegade unleashed a powerful sprint to overhaul the leaders in the home straight and go on to win comfortably from Ethical Dilemma and Gee Gees Magic Man.
“This horse has gone from strength to strength this preparation and the way he has handled each challenge I have no doubt we can look towards a Devonport Cup campaign after he has a short break,” Ryan said.
‘He has taken a while to understand what racing’s about and he still has a bit to learn, but he definitely wants to be a racehorse and only shows it on the racetrack.
“If you had have told me six months ago that this horse would win five in a row, I would have had you locked up.
“But it’s great for the owners who were ever so patient while this horse was learning his craft and now that patience is paying off.”
Sh’bourne Renegade’s older full brother Sh’bourne Rebel, trained and owned by Shaun Nichols, also has hit a winning streak with his win on Sunday in a class three over 1350m, his third in succession.
Sh’bourne Rebel
Nichols has only been training three years, but he has been breeding thoroughbreds for almost a decade with the brothers Sh’bourne Rebel and Sh’bourne Renegade clearly the best.
Nichols’ mother Maureen Brosnan had been breeding thoroughbreds for years and at one stage stood the stallion Brilliant Leader at her property in Queensland.
Sh’bourne Rebel (Brendon McCoull) wins a 1350m class 3 hcp in Devonport.
Brosnan moved to Tasmania over 10 years ago and began racing horses with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Ryan and they continue to enjoy a lot of success.
It was one of Brilliant Leader’s progeny, Malandrina, that Nichols and his wife Elizabeth purchased to start a breeding operation of their own.
Malandrina was well-performed over middle distances ranging from 1350m-2200m, winning in city class at Eagle Farm before venturing to Victoria, where in the care of Danny Curran, she placed fourth in a race at Flemington over 2000m.
Nichols, 51, has held a trainer’s licence for three years and Sh’bourne Rebel is the only horse he has on his property at Reedy March, a plot he and his wife Elizabeth settled on when they opted to run beef cattle as hobby farmers five years ago.
“I got involved in this industry because I love horses and while I still have a lot to learn about training horses, I have been fortunate to have had guidance from Bill and Mary Ryan who have been like family to me,” Nichols said.
“In a game where it’s tough to survive, they have always been willing to share their knowledge and for that I’ll be eternally grateful.”
Nichols would like to have more horses to train but his full-time job as an electrician with the Department of State Growth limits his involvement.
“My full-time job prevents me from doing more with the horses, but I am happy with having just one.”
Watch Sh’bourne Renegade win an open handicap over 1880m in Devonport on Sunday.