By Trevor Marshallsea

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Too Darn Hot’s (Dubawi) ballistic stud career looks set to continue unabated, with the Darley shuttler claiming yet another Australian black type success when Shiki took the season’s first two-year-old fillies’ race in Saturday’s Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) at Randwick.

A $420,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast purchase for Kurrinda Bloodstock and the Waterhouse-Bott team, Shiki was the fastest winner among the nine at Sydney’s first official two-year-old trials on September 22.

And the powerfully built filly lived up to that rating with a fighting, if narrow, victory in the Gimcrack, giving Tulloch Lodge their second win in the race in four runnings, after Gai Waterhouse broke a surprising duck in the event in 2022 through Platinum Jubilee (Zoustar).

Ridden by Tim Clark – who also was aboard for her 0.6 lengths trial win – Shiki began well from gate six of 11 and took up the lead after 300 metres.

She led by a length and a half under a hold at the 400 metres, and while Clark had her at full throttle at the 300 metres, the $3.50 favourite had close attention from a few rivals, particularly the John Thompson-trained $51 shot Screen Icon (Nicconi).

Thompson won the race a year ago with favourite Bel Merci (Extreme Choice), but while Screen Icon would come close to giving him back-to-back successes, Shiki dug deep in the run home to defy Screen Icon, winning on the bob of the head by a slender 0.1 lengths.

Bjorn Baker’s trial winner Masvingo (Zoustar) grabbed third in a tight finish at $5, beaten a further 0.3 lengths.

Bred by South Australia’s Cornerstone Stud and Millar Racing and sold at the Gold Coast by Riverstone Lodge, Shiki became the 11th Australian stakes winner from 114 runners for Too Darn Hot, this country’s champion first and second season sire of the past two terms.

The ten-year-old has returned after a year off the shuttle to stand at Darley Kelvinside this spring for $275,000 (inc GST), up from $44,000 in 2023. He now has 20 winners – three at stakes level – from 60 runners in the new season.

Shiki’s success gave Too Darn Hot 28 black type victors from 375 runners worldwide, at 7.5 per cent.

Co-trainer Adrian Bott said Shiki would be spelled immediately with an eye to major two-year-old targets later in the season, and hinted she could win by larger margins in future with better racecraft.

“She deserved that win,” he said. “She’s a very sharp filly. Just got to teach her to relax a little bit, which no doubt she will going forward.

“I’ve been so pleased with the way she’s been doing everything for us at home. She’ll go away for a nice break now, and next preparation she’ll come back a lot more mature mentally and physically.

“She’s been a little bit rough in that regard all preparation. She’s been making good improvements, but there’s still a lot to come. I think that’s an indication of where she’s at and the improvement to come. I was just delighted that she was able to do it today. She’s obviously got some natural speed and natural brilliance.”

Bott said Shiki had been “drawing comparisons” around the stable to their 2024 Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) heroine Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon).



“She’s done a great job today,” he said. “She’ll go for a break now and be set for a similar campaign, hopefully, she can be just as effective.”

Clark concurred Shiki would benefit from “harnessing” her abundant speed.

“Just today, she’s come out just a bit gassy and I just had to go with her and work her through a little bit. To her credit, she was really brave that last bit,” he said.

Shiki (2 f Too Darn Hot – Jest Excel by Exceed And Excel) is the fourth and best foal out of Jest Excel (Exceed And Excel), a three-time Queensland provincial winner from 900 metres to 1000 metres and a half-sister to 2004 VRC Maribyrnong Plate (Gr 2, 1000m) victor Jiang (Testa Rossa).

Jest Excel now has a yearling filly by Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon), and was covered last December by Artorius (Flying Artie).