Shosholoza makes winning debut in Tipperary curtain raiser The Joseph O'Brien trained Shosholoza made a winning start to his career when staying on best under Wayne Hassett to take the opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Tipperary. Sent off 10/1, the Australia colt tracked the pace in the early stages, as Ronan Whelan cut out the running aboard Archers Bay. As the latter gave way over two furlongs out, Acclamatic, a stablemate of the eventual winner, came through to lead. However, Hassett covered that move, quickly going second before coming through to take over with a furlong to race. Keeping on nicely inside the final furlong, Shosholoza went on to score by five-and-a-half lengths. Wayne Hassett said: “I didn’t want to hit the front too soon in case he might idle but he put the head down and stayed at it. “He did it nicely in the last furlong and handled the ground well. “He was keen and plenty green and will learn a lot from that. Hopefully he’ll go on and win more.” Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
