Blake Shinn
Age: 36
Background:
Blake Shinn’s father is the late Gerald Shinn, a one-time champion apprentice jockey in Australia. He began his career in Victoria and his first win came at Kilmore in 2003 aboard Clearly Unique. He showed brilliant precocity, winning his first G1, the 2005 Adelaide Cup aboard Demerger, at just 17 years of age when still an apprentice. He made history in the 2004/05 season, becoming the first apprentice to win the Scobie Breasley Medal for excellence in race riding on the Melbourne circuit. Shinn made the move to Sydney to become stable jockey to Gai Waterhouse and in his first year he won the 2007/08 Sydney premiership. He also has the distinction of being one of the youngest Melbourne Cup-winning jockeys, being just 20 when he partnered the Bart Cummings-trained Viewed in 2008. He finished runner-up in the 2017/18 Sydney Jockeys’ premiership with 136 wins. Shinn was injured for half of the 2018/19 season due to a serious neck injury sustained in a barrier trial fall but returned to close out that term with 53 wins at a career-high winning strike rate of 21%. The Australian landed a first Hong Kong win at his first ride at Happy Valley on Wednesday, 11 September 2019 aboard Green Dispatch and added 14 more wins to close out his debut season. He secured his first Group race win in Hong Kong on 20 June, 2021 when partnering Sky Field to claim the G3 Premier Cup at Sha Tin. In that season he also won the Hong Kong Classic Mile atop Excellent Proposal, and in total he had 24 wins through 2020/21 in Hong Kong. Through 2021/22, Shinn enjoyed his best season to date with 37 wins, HK$88.77 million in stakes and a trio of Group 1 successes aboard Sky Field and Russian Emperor before returning to Australia.
Achievements:
Sydney Champion Jockey (2007/08); Victorian Champion Apprentice (2005/06); Scobie Breasley Medal (2005); Nathan Berry Medal (2018).
Notable Race Wins Include:
Hong Kong Sprint (2021 Sky Field), Hong Kong Gold Cup (2022 Russian Emperor), Champions & Chater Cup (2022 Russian Emperor), Hong Kong Classic Mile (2021 Excellent Proposal), Melbourne Cup (2008 Viewed), TJ Smith Stakes (2010 Melito), Golden Slipper (2016 Capitalist), Epsom Handicap (2009 Rock Kingdom, 2017 Happy Clapper), Doncaster Mile (2018 Happy Clapper), Sydney Cup (2018 Who Shot Thebarman), Canterbury Stakes (2019 Trapeze Artist).
Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 25 February, 2024):
77 (win strike rate: 6.0%)
23/24 Season         Up to Race Meeting of 27/03/2024
Nationality : AUS No. of Wins : 1 Total Rides : 14
Stakes won : $6,889,775 No. of 2nds : 1 Win % : 7.14%
No. of Wins in past 10 race days : 1 No. of 3rds : 2
No. of 4ths : 2

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