High Octane ready to go

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Blake Shinn will build on his association with Peter and Paul Snowden on Saturday when he rides High Octane in the colts and geldings division of the Blue Diamond Prelude.

The trio combined to win the Magic Millions 2YO Classic and the Golden Slipper in 2016 with Capitalist, while the Snowdens have also had success in Melbourne’s premier juvenile contest previously thanks to Sepoy, Earthquake and Pride Of Dubai.

High Octane announced himself as a Blue Diamond contender with an impressive debut at Caulfield in the Blue Diamond Preview for colts and geldings on January 26.

“He’s a very exciting horse, he won well on debut at Caulfield,” Shinn said.

“He’s got a lot of ability; he showed that in his trial leading into his debut win. He’s trained by the Snowdens, one of the best around, they know what it takes to win a Diamond and this horse might have what it takes.”

WATCH: High Octane’s debut win

Shinn got a feel for the son of Deep Field in his trackwork earlier this week.

“I worked him on Tuesday morning, he worked terrific,” Shinn said. “He’s ready to go.”

Sportsbet has High Octane as the $2.80 favourite for the Blue Diamond Prelude (colts and geldings) and at $5 for the Blue Diamond itself.

Shinn will also renew his association with Munhamek on Saturday, a horse he won twice on in Hong Kong and who he’ll partner in the Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes.

The Nick Ryan-trained gelding has had a freshen up since his memorable victory in the G3 Gold Rush at his most recent start in Perth.

“It’s obviously his toughest test, weight-for-age at Group 1 (level) against some of the best horses in the land, but he’s going really well,” Shinn said.

“He might’ve gone to another level from WA, he spent a bit of time after the race over there. He’s in good form, he’ll run well.”

Munhamek is at $23 for Saturday’s feature at Caulfield.

WATCH: Gold for Munhamek at Ascot