Shamida sets up return to Group One action Shamida showed the value of her comeback run last month to land the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Give Thanks Stakes at Cork. Dermot Weld’s runner had been off for 294 days when finishing sixth in the Curragh Cup and she was clearly better for it, moving nicely into this before putting her head down to see off the front-running Ballydoyle three-year-olds Mother Nature and Lily Heart. Ridden by Chris Hayes, the Aga Khan-owned four-year-old (4-1) – who ended last season finishing mid-division in the Prix de Royallieu on Arc weekend – was striking at Group Three level for the third time in her career and holds a number of notable engagements. Kris Weld, assistant to his father, said: “She is a very brave and honest filly and a very good one. We thought she’d win today, we were surprised she wasn’t favourite, but there you go, and she is a triple Group Three-winning filly now. “The distance (mile and a half) was slightly short for her, but she showed a good turn of foot at the top of the straight. She isn’t a slow filly. “She has plenty of entries in the autumn, we’ll see how she comes out of this race and pick something nice. She’ll be going back up to Group One level again.”
