Kehoe hoping revitalised cult hero Shaggy can repay punters’ faith
Wyong trainer Allan Kehoe says people still always ask him ‘Where’s Shaggy?’. He hopes the sprinter can get back in the spotlight on Saturday at Randwick.
By Craig Kerry
January 1, 2026 — 5.00pm
Trainer Allan Kehoe says punters still regularly ask him about Shaggy and buy him a beer at the pub because of the sprinter’s early wins on the track.
The Wyong trainer was surprised they didn’t start tipping the beers on his head after Shaggy’s second campaign.
Adam Hyeronimus checks out the chasers aboard Shaggy during their win in the Pierro Plate at Randwick on February 15.Credit: Getty Images
Kehoe hopes Shaggy, named after his amorous antics before being gelded, can repay the faith when he returns as a three-year-old at Randwick on Saturday in a benchmark 78 handicap (1100m).
And Kehoe says the signs are good.
Shaggy, withdrawn from sales and kept by breeders Kooringal Stud in a lease deal with Kehoe, rocketed into Golden Slipper calculations last year with a front-running win in the Pierro Plate (1100m) at Randwick against blueblood opposition on February 15, which followed similar victories at Coffs Harbour and the Sunshine Coast in his first two starts.
A fading fifth in the group 2 Skyline Stakes next out ended the Slipper dream for the son of unheralded stallion Sandbar. He returned in late July from a let-up to finish second last, last and last before going for a spell. The failed campaign included a second-up run in the Vain Stakes at Caulfield, either side of Sydney starts.
“I think just going to Melbourne, everything went wrong. It just took the edge off him,” Kehoe said.
“He was coming off a short blow. We had him up ready to race then we turned him out because of the wet tracks, then he came back. He really didn’t have time off as a two-year-old.
“Tommy [Berry] rode him at that last start and said, ‘Just put a line through it. They can do this. Just put him away’.
“We just threw him in a paddock up the Hunter with a bunch of horses and just let him be a horse, and he’s come back and he seems like he’s the old Shaggy. He’s doing a lot of things like he was. He’s very playful.”
In his only trial back, Shaggy was a length second to Kris Lees-trained Hawker Hall, which was a $3.10 TAB favourite for Saturday’s race after winning a benchmark 88 handicap last start at Rosehill.
