As Grafton trainer Shannon Manwarring was preparing his entries for this weeks Country Championship qualifier at Coffs Harbour there is little doubt he would have been contemplating what might have been.
The star of the Manwarring camp at the moment is undoubtedly Silver Canvass which has won three times and been placed second twice in just five starts since joining the yard in July last year including a solid win at Lismore 1300m just last Tuesday.
The bitter sweet pill for Shannon to swallow is that up until last years Championships the inform Silver Canvass would have been eligible to compete in the qualifier however with stricter qualifying conditions now in place the gelding is now ineligible for 2023 and will have to wait until 2024 to run in the Championships some twenty months after he was purchased by his owners.
On a brighter side for Shannon another Championship prospect in Benetti returned to form with a solid second at Port Macquarie last week. However her main issue will be forcing her way into the field with a benchmark much lower than that of Silver Canvass.
