On The Track: Nicken Shaw started his racing career as an unraced novice in the €10,000 Lee Strand 550 in Tralee and lit up the stake with a brilliant demolition of the opposition in his second ever race, showing blistering early & backstraight pace he galloped on relentlessly to win by 9 lengths in a near track record 29.79 , in his next race after a slow start he once again showed his class with a devastating burst of early pace and then proceeded to draw right away from the second bend to win by 15 lengths and was made hot favourite to win out the stake however fate dealt a cruel blow as he contracted a serious virus that not only cost him the chance of winning the valuable stake as he had to be withdrawn from the semi finals, but also nearly cost him his life. Lucky to see the track again he showed what might have been when returing to action, he was entered into the 2010 Irish St Leger and was a very impressive winner of his first round heat when beating a top class field by 4l and showed guts and determination to go onto reach the classic final in only the 12th race of his career, he started back on the track in early 2011 with two very impressive wins in the Killeacle/Dowling Memorial 570 in Tralee, but had to be withdrawn from the final due to the cough. He contested the Easter Cup in Shelbourne Park on his return but this came a bit too soon for him as he was eliminated from a very hot heat which included Irish Derby winner Razldazl George and Irish Derby Runner up Tyrur Big Mike, however the following week he came back to Shelbourne Park to win an Open 550 showing his trade mark early pace and determination to win. He was then aimed at the English Derby but never got to grips with the Wimbledon circuit and returned for another crack at the Irish St Leger in Limerick, unfortunately he picked up a career ending injury in a prep race and was retired. It is hard to imagine what this dog may have achieved on the track had he not picked up the virus and even more remarkable that he not only returned, but went onto reach a Classic final beating some of the best dogs in the country along the way. World class bloodlines and temperament: Nicken Shaw is arguably the best bred dog at stud today as he hails from some of the very best producing bloodlines in the world, with a temperament to match. His sire Black Shaw was an extremely fast dog before a serious injury cut short what would have been a top class career on the track, he was arguably the fastest dog from a terrific litter which included Irish Derby winner He Said So, Black Shaw was by Irelands No.1 sire Top Honcho (by Head Honcho) out of the brilliant early paced Irish sprint track record breaker You Said So (by former No.1 Irish Sire Larkhill Jo). His dam Nikray Supreme was imported to Ireland from Australia and herself could be considered even better bred than Black Shaw, as she is by the brilliant 8 time Australian Track Record breaker Awesome Assassin out of Supa San who herself is a litter sister to another 8 time Australian Track Record breaker, the quite brilliant tracker and stud dog BRETT LEE.
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