It has been the fairytale story of Sydney's Autumn Racing Carnival - where on earth has Shelby Sixtysix come from?
The five-year-old gelding has been running around for over two years now, but it's really only been in the past six weeks that anyone has taken notice of him.
Trained by Danny Williams, Shelby Sixtysix started his career back in March 2020 - two years prior to his shock rise to stardom.
In his first four races, Shelby Sixtysix won two of them and ran 2nd in two others - a fine start to his career, with three of those runs coming at Wagga.
After a lengthy spell, he would return for just one race - the Highway at Randwick - where he finished 3rd of 10. From there, Williams opted to give him nine weeks between runs, before returning for two solid runs at Wagga and Goulburn.
Shelby Sixtysix's next run would come in September 2021, where he struggled in a Class 3 Highway, before finishing second-last in a Benchmark 72 at Warwick Farm.
After finishing 2nd on three more occasions in late-2021, Shelby Sixtysix was given a five-week freshen-up before returning for one of the more incredible preparations in recent memory.
Resuming on January 22nd in a Class 2 Highway, Shelby Sixtysix finished a disappointing 11th and was sent to the Sapphire Coast, where he finished two lengths behind Cavalier Charles.
What you've read so far isn't exactly screaming a Group 1 winner, is it?
Well think again, because after his performance at the Sapphire Coast on January 30th, Shelby Sixtysix has now raced six times in just seven weeks.
He was dubbed 'The Party Boy' because he has been out and about every weekend, and caught the eye of fans when finishing second behind Eduardo in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes and beating Nature Strip - arguably the world's greatest sprinter - past the winning post.
Williams backed him up the following week in the Group 3 Maurice McCarten Stakes, where he finished 1.22 lengths ahead of Rule Of Law and won his first group-level race.
This seemed like a crazy rise for Shelby Sixtysix - but he wasn't done just yet.
A week later on Golden Slipper day at Rosehill, Williams and the gelding's connections were able to get him in tip-top shape for the Group 1 Galaxy.
Racing against some high-quality horses including Away Game, Isotope and Malkovich, he was rated a $7 chance pre-race and the fans at Rosehill and abroad were hoping to see this fairytale run continue.
What happened next was a brilliant moment for Williams, the owners and jockey Robbie Dolan, with the cult hero storming home to beat Big Parade by a head to claim its first Group 1 triumph.
Watch Shelby Sixtysix's triumph in The Galaxy.
After going from a Highway horse to a Group 1 winner in a matter of weeks, it would be easy for Williams and connections to be content - but that was never going to be the case.
Instead of spelling him, Shelby Sixtysix had just one weekend off and will now challenge the likes of Eduardo and Nature Strip once again, after gaining entry into the $2.5 million TJ Smith Stakes.
With a massive crowd expected at Royal Randwick for the first day of The Championships, Shelby Sixtysix will go in as the fan-favourite after capturing the hearts and minds of racing fans across the country.
And what a moment it would be if The Party Boy could win a race with such rich history, joining the likes of Chautauqua and Black Caviar.
