Waller reveals plans with Group 1 stars
Chris Waller has revealed the upcoming spring plans for a few of his leading lights, with Group 1 scorers such as Via Sistina and Lady Shenandoah set to resume in the coming weeks.
Waller has Lady Shenandoah set for a return in the Winx Stakes after the now four-year-old produced a five-run unbeaten preparation as a three-year-old – including a trio of Group 1 contests.
“I don’t know what distance she’ll run over but our gut tells us she might have a bit of speed,” Waller told Racing.com. “Interestingly, there really isn’t a great pattern for speed horses if they have won three Group 1 races like she has.
“I just feel that holding her back for a Moir or a Manikato or raising eyebrows for a possible Everest, it’s hard as you’ve sort of got to start later. But she’s dressed up and ready to go in the Winx.
“We are just trying to work out whether she is too sharp for 1400 metres and then where do you go after that? With a horse like her, you are thinking of a Golden Eagle or an Empire Rose on the same day in Melbourne and obviously, will she get 2000 [metres]?
“She won a Flight Stakes and a Coolmore over 1500 metres but my gut tells me she is a bit sharper. We are leaning towards the Winx first-up but maybe she is one that we could bring down for a Memsie. She’s probably the one I’m thinking about the most.”
Record-breaking Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) winner Via Sistina is also set to line up in next week’s Winx Stakes at Randwick before a crack at the Makybe Diva Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) on September 13 at Flemington.
“I think we would have pretty strong representation in the Makybe Diva and I think Via Sistina would be the headline act for that race,” Waller said.
“It’s very hard to resist defending your crown in the Cox Plate after going to a world-class rating when winning by a big space [eight lengths] in a great time.
“She’s a mature mare so you’d like to keep things simple and be careful not overtaxing her as well because longevity is the key.”
Meanwhile, Waller’s standout juvenile last campaign, Wodeton (Wootton Bassett), will have targets set to prove he is the best three-year-old sprinter in the country.
“He was really good as a two-year-old,” Waller said of the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) runner-up. “He will probably resume in the San Domenico at 1100 metres around the 30th [August], which is a bit of a wait.
“I’ve just found the last couple of years l’ve waited for the Run To The Rose [on September 13] and we’ve had a setback to horses like Switzerland and Shinzo and they weren’t well prepared when it came to the Golden Rose.
“There’s a bit to play out yet, but the crystal ball would tell me, Golden Rose and Coolmore [Stud Stakes].”