WALLER WEEKLY NEWS - Chris Waller Racing

Waller weekly news
10 APRIL, 2015
Kermadec puts a healthy gap between himself and his Doncaster rivals.
After a false start to The Championships thanks to Sydney’s big wet, the team were still primed and ready on Easter Monday and
with some more suited than others to the tough going it was the latest Group One-winning colt from the stable in Kermadec who
provided the highlight. Knowing the ability this impressive son of champion European juvenile Teofilo possessed for some time, the
stable had plenty of faith in the horse that he was destined to salute at the highest level. Fittingly though, running in Neville and
Jenny Morgan’s colours made famous by the mighty Rangirangdoo, a Doncaster winner himself, Kermadec’s luck came through for
Monday’s emphatic victory. Kermadec was identified and purchased at Karaka by bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster who offered “It
was very well deserved as Neville and Jenny Morgan have been so supportive of me since I set up my own business. Everyone was
saying how unlucky Kermadec had been but as a potential stallion prospect, they can’t put in the catalogue page so a great ride and
huge team effort saw him record Group 1 number nine for the season by horses I’ve selected.”
Equally deserving of his victory this week also was Now’s the Time who broke through at Warwick Farm running in the colours of
Sven and Carina Hanson’s Fair Salinia, made famous in Australia thanks to Reliable Man and He’s Your Man. Now’s the Time is from
their brilliant racemare Pride, a triple Group 1 winner whose victories included the Hong Kong Cup while also being runner up in
the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
An even bigger day is on the cards this Saturday with 12 primed to vie for Group One honours in the Queen Elizabeth, Queen of
the Turf, Sydney Cup and the Oaks. Chris and Liam offering up plenty of useful insights into our runners on the video preview head to the website: www.cwallerracing.com to view it.
We wish you all the very best of luck over the next week!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
•WINNERS
• stable stays positive despite tough draws, fillies
primed for oaks, waller bids to out-do himself
with adeliade and catkins, photos & more.
www.cwallerracing.com | [email protected] | +612 9760 5700
CHRIS WALLER RACING - WINNERS THIS WEEK
kermadec
3yo C Teofilo - Hy Fuji by Fuji Kiseki
The high class colt Kermadec confirmed himself as a star
in the making and in doing so made up for some luckless
runs this preparation when recording a historic victory
in the Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Saturday. In doing
so he gave Chris his fifth victory in this time honoured
race in the last eight years while victorious jockey Glen
Boss was recording his sixth success in the race.
The winning owners Neville and Jenny Morgan have also
enjoyed personal success in the race as they owned the
legendary Rangirangdoo who took out this great race in
2010 sporting the Morgan’s colours.
The world is certainly Kermadec’s oyster when you
consider that Saturday’s race was only his eighth race day
appearance. He showed tremendous courage to weave
through the field and produce a devastating turn of
foot claim victory. His jockey was full of praise for this
quality colt who he says oozes class.
now’s the time
6yo G Dansili - Pride by Peintre Celebre
This imported gelding gained a well deserved initial
Australian success at Warwick Farm on Wednesday
over 1600m. Having started his career in France this
diminutive gelding had been luckless on a couple of
occasions since arriving having twice finished runner up
by the barest of margins making Wednesday’s victory
even more deserved. Tommy Berry was in the saddle and
he had the son of Dansili in a good position throughout
the race.
They swept to the lead with 400m left to run and stayed
on strongly to hold off his stable companion Springbok
Flyer who made a highly promising Australian debut.
Now’s the Time will have gained plenty of confidence from this win and being relatively lightly raced for his age can hopefully
continue to progress as he acclimatizes further. The fact he seems to appreciate the softer conditions underfoot means that there
should be plenty of options available to him in the next few months.
Thanks to Bradley Photographers and
Darryl Sherer for our weekly photos.
www.bradleyphotos.com.au
THAT TIME OF YEAR...
As the yearling sales season winds up Karin Attebo sent in this timely picture she’s had a few friends point out is relevant to
her, having gone from a share in just one (Redoutable Heart) to shares in seven horses in the stable in the past year!
This week’s iconic Inglis Easter Yearling
Sale saw the sale improve on all metrics
on last year most notably with the gross
up 23% with $102,110,000 traded on 350
yearlings.
CWR bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster
offered the following on how he found the
sale to play out “It has been a great sale and
the outstanding types on offer created a hot
market.”
“I am very happy with our purchases so far
and appreciate the support of the stable
clients who have shown their confidence in
our selections by buying straight into some
of our purchases.”
In addition to some quality lots selected
for Star Thoroughbreds, the stable has
purchased some other, more expensive
prospects to race. If you are interested in
these, email [email protected]
Waller stays positive after stars draw
wide in Queen Elizabeth & Sydney Cup
Chris Waller’s terrible run with barriers in Group 1
races continued at Tuesday’s draw for the $4 million
Queen Elizabeth Stakes and $1.5 million Sydney Cup.
Always Allison started from gate 10 in a 10-horse
field in the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes on Monday,
while Preferment faced the same predicament in the
Australian Derby.
Royal Descent.
“We haven’t enjoyed a good run but there’s nothing
you can do about barriers,” Waller said. “It looks as
though it’s continued this weekend.”
Royal Descent drew barrier 10 of 13 in the Queen
Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on Saturday while Cox
Plate winner Adelaide jumps from gate 12 in his first
start for the premier trainer.
Royal Descent has the services of Joao Moreira, who
rode the daughter of Redoute’s Choice into third
place in Monday’s Doncaster Mile.
“He said she felt great in the run and she pulled up
good so we’re happy with her going into Saturday’s
race,” Waller said.
Royal Descent chalked up her sixth placing from as
many starts on heavy tracks with her effort in the
Doncaster Mile but her trainer is mindful of what the
weather throws up with regards to Adelaide.
“I doubt he’ll run on a heavy track but we’ll have a
talk to the team on Thursday and go from there,” he
said. “We didn’t realise how good this horse was until
we galloped him on dry ground. He’s got form on
slow tracks overseas but he’s much better on top of
the ground.”
Waller’s Melbourne Cup placegetter Who Shot
Thebarman drew barrier 10 in the 12-horse Sydney
Cup field.
“It shouldn’t make a big difference, but you always prefer a
good draw. It just takes away that risk of being trapped wide,”
the trainer said before discussing the inside draws for Grand
Marshal (4) in the Sydney Cup and Beaten Up (1) in the
Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
“Grand Marshal should’ve finished closer on Monday in
the Chairman’s but obviously this is a tough edition of the
Sydney Cup with Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist and
(The) BMW winner Hartnell.”
Queen Elizabeth Stakes favourite Contributer will start from
barrier 13, while Japanese raiders Tosen Stardom and To The
World will jump from gates 11 and five respectively. Source:
Nic Ashman, The Daily Telegraph.
Adelaide.
fine fillies ready to shine in
Australian Oaks at Randwick
Premier trainer Chris Waller knew he had a great group
of three-year-old fillies at the beginning of the autumn
and the Australian Oaks was always going to be grand
final day.
He arrives with a trio runners in the group 1 blue riband
for fillies, including favourite Winx, the emerging Ballet
Suite and Wine Tales. Thousand Guineas winner Amicus
is the only one of the team not to make it to the Oaks
but she has dropped back to the Queen Of The Turf.
“She probably struggled at the 2000m in the Vinery Stud
Stakes but we rode her out of her comfort zone,” Waller
said. “She is a group 1 winner and I think her run in the
Coolmore Classic [when fourth] was very good and it is
the right form for the Queen Of The Turf. “She probably
could have gone for a spell but there is a $1 million race
for her, which is the beauty of The Championships. There
was not much between Winx and Ballet Suite in the
Vinery and It think it will be similar on the weekend.”
This is the beauty of Waller’s steady building style of
training, his horses almost always get to their targets. “If
they don’t have ability to make it you reassess, these nice
fillies have all shown that they are good enough to be at
this level,” Waller adds.
His day isn’t strictly for the girls. Who Shot Thebarman
and Grand Marshal will ltry to lift another Sydney Cup
for him and Adelaide and Royal Descent are in the $4
million shootout in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
But the Queen Of The Turf and Oaks could define
his day. Catkins, owned by the Inghams and a stable
favourite, is his other Queen Of The Turf runner. She is
still looking for her group 1 but Waller believes it might
come on Saturday.
Wine Tales
“She is in the best form of her career. It has always been hard to get it right with her because she puts so much into to her races,”
Waller said. “She gets to this race with the right build-up and is ready to run the 1600m.”
Waller’s planning for the Oaks has been exact as usual and a month ago he split his four fillies, to give all their chance to win a race.
Ballet Suite beat up on a midweek race, while Wine Tales was runner-up in the Keith Nolan Classic at Kembla, Winx took out the
Phar Lap Stakes and Amicus was only a long neck from winning the the Coolmore Classic.
The trainer runs through his assessment of the Oaks.
“Wine Tales simply didn’t handle the conditions [in the Adrian Knox Stakes] on Monday and I would [not] sell her short,” he said.
“Ballet Suite is the filly that has been looking to get this sort of trip [2400m] and she is going to improve from her crack at this level
[in the Vinery].
“Winx didn’t have the best of luck in the straight and has been at this level for a while and I think she will run a great race. I think
her and Ballet Suite are very similar and there isn’t that much between them.”
Ballet Suite carries the navy blue silks and will have the services of Coolmore’s jockey Ryan Moore, who arrives to ride Adelaide but
a decision is still pending on whether the Cox Plate winner runs on Saturday.
“He is best on rattling tracks and it will come down to how the track recovers because we know he is not the best on soft and heavy
tracks,” Waller said. Source: Chris Roots, Sydney Morning Herald.
Chris Waller bids to outdo himself with
Adelaide and Catkins at Randwick
If Chris Waller can prepare Adelaide to win first-up and Catkins to finally secure a Group 1 at Royal Randwick on Saturday, it just
might be his finest hour as a trainer. This is saying something as Waller is racing’s modern-day “Dominator” in much the same way as
Hall of Famer trainers Tommy Smith, Bart Cummings and Colin Hayes were in their halcyon days.
Waller has been the nation’s leading Group 1 trainer the past three years, he won his fifth Doncaster Mile in seven years with
Kermadec last Monday, he holds the record for most Sydney wins in a season with 167.5, is the only trainer to prepare the winners
of more than $20 million prizemoney in a single season, and is certain to secure a fifth consecutive premiership.
But Waller is preparing to do the unthinkable with Adelaide on Saturday — trying to beat a world-class field in the Group 1 $4
million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) first-up after more than five months without a start.
Adelaide hasn’t raced since winning the Cox Plate in October but Waller is satisfied with the horse’s fitness. It is the condition of the
Randwick track that worries him most.
Waller has spoken regularly with Adelaide’s former trainer, Aidan O’Brien, in recent months about the horse and his progress.
“Aidan said this horse needs to have the ground ‘rattling’ under his feet,’’ Waller said. “It was one of the reasons Coolmore sent the
horse to Australia hoping to get firm tracks for him.
“I’m very happy with the horse, his work has been good, but we will have to wait and see how the track is before deciding whether
we definitely start.’’
The Cox Plate-winning combination of champion English jockey Ryan Moore and Adelaide has been reunited for the Queen
Elizabeth Stakes, Sydney’s richest race.
If Waller can pull off a stunning comeback win with Adelaide, it will be lauded as one of the great training feats.
There are very few examples of a horse winning a Group 1 over 2000m first-up but one of the most celebrated comeback wins has
to be that of Tulloch in the 1960 Queen’s Plate at Flemington.
Tulloch had not raced for 23 months due to illness but Tommy Smith prepared the champion for his return to racing in a 10 furlong
(a2000m) weight-for-age race in which Lord, the Melbourne champ, was sent out favourite.
Before a crowd of more than 80,000, Tulloch edged past Lord after a stirring struggle to score a famous win.
Tulloch is one of only three horses to win the Cox Plate-Queen Elizabeth Stakes double in the same season (1960-61), a feat
Adelaide is trying to emulate. The other horses to win both races are Summer Regent (1963-64) and Our Poetic Prince (1988-89).
Martini-Henri famously won the 1883 Victoria Derby on debut then three days later won the Melbourne Cup at his second race
start. Savanaka was set for the 1877 Melbourne Cup without a lead-up race and very nearly pulled off a sensational betting plunge
but could not run down Chester. In more recent times, Robbie Laing trained Pantani for a first-up win in the 2004 Andrew
Ramsden Stakes, a Listed race over 3200m at Flemington.
In the northern hemisphere, it is common practice for stayers to resume over a middle distance and further but Adelaide will need
to be right at his best to beat a world-class field in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Waller, who also has another imported galloper
Beaten Up and top mare Royal Descent in the Queen Elizabeth, has left no stone unturned to prepare Adelaide for his return to
racing, calling on the vast experience he has had training former northern hemisphere stayers with such great success in Sydney in
recent years.
He even travelled to Ireland and spent a day with O’Brien at the trainer’s famous Ballydoyle stables.
“Having that time with Aidan O’Brien was one of the great experiences I’ve had as a trainer,’’ Waller said. “Aidan is an absolute
gentleman who lives for his family and his horses.
“It was amazing to watch and learn how he trains and goes about his work.’’
If Adelaide does contest the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, it is likely to be the only start the horse has for Waller. Adelaide, who is raced
by Coolmore, is due to return to O’Brien’s stables in Ireland to be prepared for the European summer of racing including the
massive Royal Ascot carnival.
“It’s very important to me that I send Adelaide back to Ireland in the best possible shape,’’ Waller said. “I hope to get a phone call
from Aidan saying thank you for returning the horse in really good condition.’’
Waller is chasing his third Queen Elizabeth Stakes win after preparing former European gallopers My Kingdom Of Fife (2011) and
Reliable Man (2013) to win the big race. It is worth noting that My Kingdom Of Fife and Reliable Man both had only one lead-up
race over a shorter distance before the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Royal Descent hasn’t won a race since her runaway ATC Australian Oaks triumph at this meeting two years ago but the mare
continues to perform at the highest level. Her third placing to stablemate Kermadec in Monday’s Doncaster Mile comes after she
ran second in that race last year, complementing her second placings in the George Main Stakes and Epsom Handicap.
Waller would probably gain just as much personal satisfaction if Catkins can win the Queen Of The Turf Stakes.
Catkins is a fan favourite in Sydney racing, as much for the striking grey colouring of her coat as her remarkably consistent record of
15 wins and 11 placings from 31 starts. But Catkins has never won at Group 1 level or in a weight-for-age race — two hurdles she
must overcome to take out the Queen Of The Turf Stakes.
“Catkins is up there with the very best horses I’ve trained,’’ said Waller with obvious admiration. “She is a rising six-year-old mare
but she retains that competitive streak.
“Perhaps she is a little ‘soft’ for the Randwick 1600m but I have her very fit for this race. I’m also aware this race can throw up an
upset so we have prepared Catkins as well as we can.
“Intimate Moment, Telepathic and Amicus are probably better suited in a race like the Coolmore (under handicap conditions) but
they are fit and well and I expect them to run good races too.’’ Source: Ray Thomas, The Daily Telegraph.
GETTING TO KNOW kelly o’boyle
Kelly grew up in a little town on the West Coast of Ireland, called Dingle and is the eldest of four and the only one involved with
horses. As as youngster she had horses and ponies and spent a lot of time at her uncle’s stud in Kildare. After finishing school, Kelly
moved to the UK to work for Donald McCain Jnr before then moving to Newmarket to work for David Simcock and beginning her
Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship Diploma.
Kelly came to be at CWR through the Fred Packard Scholarship run by the British Racing School and is enjoying doing a bit of
everything while trying to learn as much as possible in her three months here.
Nickname? Kel or Kell Bell.
Best quote? Even the darkest of days only has twenty four hours.
Favourite part of the job? Watching horses learn and progress.
Favourite horse? Hurricane Fly.Best horse ever seen? Frankel.
Role model? My grandmother “Nana Bruce”. She’s 88 and still tells us all how she dreads the day she gets “old”!
Favourite food? Roast pork with all the trimmings.
Favourite jockey? AP McCoy of course!
If you weren’t in racing, what would you have done? I’d probably still be in university or travelling the world.
If you could invite two people for dinner, who would you invite? Tommy Tiernan and Sir Mark Prescott.
Event in the world that you would most like to attend? Melbourne Cup.
What would you do with your last $5? Buy a cup of tea. Tea fixes everything.
Tip for the weekend? Catkins.
“I never thought I’d win another Doncaster after Rangi did in 2010”
said Neville Morgan post race, pictured with wife Jenny and Chris.
Kermadec and strapper David Smith.
Pirandello
Brooke and Amovatio.
Nev Morgan’s next star? Baubo.
Delectation.
Ali and Sadler’s Lake.