Waller hits 150 mark in Group 1s as Fangirl produces her best
The daughter of Sebring added a second elite-level win to her record when landing Winx Stakes at Randwick
Chris Waller may have already cemented his place in Australian racing folklore through his association with Winx (Street Cry), but the reigning champion trainer once again etched his name into the history books when he racked up his 150th Group 1 success yesterday.
Fittingly, this new milestone for Waller came in a race now bearing the name of the great mare, as Fangirl (Sebring) bounced right back to the kind of form that saw her win the 2022 Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1850m), coming out on top in a thrilling finish to take the Winx Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Randwick, with Waller saddling up four of the first five home.
Making her first start of the campaign, having last been seen finishing seventh in the Doncaster Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) on April 1, the five-year-old mare swooped home on the outside of the 16-runner field to grab long-time leader and stablemate Princess Grace (Karakontie) on the line, to score by a head.
Four-time elite-level winner Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux), who looked to tire in the closing stages on his seasonal debut, was the only horse to prevent Waller bringing up a 1-2-3-4 as he stuck on for third, beaten just under half-a-length by the winner, while Waller inmates Hinged (Worthy Cause), beaten a length, and Osipenko (Pierro), a further head behind Hinged, grabbed fourth and fifth respectively.
As it looked on paper, it proved a competitive race, with just over seven lengths separating the whole field.
“She’s got her day in the sun again today and it was a fitting result,” Waller said.
“When Zaaki hit the front at the 300-metre mark I thought he was home, he had good dash. I spoke to Annabel [Neahsam – Zaaki’s trainer] before the race and she said ‘he’s very well’ but she’s only given him one trial so I think he might’ve just blown up a bit.
“But he’s a great horse and to finally peg him back I think added credit to her win.”
Ridden by James McDonald for owners Ingham Racing, who also bred the mare, Fangirl had finished behind the now Darley stallion Anamoe (Street Boss) on five previous occasions, including when runner-up in both the Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) and George Ryder Stakes (Gr 1, 1500m) last campaign.
“She dug deep today, she deserved that,” McDonald said. “Now the big boy [Anamoe] is out of the way, she’s a five-year-old, she’s fully furnished. It’s fantastic for the [owners] Inghams and it’s great to get a Group 1 on her.”
“She’s such a high-class mare and she’s been working extremely well. Obviously the second horse [Princess Grace] darted up there as well and she’s a high-class mare [too]. She’s been racing against the best horses for a very long time and she deserved it.”
Of his other runners, of which he had seven in total, Waller revealed he expects them all to come out of yesterday’s opening Group 1 of the season in good shape.
“Osipenko was good, Princess Grace was second – she just about pinched it and she’s got a good win in her,” Waller said.
“Hinged wasn’t far away running fourth, Francesco Guardi was just in behind them.
“Barrier draws made it hard for some of them like Lindermann and even Montefilia, but they were all well prepared going into the race…and I think they should all bounce out of their runs.”
The Rosehill-based trainer also spoke briefly about his now retired superstar mare Winx, who provided him with his century of major victories with her farewell win in the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
“She [Winx] changed my life and it was good for racing. We’ve just got an amazing team that keep producing for the horses.
“She just took us to a level we weren’t used to and I wouldn’t say we enjoyed it, but it just took over your life.
“One Group 1, you never forget them, but to win 150, I thank my team.”
Fangirl (5 m Sebring – Little Surfer Girl by Encosta De Lago) is the best of four winners from six to race out of the Encosta De Lago (Fairy King) mare Little Surfer Girl.
Like her Fangirl, Little Surfer Girl won the Reginald Allen Quality Handicap (Listed, 1400m) in addition to the ATC Angst Quality Handicap (Listed, 1400m) and Civic Stakes (Listed, 1400m).
Bob Ingham purchased Little Surfer Girl for $1.5 million from the Coolmore Stud draft at the 2008 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
The mare was the lone stakes winner out of the multiple Group 1 winner Special Harmony (Spinning World).
In 2022, Little Surfer Girl produced a filly by Coolmore Stud shuttler Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) and was served by his barnmate Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) last September.
Exciting filly Autumn Ballet dances to Silver Shadow victory
Having showcased her abundant talent last season when winning the Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) on debut, crack filly Autumn Ballet (The Autumn Sun) once again proved her effectiveness when fresh as she landed yesterday’s Silver Shadow Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) at Randwick.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained filly ended her two-start juvenile campaign with a close-up fifth placing in the Percy Sykes Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) and looked an improved performer in yesterday’s contest.
Ridden by Adam Hyeronimus, Autumn Ballet sat third throughout the race before being unleashed for an effort in the home straight, pouncing late under a strong drive from her rider to grab the Ciaron Maher and Dave Eustace-trained Estriella (I Am Invincible) by a head on the line.
“I think when she got to that Percy Sykes, she may have come to the end of the preparation,” Bott said.
“She made quite a statement on debut. It’s not easy to win a Black Opal, and she showed a lot of natural ability on that day, and she’s come back in good shape.
“I think she’s got the scope to keep improving, particularly as we get over a little bit further. That was the only concern coming here today. I thought maybe this preparation she was looking for that 1400 metres to 1600 metres.
“She’s certainly right on track to go through the series and I think she’s just going to get better as we go through the campaign.”
Hyeronimus was surprised with the early position he was able to attain, but revealed it was an easy decision to ride Autumn Ballet over the other four stable runners after the filly’s workout last weekend.
“She’s always shown above average ability,” he said. “She has been coming along nicely without flattering this preparation but her work Saturday morning was brilliant and I was very happy to ride this filly off the back of that.
“Everything worked out perfectly. I didn’t expect to be one out one back, I thought there’d be a lot more pressure and I’d probably end up midfield or pushed to the fence where I didn’t want to be but from the get-go everything just went to plan.
Autumn Ballet (3 f The Autumn Sun – Grisi by Street Cry) was a $340,000 purchase for her trainers in conjunction with Kestrel Thoroughbreds from the Arrowfield Stud draft at last year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale in 2022.
She is the second winner from as many to race out of the Street Cry (Machiavellian) mare Grisi, herself a half-sister to Zabeel Mile (Gr 2, 1600m) winner Zakouski (Shamardal), Up And Coming Stakes (Gr 3, 1300m) winner and Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) runner-up Albrecht (Redoute’s Choice), as well as Prix Thomas Bryon (Gr 3, 1400m) winner King’s Command (Dubawi).
Grisi’s dam, O’Giselle (Octagonal), is a sister to champion racehorse and Lonhro, who was retired from stallion duties at Darley earlier this year.
A sister to Autumn Ballet, who is now named Ghaara, was bought by Emirates Park for $1.2 million at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale earlier this year and Grisi has a colt yearling by The Autumn Sun.
Second-season sire The Autumn Sun is also the sire of another stakes winner in Coco Sun. The stallion will stand the upcoming breeding season at Arrowfield Stud for a fee of $66,000 (inc GST).
Red-letter day for Darley mare Circular as Cylinder and Parisal hit the target
Godolphin and James Cummings enjoyed a memorable afternoon yesterday as a pair of their most exciting inmates, from the same family, landed respective stakes contests at Caulfield and Randwick.
Half-siblings Cylinder (Exceed And Excel) and Parisal (Astern) each struck gold, with the former running out a narrow winner of the Vain Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at the Victorian track and the latter coming home a head victor of the Toy Show Quality (Gr 3, 1100m) at the Sydney venue.
Having been a dual Group 2 scorer as a juvenile, Cylinder continued his progression starting life as a three-year-old, although it took a judge’s call in a photo-finish to ultimately hand the colt the win.
Partnered by in-form rider Blake Shinn, Cylinder was sent off the $1.50 favourite to make a winning reappearance but was made to work hard by the front-running Ouroboros (Harry Angel), only edging out that rival in the dying strides to record a nose success, with the closing colt I Am Unstoppable (I Am Invincible) a head further back in third.
“He was a little ring rusty, but full credit to the second horse who made a race of it,” Shinn said.
“My horse was out of his comfort zone early, and when the chips were down, he was off the bridle. He never stopped trying and showed great determination. I wasn’t sure if we got there, but his class shone through. He has much to offer and will only get better into the prep.
“He proved his class with a second in the Golden Slipper and has the credentials to target the best races.
“This was his main target but looks good on his CV and will measure up in any race James aims him at. This was a great stepping stone, and it was nice to get the job done.”
Yesterday’s victory means that Clyinder’s (3 c Exceed And Excel – Circular by Street Cry) career record now stands at an impressive three wins and as many runner-up finishes from seven starts, with his prize-money haul now sits at over $1.3 million.
The son of Exceed And Excel’s (Danehill) game success came shortly after his half-sister Parisal had got the job done in Randwick’s Toy Show Quality, with the now four-year-old mare also running out a narrow winner.
Ridden by Jean Van Overmeire, the Godolphin colourbearer, also trained by Cummings, battled bravely in the closing stages to defeat Queen Of The Ball (I Am Invincible) by a head with Lady Brook (Hinchinbrook) a further one and a quarter lengths back in third.
“She’s all about the improvement coming into this race, considering how far she came last preparation,” Cummings said.
“This is all coming to fruition for Parisal, she’s been one of the best triallers we’ve had coming into the early stages of the upcoming carnival for our squad.
“Jean has ridden our horses extremely well. We gave him one stakes ride last year, and he delivered one stakes win, so now he’s doubled the quota and good on him.
“She won with 53 kilograms today and won narrowly. but you have to admire the depth of the win under that sort of set-up.”
A daughter of Astern (Medaglia D’Oro), yesterday’s success advanced Parisal’s (4 m Astern – Circular by Street Cry) career record to four wins and two placings from seven starts with prize-money earnings now beyond $445,000. The Group 3 success added to her previous stakes victory in the Typhoon Tracy Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m).
“It’s excellent again for Astern, who is kicking off this season a little bit like how he left off last,” Cummings said. “I think if we keep aiming off the low-hanging fruit with Parisal for the rest of the campaign, we’ll get rewarded in the long term, and she is going to be quite well-placed in mares races.”
Circular (Street Cry) managed to win five races and place in a further eight of her 20 starts, with the highlight coming in Schweppervescence Trophy (Gr 3, 1600m) in 2017.
Her dam, Hexameter (Octagonal), is a winning three-quarter sister to Lonhro, Niello, and Shannara.
Circular has a yearling three-quarter sister to Cylinder by Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) and was covered by Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) last spring.
Charm Stone produces solid performance in Quezette Stakes
Having been the highest-priced filly at last year’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale when selling to Sheamus Mills Bloodstock for $1.55 million, Charm Stone (I Am Invincible) was another three-year-old to make a winning seasonal reappearance when she landed the Quezette Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield.
Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, the filly won the Ottawa Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) last spring on her second start, after which she recorded a sixth placing in the Blue Diamond Prelude (F) (Gr 2, 1100m) before a wind issue ruled her out of the autumn.
Sent off the $4 favourite under Damian Lane, Charm Stone settled at the back of the field before unleashing a late dash to the line, beating Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) heroine Skirt The Law (Better Than Ready) by a head.
“She’s really grown into her frame mentally,” said Lane, who also rode the filly to her Ottawa Stakes success.
“She was always a lovely filly from day dot and she’s starting to come together now. It’s not easy to do what she did.
“I had to put the jets on from the 500 [metres] and her closing speed between the 500 [metres] and the 100 [metres] was brilliant and to then be able to sustain that when she got challenged was really good.
“I think she is something special and I think she can win a good race this prep.”
Michael Kent Jnr revealed that the Golden Rose Stakes and Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) will be target races for the filly this spring.
“She’s a lot cooler, calmer and she’s in for a big preparation. We want to win a Group 1,” he said. “For fillies in the spring there’s lots of smaller stakes race options, but the big ones are the Golden Rose or the Coolmore.
“The Coolmore is a long way away, so we’ll talk to Damian, talk to Mick and see, but I think her best trip is 1200 metres.
“Could she stretch to 1400 metres on an In Secret preparation, it (Golden Rose) might end up a nice race for her.”
Bred by Emirates Park, who also consigned her for sale last year, Charm Stone (3 f I Am Invincible – Najoom by Northern Meteor) has two wins from four starts with prize-money earnings of $265,765.
She is a sister to stakes winner Najmaty being out of the Northern Meteor (Encosta De Lago) mare Najoom, who won five races, including a pair of Group 3 events, from seven starts.
Najoom has a yearling filly by Capitalist (Written Tycoon) and is carrying a foal by I Am Invincible. Her two year-old filly by Tassort (Brazen Beau) has been retained by Emirates, now named Manaajem she is in training with Peter and Paul Snowden.