This week the team celebrated WINX’s 21st straight victory with her Gr.1 Turnbull Stakes win at Flemington. It was truly a spine tingling occasion seeing her space her rivals up the hallowed Flemington straight and the accolades kept coming this week with her crowned Australian Racehorse of the Year with Chris and Hugh Bowman not to be outdone winning the trainer and jockey equivalents at a ceremony in Brisbane on Sunday night.

The rest of the team continues to fire with Alward unfellable at Randwick on Saturday in a three-horse Waller race while Tangled managed second in the Gr.1 Spring Champion Stakes. So Splendid, High Mist, Raise An Army, Loving Home and Torgersen also notched up wins this week as we look towards more Group One action this weekend with four entered in the $500,000 Gr.1 Toorak Handicap at Caulfield plus Libran and Who Shot Thebarman in the $500,000 St Leger at Randwick.

We wish all of our connections the best of luck and a safe weekend!

Waller weekly news 12 October 2017

INSIDE THIS ISSUE• WINNERs

• News & photos

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lCHRIS WALLER RACING - WINNERS THIS WEEK

winx 6yo M Street Cry - Vegas Showgirl by Al Akbar

Most of the superlatives have been used to describe this mighty mare but she once again proved her greatness on Saturday as she turned the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington into a procession. Hugh Bowman was at his brilliant best as he settled her beautifully towards the rear of the seven horse field. With a couple of no hopers joining in Bowman was obviously mindful of avoiding any trouble as he kept her in the clear for most of the way. As they turned into the famous Flemington straight Winx was still travelling effortlessly as her main rival on paper Humidor appeared to be feeling the pinch. She ambled up on the outside of the leaders with Bowman sitting motionless in the saddle and once he gave her an inch of rein approaching the final furlong she powered away for another Brilliant success to win by over six lengths at the line. On the back of this win she is now as low as a $1.25 favourite to make it three Cox Plates in a row in a fortnight’s time at Moonee Valley. It would be a brave punter to bet against that happening all going well.

alward5yo G Aqlaam - Sharedah by Pivotal

This imported galloper has been in fine form of late and he made it four wins from his last five starts when saluting at Randwick on Saturday over 2000m. With regular rider Hugh Bowman in Melbourne for Winx, Brenton Avdulla came in for the mount in what turned out to be just a three runner affair with the other two starters Up ‘n’ Rolling and Veladero being stablemates of the winner. Avdulla was happy to bide his time early on in this tactical affair as Veladero went into a big lead ffrom the outset under Blake Shinn, they were followed at a margin by Up ‘n’ Rolling who in turn was tracked for most of the contest by Alward. As they straightened for home Avdulla angled towards the outside of the other two to come with his challenge and Alward showed a good turn of foot to sprint away for an impressive success. Considering the form he is in there may be a race for him in Melbourne over the spring provided he pulls up well from this win.

loving home 7yo G Shamardal - Fallen In Love by Galileo

This imported son of Shamardal has thrived since heading up north to the Gold Coast stable and he followed up a last start victory at Ipswich as he took out the feature Port Macquarie Cup on Friday under Tye Angland. Angland always had him in a good position not far off the pace and saving ground on the rail. As they turned into the straight Angland came with his challenge between runners and although he was off the bridle Angland was able to rouse Loving Home and he stayed on strongly to gain a gutsy success and in doing so securing a nice pot for connections with the winners prize being almost $90,000.

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so splendid 4yo M Savabeel - Splendid by O’Reilly

New Zealands famous Waikato Stud is of course home to the great sire Savabeel and this daughter of that sire races in their colours. She returned from a spell with an impressive first up victory at Warwick Farm on Wednesday under Kerrin McEvoy.

McEvoy settled her in mid division early on after going forward to secure a good spot. The pace was strong and as they approached the home straight McEvoy made his move towards the Outside of the track, having build up valuable momentum before the turn he swept to the lead inside the final furlong and held off the challenge of the runner up for a game success. This talented mare now looks in for a solid campaign and will be a lovely broodmare prospect once she retires from racing.

high mist 4yo G High Chaparral - Miss Mushu by Encosta de Lago

After a couple of slightly disappointing efforts in his last two starts this talented son of the late great High Chaparral was back in the winners enclosure at Warwick Farm on Wednesday, winning over 1400m with Hugh Bowman in the saddle. Bowman gave him plenty of time to find his feet early on, well off the strong early pace and he was still a

Thanks to Bradley Photographers, Ross Stevenson and darryl sherer for our weekly photos.

www.bradleyphotos.com.au

long way off the leaders as they turned for home. With the leaders waning Bowman angled High Mist between runners and once he got the gaps inside the final furlong he was able to pick up the leaders for what was a soft victory at the line for this talented sort. This win will hopefully restore some confidence for the Ingham family home-bred who has always shown plenty of ability but has been luckless on occasion.

torgersen 5yo G Pins - Oh So Glam by O’Reilly

The new satellite stable on the Gold Coast has been in fine form of late and Torgersen was another galloper to benefit from the change of scenery and less competitive racing environment. This is the benefit of the Queensland operation in comparison to Sydney and he returned to the winners circle at the Gold Coast track over 1400m on Saturday. Robbie Fraad has been riding many of the stable winners of late and he was on board. He allowed him plenty of time to settle back towards the tail of the field early on before coming with a well timed run in the home straight to get the better of the short priced favourite Dreams Aplenty. This will hopefully be a confidence boosting victory for this NZ bred son of Pins.

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raise an army 4yo G Sepoy - Raise by Aren

Sporting the Vinery Stud colours Raise An Army broke through for his maiden victory last Thursday having placed second in his last two starts. With Brenton Avdulla in the saddle he was given every opportunity, settling just off the leaders over the Gosford mile. Circling his opponents on the turn, Avdulla punched him out strongly up the straight for a smart 1.25 length win which should give the son of Sepoy plenty of confidence going forward.

Waller claims sure win in three-horse race

The Benchmark 90 Handicap at Randwick has turned into a race impossible for Chris Waller to lose.

Three scratchings before Saturday's race left the premier Sydney trainer with the only three runners to share the $100,000 prize money but $1.55 favourite Up 'N' Rolling and jockey Kerrin McEvoy were quickly put to the test.Outsider Veladero ($8.50) with Blake Shinn aboard steamed ahead early in the 2000m race but Alward ($3.10), ridden by Brenton Advulla, powered home to win by 1-3/4 lengths.

"I think he (Shinn) would have thought at the turn that he might have ridden the perfect race. He gave his horse every chance," Waller's racing manager Charlie Duckworth said.

"It was a great ride by Brenton and obviously a winning ride. I think it was a very exciting race for only having three horses in it."

Duckworth said the race was certainly more exciting than when Winx won the three-horse Caulfield Stakes in 2016 by two lengths from Black Heart Bart, with He Or She another four lengths third.

"At the point of the turn, I think there would have been some money traded on all three of the horses so that's exactly what we want to see with racing," he said.

"Great to have the team firing on song and for them all to run a competitive race."

He said the decision to run any of the three in next week's Craven Plate, a Group Three over 2000m at Randwick, remained with Waller.

"It's probably just a bridge too far at this stage," Duckworth said.

"If he thinks one can back up then of course it can but I'd say it was a tougher race then we would have thought considering it was just three runners." - AAP Racing

Winx crowned Australian Horse of the Year

Fourteen time Group 1 winning mare Winx was crowned Australia’s Champion Racehorse for the second straight year at the awards hosted by Racing Queensland in Brisbane on Sunday.

It comes as the Chris Waller-trained mare prepares to attempt winning a third-consecutive Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 28, after her breathtaking win in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington the previous day, Saturday, October 7.

In fact, the Turnbull Stakes – first run in 1948 – is named in honour of former Queensland pastoralist and Victoria Racing Club chairman Richard Turnbull whose family owned several properties in central western Queensland including Lansdowne, Tambo Station and Evesham where he jackarooed in the mid 1890s. He also had the distinction of being the first VRC chairman to own a Melbourne Cup winner Sirius (1941) which later stood at another Turnbull family Tambo property Bayrick.

Waller also claimed the Bart Cummings Award – named in honour of the late 12-time Melbourne Cup winning trainer – as the leading Group 1 winning trainer for 2016/17. Winx’s regular jockey Hugh Bowman won the Champion Group 1 Jockey Award.

Congratulating owners, trainers and jockeys honoured at the awards, Racing Minister Grace Grace said Winx had a strong association with Queensland. “She went through the sales ring at the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast as a yearling and kicked off her 21-straight winning streak on the Sunshine Coast in 2015. Her winning connections include Queenslander Peter Tighe and it was great to see him in Brisbane along with the other owners at the awards,” Ms Grace said.

Remarkably, Winx finished 115 votes ahead of her nearest rival, Hartnell, with Chautauqua, Black Heart Bart and Almandin rounding out the nominees.

Winx joins Makybe Diva and Might And Power as dual title winners while Black Caviar and Sunline have three each.

Waller said it was Winx’s determination to “do her best” every time was her biggest attribute.

“We’re seeing it in each and every start now and the ride continues. There’s plenty of intensity because no longer is she just a horse the racing public know. She’s become a sporting icon and a public icon,” he said.

The good news didn’t stop there for Team Winx, with the mare also named Champion Middle Distance horse, finishing well ahead of Hartnell, Le Romain, Black Heart Bart, It’s Somewhat and Jameka.

The boy from Dunedoo, NSW, had a season to savour in 2016/17, riding his way to 13 Group 1 wins in Australia – including the Queensland Derby aboard Ruthven – and a further three abroad, Bowman has now ridden Winx in 20 of her 25 wins including the last 18 of her current 21 winning streak - Queensland Country Life.

Chris Waller cheering on rival trainer in The Everest

The horse is ready and the weather looks promising, now Gerald Ryan’s only concern before the world’s richest turf race is that he doesn’t screw it all up.

Ryan has prepared Deploy for the $10 million Everest sprint at Randwick on Saturday, eyeing the $5.8 million prize for first place as he fills the slot held by his Rosehill neighbour and friend and rival, Chris Waller whose own stable found itself without a suitable candidate.

Deploy had a solid gallop at Rosehill on Tuesday with Ryan excited about The Everest.

“You’ve got Group One winners from nearly every state in Australia,” Ryan said.

“You’ve got the current Golden Slipper winner (She Will Reign), you’ve got the current Magic Millions winner (Houtzen), and I just reckon it’s the best sprint race I’ve ever seen assembled in Australia.”

Five-year-old Deploy has won half of his 16 starts, crossing first in his two Group Three sprints since August setting a Randwick 1200m-record before clocking the fasted 1300 metres run at Rosehill in the Theo Marks Stakes.

“After he won the Show County, Chris Waller mentioned it to me on the Monday morning and I said ‘Jeepers Chris, I don’t know if he’s quite good enough’,” Ryan said.

History soon repeated itself when Deploy won the Theo Marks and Waller came knocking again.

“The way he worked this morning, I reckon he is at his best and he’s very free in his action. He’s bright and happy with himself and he looks terrific,” Ryan said.

“Now I just hope I don’t bugger it up between now and Saturday.”

Ryan seemed unfazed by the looming rain clouds.

“It’s going to be a high-pressure race and quite amazing if you did get rain. I think nearly every horse in the race except for Redkirk Warrior has wet-track form,” he said.

The barrier draw fulfilled Ryan’s wishes with Deploy to jump from seven of 12 after the trainer expressed a preference for a gate between four and eight.

“He’s a horse who’s a tough horse. He’s on pace, he’s a grinder, loves a fight, so if he can get into the right spot then well the only reason he won’t win is because he’s not good enough.”

“I never dreamt I’d have a horse in it, especially not this horse at that stage.

“He was still a Benchmark horse when they announced it, but I just reckon it’s a great concept and it’s got the imagination of everyone. Not only Australia’s going to be watching, it’s going to be watched worldwide, and I reckon it’s a great idea.” - AAP Racing

CHAMPION MARE WINX JOINS ELITE AS SPORTING GREAT

It is a magical thing when a horse has the extraordinary star power to capture the imagination of sports fans – not just racing fans – and unite people as one in support.

As a young child in the early 1980s, I remember the star power of Kingston Town and Manikato

The two champion warhorses came back year in, year out, constantly winning big races even as their bodies tired against the wear and tear of the task.

The King and The Man, they set the benchmark. Australian sports fans loved them.

John Henry had a similar impact in the United States during that same era. The courageous champion dominated sports coverage as he progressed from claiming races to the Hall of Fame, still winning Group 1 races as a nine-year-old after seven years on the track.

These days, it has become tougher for a horse to achieve that feat as the coverage of so many other sports has increased, making racing fight harder for its share of the sporting spotlight.

In Australia, a few have champions have gone close to reaching that mark.

Bonecrusher, Vo Rogue, Better Loosen Up, Super Impose, Let’s Elope, Octagonal, Saintly, Sunline, Northerly and Takeover Target all went close. True champions of racing but they, arguably, just fell short in capturing the wider sporting fan’s imagination.

Hong Kong had Silent Witness, who was the pin-up boy for the famed racing jurisdiction.

The great Makybe Diva united all sports fans in that magical spring carnival of 2005 as she entered legend status, claiming a historic third successive Melbourne Cup and a Cox Plate along the way.

Black Caviar and Frankel, both undefeated and considered world champions, spent more time leading news bulletins and appearing on the front pages of newspapers than any other racing champion in modern times.

What was utterly amazing with Black Caviar and Frankel is that rapturous applause would break out from the big crowds that would watch them race as far as 600m from the finish as it was that apparent that the champions would win. And the applause would last long after the finish.

Winx is the same. She has captured the wider sporting public’s adoration.

For champion trainer Chris Waller, he remains in awe of what his mare can do.

WATCH | An introduction to Candice, one of

our Rosehill-based foremen who is

WINX’s right-hand girl come raceday.

“To win at Flemington in the way that she did is just so very special,” Waller said.

“It’s always a bit of pressure coming to the big days but it is great to see Melbourne embracing her and not just the general racing punters but also sporting people.

“The general public have just embraced her.”

A crowd of 20,282 turned up at Flemington to watch Winx win the Turnbull Stakes, well up on the previous year’s attendance of 11,294 and the biggest Turnbull Stakes meeting attendance since 2009 of 20,736.

Along with the trackside coverage provided by Racing.com, Channel 7 promoted the meeting from its 7Two channel to the main channel, giving the meeting extraordinary exposure of mainstream coverage.

“Obviously, she is on the mainstream television and just to get that extra audience is great for our sport firstly, but from a horse perspective, she is a rock star,” Waller said.

“That adds a bit of pressure but to see her do what she did in the Turnbull was truly Winx at her best.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, in my own mind I was very happy with her and I didn’t have legitimate excuses for her not being as impressive in winning her previous three starts.

“She looks fantastic and her times have been brilliant, the only feedback I get from the stables has been so positive.

“It was good to see her win the way that she did.”

Waller believes that the 2000m distance is perfect for Winx, especially when it is run at a true tempo throughout as occurred in the Turnbull Stakes.

“There is no training manual for a horse like Winx,” Waller said.

“In trials and track work, she just does what she needs to do.

“But it is in a race when the pressure is on that she can excel and show that she is just a little bit different.

“She has an amazing will to win, it is second to none of what I have seen in my stable and I have had some great horses.

“How she overcomes situations sets her apart, whether it be tempo related or being so far back in the run, like we have seen in her recent starts in Sydney. How she can handle wet tracks just as easily as firm, how she absorbs the Cox Plate pressure, she just seems to cope with it all.

“In races, it is often the last 200m when the pressure comes on and that is where she gets her chance to be dominant.”

Waller had long waited to bring Winx to Flemington so that the mare could experience the long home straight, something he refers to as ‘paradise for a horse’.

It is now all systems go for Winx to attempt a third successive win in the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 28 and Waller admits that he will find it hard to enjoy the experience due to the immense pressure.

“There are so many variables in racing and sport,” Waller said.

“You try and eliminate as many variables as you can.

“What I will say with Winx, she is in great form so we have ticked that box.

“We know that the Cox Plate is not a problem, that Moonee Valley is not a problem, the distance is not a problem, nor the weather.

“It’s now just up to the sport and racing Gods and that everything goes to plan as she will give everybody a hell of a sight.”

Expect the sold out sign to go up at Moonee Valley on October 28. - Racing.com

Click here to go to the website for more information on our stable runners.

upcoming STABLE RUNNERS

Click on the image to the left to watch this week’s video update with plenty of valuable insights into our runners this weekend from

Charlie and Chris.

video preview

CHECK OUT A REPLAY OF WINX’S TURNBULL

STAKES WIN ON SATURDAY. CLICK HERE

Above - Christine Bowman and Jo Taylor after WINX’s demolition job of the Toorak field.

Who needs a red carpet when you have your own flags celebrating your arrival!

Thanks to Bradley Photographers, Ross Stevenson and darryl sherer for our weekly photos.

www.bradleyphotos.com.au

Alward celebrations.

Madelyn and High Mist.

Raise An Army celebrations.

Candice and So Splendid.

Thanks to Bradley Photographers, Ross Stevenson and darryl sherer for our weekly photos.

www.bradleyphotos.com.au

Finn and Wayanka.

Kookobaa.

Stryke Rock.

Raj and Best Guess.

Wu Gok.

Ben, WINX and Umut.

Raquel and French Emotion.

French Emotion and WINX.

Fresh WINX!Hometime...

WINX!

Japonisme. Foxplay.

Sophie swapped a Sunday morning lie in for a trip to the beach with Alward.

Maddy and Up ‘N’ Rolling