By Craig Kerry
Master trainer Chris Waller is not quite sure yet where Lady Shenandoah might rank among his best fillies, but he’s excited to see where she will get to after starting her three-year-old campaign better than the great Winx.
Waller expects Lady Shenandoah to stretch her unbeaten run this season to four in the group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Lady Shenandoah (red and green silks) wins the Flight Stakes at Randwick in October.Credit: Getty Images
After wins in the group 3 Ming Dynasty and group 1 Flight Stakes in the spring, Lady Shenandoah cruised to victory in the group 2 Light Fingers (1200m) two weeks ago at Randwick.
From gate three, and with top jockey James McDonald replacing the suspended Zac Lloyd, Lady Shenandoah is a $1.55 Sportsbet chance to do it again on Saturday.
“She drew well and her first-up run was brilliant,” Waller said. “She’s trained on well, the distance is not a problem and she’ll be very hard to beat.”
Waller has trained a long list of champion fillies, including Winx, which started her winning streak of 33 late in her three-year-old season.
As for where Lady Shenandoah might rank among his best fillies up to a mile, he said: “I don’t know. Winx didn’t quite get there and do what she’s doing this early.
“Zougotcha did it then sort of went missing the next prep, then came back in the autumn. They are all different. But one thing I’ll say about this horse is she wasn’t heavily raced as a two-year-old: she had two starts, then she’s had three starts and won all of them.
“Where she ends up? I can see her getting up to a mile … just keeping things fairly open, but I doubt we’ll stretch her out too far because she’s just showing so much brilliance.”
The group 1 $4 million Doncaster Mile at Randwick on April 5, where Lady Shenandoah has just 51.5 kilograms, is among her nominated races.
Waller has Declichy Boulevard, Amelita, Lazzura and recent Kiwi addition Movin Out also in the Surround.
“Declichy Boulevard will improve significantly over 1400m,” he said. “Amelita settled well the other day [in the Light Fingers] and still finished off well. Had this not been a group 1, she’d be running in the sprint race, but she deserves her chance.
“Lazzura has drawn well and her [Light Fingers] run was terrific … if she can run top three that would be fantastic. Movin Out, she’s more our Vinery, Oaks-type filly.”
In the other group 1 at Randwick, the Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m), Waller has the top chances in Via Sistina ($1.90) and Fangirl ($3.40).
Fangirl was a dominant winner first up in the Apollo Stakes (1400m) two weeks ago, but Via Sistina finished strongly for third, just a length away.
This time, Via Sistina, which had Kerrin McEvoy riding from gate three last start, has drawn wide in eight with McDonald aboard, and Fangirl (Jason Collett) has five. The Joe Pride-trained Ceolwulf ($5) has the outside barrier in nine.
“Fangirl is very good at a mile, she’s won some nice races over that distance, and Via Sistina is starting to get into her range,” Waller said of his mares.
“The draws favour Fangirl, but it’s interesting: I’d say if James was given the option to draw one or eight, he’d take eight because she’d need some galloping room. She’ll mean business.”
As for tactics with Via Sistina, he said: “We’ll just see what’s in the race, but we don’t want to get caught in behind the stayers. She needs galloping room, so I’ll leave that up to James.”
