Chris Waller has Weary in the 2015 All Aged Stakes field, but the leading Sydney trainer has revealed that he believes Chautauqua is a moral in the Group 1 event that will be held at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Chris Waller is not confident about the chances of Weary in the All Aged Stakes. Photo by: Steve Hart
Chautauqua bounced back from his defeat to Waller-trained Brazen Beau in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on March 14 to win the Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick on April 6 and Waller said in his weekly stable report that he does not believe the Encosta De Lago gelding will have any trouble handling the step-up to 1400 metres in the 2015 All Aged Stakes at Royal Randwick this weekend.
“It is a good field and I think that Chautauqua is a moral,” Waller said.
While Waller is extremely bullish about the chances of Chautauqua in the All Aged Stakes, he is not as confident about the hopes of Weary, who is his only runner in the Group 1 that he took out in 2009 with Danleigh.
Weary stamped himself as one of the most promising horses in Australia when he finished third in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) and Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) last year, but he has struggled to replicate that form in his two subsequent preparations.
The Astronomer Royal gelding was sent back to the spelling paddock after he failed to fire in three race starts in the spring and he returned to racing with a fast-finishing victory in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on January 31 and he finished a credible third in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on February 14, but was beaten by more than five lengths in both the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Warwick Farm on February 28 and the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 21.
Waller believes that it is tough to get a line on Weary’s form during his 2015 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival and he admits that the stable is still unsure what is the best way to ride the import heading into the All Aged Stakes.
“He has barrier ten of 13 and that is not a bad draw for us,” Waller said.
“He is going alright and he is a hard horse to get a line on.
“I don’t think that he needs to be ridden too close to the pace, which was his undoing two starts ago and he doesn’t need to be set an impossible task leading.”
Weary is currently available at the lengthy 2015 All Aged Stakes odds of $61 with Ladbrokes, while Chautauqua ($3.10) is a clear favourite from Terravista ($6), Lucky Hussler ($6.50), Shooting To Win ($7.50), Wandjina ($8.50) and Dissident ($10).
