Chris Waller is less than a week removed from his dominant training performance during the 2013 Melbourne Spring Carnival but the leading trainer is already looking ahead to the 2014 Sydney Autumn Carnival; labeling mid-week winner Made To Order an ideal horse for the Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m).
Chris Waller has a high opinion of Made To Order who won in impressive fashion at Warwick Farm yesterday. Photo by: Taron Clarke
Made To Order made her racing debut with a second place finish behind Flight Academy in the Westrac Plate (1200m) at Kembla Grange on October 26, a race in which she did plenty of things wrong, and was able to record her maiden race win with an impressive performance in the Big Sports Breakfast Handicap (1400m) at Warwick Farm yesterday.
The Commands filly started the race as a short-priced favourite and justified her short quote when she raced away in the final stages to record a dominant two and a half lengths victory from Buon Auspicio and Water Kiss.
Waller was delighted with Made To Order’s performance but believes that there is still a great deal of improvement ahead of the three-year-old.
“She’s a big horse but geez, she’s got some depth once we get to the bottom of it,” Waller told the media after the race.
“She’s a nice filly, a very nice filly.”
The leading Sydney trainer is generally not one to get carried away with his horses and, although he is hopeful that Made To Order will progress to the $1 million Australian Oaks in the autumn, said that he will let the classy filly work through her grades gradually.
“First and foremost, she’s got her maiden out of the way and we’ll get a Saturday win and then we can get a little bit more serious after that.
“She’s an autumn horse and when you’re talking million-dollar Oaks’ and the right lead-up, you’ve got to have a think.”
Waller was unable to pick up a ‘major’ during the 2013 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival but was still the leading Group 1 trainer; winning the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) with Foreteller, the Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) with Red Tracer, the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) with Zoustar and the Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m) with Boban.
