The 2014 Roman Consul Stakes has drawn only six runners, but leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller is impressed with the quality of the three-year-olds set to run in the Group 2 event at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Brazen Beau will take on Hallowed Crown in the 2014 Roman Consul Stakes at Royal Randwick this weekend. Photo by: Daniel Costello
Waller has included Delectation and Brazen Beau in the Roman Consul Stakes field and he is happy with the condition of both horses, but admits that he is unsure whether they will be good enough to beat 2014 Golden Rose Stakes winner Hallowed Crown.
“Hallowed Crown is a superstar and he is going to be the one to beat,” Waller said.
“Time For War trialed well the other day and Nostradamus won impressively first-up, while Klammer went super the other day.”
Delectation started his 2014 Spring Racing Carnival campaign with two narrow wins at Warwick Farm on August 29 and September 12 and was far from disgraced when he made his debut at stakes level in the Listed Heritage Stakes (1100m) at Royal Randwick on September 20.
Waller said that the Heritage Stakes was not run to suit Delectation and he believes that the Shamardal gelding is capable of running a big race at juicy odds in the Group 2 Roman Consul Stakes (1200n) this weekend.
“Our horse was one of the only ones that made up ground,” Waller said.
“He might be a rough chance and is certainly a chance to run in the first three.”
Brazen Beau was originally set for the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on September 13, but he was sent to Melbourne for the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1200m) at Flemington after missing a key Golden Rose lead-up run in The Run To The Rose.
The I Am Invincible colt never looked comfortable on the famous Flemington straight in the Danehill Stakes and came out of the race with muscle soreness, but Waller is hopeful that Brazen Beau can bounce back to his best in the Roman Consul Stakes.
“Don’t worry about his run first-up, I thought that it was good,” Waller said.
“He just got a bit lost on the straight on a hard track and he will bounce back.
“I don’t know if he can beat Hallowed Crown, but he is a good colt.”
Waller is chasing his second straight win in the Roman Consul Stakes after taking out last year’s race with Zoustar.
