Waterhouse has four fillies in 2015 Furious Stakes nominations

Gai Waterhouse could have four runners in the Group 2 $175,000 Furious Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday with English, Speak Fondly, Kimberley Star and Sempre Libera among the fifteen nominations.

Speak Fondly, above, is one of four fillies Gai Waterhouse has nominated for the Furious Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.

Speak Fondly, above, is one of four fillies Gai Waterhouse has nominated for the Furious Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.

Talented filly Speak Fondly will be among the favourite division again after leading all of the way to score a first up win in the Group 2 $175,000 Coolmore Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on August 22.

Speak Fondly was having her first run back since running eleventh to stablemate Vancouver in the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on March 21 when she beat Kimberley Star by one and a quarter lengths in the Silver Shadow Stakes.

Kimberley Star found Speaked Fondly too nippy for her last start, even with a 3kg advantage and will find this week no easier back to equal weights.

Kimberley Star has been one of the big improvers from Tulloch Lodge heading into the Spring and the Star Witness filly had won her previous three starts before the Silver Shadow Stakes second.

English was one of the two year old stars during the Sydney Autumn Carnival and ran Vancouver to three quarters of a length when second in the Golden Slipper Stakes following her win in the Group 2 $300,000 Guinness Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on March 7.

Waterhouse gave English one more run after the Golden Slipper before sending her to the paddock and the Encosta De Lago filly finished sixth to Pride Of Dubai in the Group 1 $1m ATC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on April 6.

Sempre Libera is the least performed filly of Waterhouse’s Furious Stakes quartet and will be having her first run since finishing fifth to Blueberry Hill in the Group 2 $175,000 Bollinger Champagne Classic (1200m) at Doomben on May 9.

Also nominated for the Furious Stakes is the Team Hawkes trained Lake Geneva who finished third as the favourite behind Speak Fondly and Kimberley Star in the Silver Shadow Stakes.

Lake Geneva ran a mighty race when third in the Golden Slipper and followed that up with a third to Ottoman in the Group 3 $500,000 Girvan Waugh Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 11.

Team Hawkes took the Fastnet Rock filly to Hawkesbury to break her maiden status over 1000m on August 6 before they brought her back to town to kick off her Spring Carnival campaign.

The John O’Shea trained Ottoman is also nominated for the Furious Stakes along with her stablemate Calaverite and Caulfield trainer Ciaron Maher has entered his unbeaten filly Petits Filous and Jameka.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.