Wine Tales only runner for Waller in Australasian Oaks

Wine Tales will be the only runner for the powerful Chris Waller stable in the Group 1 $400,000 Schweppes Oaks (registered as Australasian Oaks) (2000m) at Morphettville on Saturday.

Wine Tales, all cerise, will be the only runner for Chris Waller in the Australasian Oaks at Morphettville. Photo by Steve Hart.

Wine Tales, all cerise, will be the only runner for Chris Waller in the Australasian Oaks at Morphettville. Photo by Steve Hart.

Waller had also nominated Ballet Suite for the Australasian Oaks but the High Chaparral filly will be sent to Brisbane for the Group 1 $500,000 Treasury Casino & Hotel Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Doomben on May 30.

“We have decided to keep them apart,” Waller’s racing manager Liam Prior told AAP.

“Wine Tales is set to go from Sydney to Adelaide on Thursday and Hugh Bowman will ride her in the Oaks.”

Wine Tales is coming off two runs on rain affected surfaces during the Sydney Autumn Carnival and Prior said the Tale Of The Cat filly will appreciate the firmer surface at Morphettville on Saturday.

“She should get her chance in a Group One over 2000 metres on firmer ground than last time,” Prior said.

Wine Tales was sent out the $4.20 favourite with Joao Moreira on top in the Group 3 $200,000 TAB Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 6 but after racing midfield failed to impress in the straight and was beaten eight and a half lengths when sixth to Candelara.

Then at her latest start on a soft track again with Tommy Berry aboard, the promising filly made up ground from the tail of the field to be beaten only a length and a half when second to the Peter Moody trained Hi World in the Group 3 $150,000 Johnnie Walker Frank Packer Plate (2000m) at Randwick on April 18.

Wine Tales will jump from barrier eight if all the fillies drawn inside her go around on Saturday with High Bowman having his first race day ride on the filly.

But Bowman has had a feel of Wine Tales and rode the filly in a Rosehill barrier trial in February 2014 before she had been to the races and then the top Sydney jockey was aboard in another trial at Randwick in February this year before she kicked off her Autumn Carnival campaign.

A win by Wine Tales in the Australasian Oaks would give Waller his twelfth Group 1 winner of the 2014 – 2015 racing season.

Wine Tales is on the fourth line of betting for the Australasian Oaks and is marked as a $9 chance with Ladbrokes.com.au.

The Robert Smerdon trained Fontein Ruby, a winner at her last two starts at Moonee Valley and Caulfield is at the top of the market order at $3.40 ahead of Vinery Stud Stakes winner Fenway at $4.80 and the top Western Australian filly Delicacy at $6.

Australasian Oaks market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.40 Fontein Ruby, $4.80 Fenway, $6 Delicacy, $9 Wine Tales, $11 Cathy’s Mark, $17 Jurasound, $21 Fitocracy, Sea Spray, Kansas Sunflower, Choix De Maia, Bahamas, $26 Ungrateful Ellen. $31 Lady Sharapova, Redasun, $34 Coachella, $41 Rather Heroic, $51 Not A Happy Camper, Hipster Girl, Try Your Best, $101 Regal Magnus.

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.