Barnavara, the $1.70 elect, lacked punch in the final stages and was fourth at the finish, eclipsed by her yard companion Wootton Verni who dominated proceedings.
Waller put Wootton Verni’s down-under know-how down as decisive, saddened by Barnavara’s result but sympathetic to her circumstances.
“Wootton Verni has been here a while now and he found some great form in the spring,” Waller said, referring to the gelding’s wins in the Coongy Handicap and Rosehill Gold Cup.
“Certainly, he’s talented horse and with a bit of give in the ground and being rock-hard fit, he showed the others up.”
Barnavara liked to track the pace in Europe but was caught napping at the jump here.
“The plan was to go forward, to be second, third or fourth but she dwelt at the start,” Waller said.
“I think rather than fire her up, Australian horses just find their positions so quickly, whereas if you fire her up first Australian start I guess James (McDonald) would have thought you could of set her alight which is what we didn’t want.
Then when they went slow, it was very hard from back there. They controlled it from the front and made it hard to finish off.”
Wootton Verni ($5.50) with Tommy Berry aboard won convincingly by two-and-a-half lengths from Caviar Heights ($4.20), the English runner-up who flew home, edging Portland ($26) for third in a photo.
The mare Barnavara, a Group 1 star in France, improved into contention on the corner but faded badly from 300m for fourth.
Berry was glad to lead Barnavara through the race with Wootton Verni.
“I was always going to put my bloke into the race,” Berry said.
“I thought the mare (Barnavara) was going to maybe even slide forward and I would be on the back of her.
It’s always nice to be in front of quality horses in the run and they’ve got to chase you.”
James McDonald, riding Barnavara, blamed the sluggish tempo.
“She got back in a slowly run race,” McDonald said. “She will improve.”
Waller hasn’t settled on plans for Wootton Verni or Barnavara.
“The plan was always to run Wootton Verni in the Tancred Stakes today but he just didn’t quite fulfill our expectations last start,” Waller said.”So, we’ve come back a grade just to give him some confidence, and he’s got that confidence back.
Is he up to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes? That will be the question we have to answer.”
He’ll gauge Barnavara’s wellbeing before considering the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) on April 11 at Royal Randwick.
Caviar Heights’ eye-catching second prompts thought for William Haggas.
Issy Paul from Haggas’s team outlined targets: Queen Elizabeth Stakes or Sydney Cup (3200m), April 11.
“Caviar Heights will go to either of those races, it will be up to the boss (Haggas),” Paul said.”But we are very happy with Caviar Heights. He has run a really good race and will improve.”
Tom Marquand was impressed with Caviar Heights.
“He ran great,” Marquand said. “We were ruined a little bit by the lack of tempo.
I wish he’d stepped a little better and I’d have been able to be a bit more positive.”
Portland’s late charge to third excited Matthew Smith.
“He’s run well and continues to improve,” Smith said. “We will look at the JRA Plate for him.”
Kerrin McEvoy noted Portland’s gritty performance.
“I got onto the back of the favourite but it didn’t really take me anywhere,” McEvoy said.
“I had to switch out to get into the clear and he got going well over the last furlong (a200m).”
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