Winning Group 1 races has become a common occurrence for champion trainer Chris Waller.
Of the six Group 1 races contested so far in the 2026-27 season, Waller has secured victory in four.
Waller has a strong entry of five runners for the Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill this Saturday, while his lone competitor in the Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Sunday will be Beiwacht.
Beiwacht, already a Group 1 winner for Waller this season after taking out the Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield last month, was out at Caulfield on Tuesday morning for a gallop in preparation for Sunday’s event.
Former jockey Steven Arnold, now a trusted work rider for the Waller stable, partnered Beiwacht in its workout.
Arnold provided a glowing report, indicating that while Beiwacht is primarily a 1400m specialist, the reduction in distance to 1200m will not pose any issues.
“I was really happy with his work this morning,” Arnold said.
“We were not here to test his ability, just a training exercise to get him out of the box and stimulate him a bit.”
“He did it all perfectly. He’s been here before, he gets on his right leads around here and he felt amazing up the straight.”
“His fitness is perfect coming back to the six furlongs (1200m).”
“I was very happy with his work and he’s ready to go.”
Beiwacht has had only one start this campaign, winning the Memsie Stakes, and the Waller team has allowed four weeks to freshen him for Sunday’s 1200m contest.
“He hasn’t done a lot between runs and he’s a natural athlete,” Arnold explained.
“I think the six furlongs holds no fears for him, and he likes to dominate those seven-furlong (1400m) races.”
“It’s probably speed dependent and how much pressure there is in the race, but if he can get up on top of the speed and get into a good rhythm, which he does, then he’ll be highly competitive.”
Arnold noted Waller’s exceptional ability to have his horses perform at their best on the big days.
“He’s very good at aiming them at races and getting them right on the day as we saw with Angel Capital on the weekend,” Arnold commented.
“He’s the boss.”
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