A brilliant ride by Alysha Collett guided the Chris Waller-trained Waterford back to winning ways in the inaugural $500,000 The Lakes at Wyong on Saturday.
From a wide barrier, Collett positioned Waterford perfectly, settling him in fourth, one off the fence, before inching closer as the field approached the home turn.
Adam Hyeronimus dictated the pace aboard $2.80 betting site favourite Robusto, but Waterford ($9) produced a powerful finish to edge out last month’s The Ingham winner by half a length. Bjorn Baker’s other runner, Highlights ($7), finished a further length away in third.
Dropping back from a 2000m contest last start, Waterford appeared sharp and focused heading to the gates, according to Collett. She expressed confidence in overhauling Robusto but remained cautious not to ask too much of the gelding too soon.
“I was confident, I just didn’t want to let go of his head because sometimes when you do that he can have a good think about it,” Collett said.
“But I love the way he went to the line today. He put in. It was great for the whole team and I thank them for the ride.
“It’s just nice to get opportunities in these races and to do the job for people like Chris Waller.”
The win marked a race-to-race double for Collett, who earlier piloted the Joe Pride-trained Bullets High to victory. With the double, she moved closer to 50 winners for the season across Australia and brought her metropolitan tally to three.
“It’s all about trying to be consistent and keep improving as a jockey,” Collett added.
The victory was Waterford’s sixth from 26 starts, ending an eight-race drought dating back to April last year. Waller stable representative Chris Harwood acknowledged the gelding’s challenging run of luck this preparation.
“He’s run in some nice races and he’s had bad barriers, and when he did get a good barrier, he’s been blocked for runs,” Harwood said.
“He got the luck today, he got a great ride, and we’ve pulled off a big one.
“Alysha went out there to win a race, and I think she won the race in the first furlong or two. She put him right there, and he let down like a good horse today.”
