Proven stayer Waterford delivers results in nearly every preparation, as Chris Waller has pinpointed the Hawkesbury Gold Cup as an enduring aim.
The seven-year-old’s prior win occurred in the Group 2 Shannon Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill last September, and he has stayed out of action since a subpar performance in the Doncaster Prelude (1500m) come March 28.
According to Waller’s assistant Charlie Duckworth, the purposeful month break for Waterford aimed to skip the key Sydney autumn carnival clashes to target Saturday’s Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m).
“Literally, it was just to wait for Hawkesbury,” Duckworth said.
“He’s had four weeks between runs. He’s had a barrier trial, and he trialled at Hawkesbury.
“He’s more than capable of winning a race like that on his day.”
Waller’s Cup assault features Waterford alongside Captain Furai on the verge of a treble, last season’s second Osipenko, and the duo Imperialist and Yet He Moves.
He also commands the Clarendon Stakes (1400m) with five-eighths of the field, highlighted by The Roaring Sun, a son of The Autumn Sun who was upstaged by emerging stakes horse Seraphox at Warwick Farm on his initial start this month.
Duckworth holds high hopes for the colt’s stakes prowess and sees the Saturday contest as ideal preparation for Brisbane winter riches.
“Our best two-year-old going there is The Roaring Sun. He was narrowly beaten at Warwick Farm, caught wide the trip,” Duckworth said.
“He is a genuine Group horse, and this is a race Chris has used in the past as a stepping stone (to Queensland).”
Esteemed winners grace the Clarendon Stakes history, including Zardozi from 2023 who advanced to take the VRC Oaks (2500m) the next spring.
Waller has masterfully employed the race as a Brisbane qualifier for a number of his tardy-maturing two-year-olds, notably Zoustar in 2013, who claimed the Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Doomben and filled second in the Group 1 J J Atkins (1600m).
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