While Chris Waller will parade several headline acts in this weekend’s Winx Stakes at Randwick, one anticipated contender will not be among them. Lady Shenandoah, a three-time Group 1 winner, is set to be scratched from the $1 million race.
The master trainer is instead preparing to shift her focus to a sprinting path, ruling out a clash over 1400 metres against stablemates Via Sistina, Fangirl and Aeliana.
Waller explained the reasoning after watching her gallop at Rosehill.
“We haven’t made the final decision, but I think we are going to go down a sprinting path because we are so top-heavy (in middle-distance races),” he said following her 800m hit-out.
“We’ve gone through her races, arguably her best win in the Autumn was the Light Fingers (1200m), she beat Lady Of Camelot easily. The next couple of races were tighter finishes.
“She has won Group Ones over a mile, 1500 metres and 1400 metres, so she is pretty versatile.
“I think we will start her off shorter. We might even look at like a 1000-metre race in a few weeks’ time, the Concorde Stakes.
“(It’s) a million-dollar race and that might just give us a chance to put her on that sprinting path where we’re top-heavy with our mile/2000m horses and Joliestar in the sprinting ranks. But I think Lady Shenandoah could join her.”
Her winning streak now sits at five, highlighted by Group 1 victories in the Flight Stakes (1600m), Surround Stakes (1400m) and Coolmore Classic (1500m).
The likely starting point is the Group 3 Concorde Stakes at Randwick on September 6, staged the same day as the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley.
“I thought about the Moir first up but if that was the case she would be running over a 1000m, which she’s never run, and she would be running in Melbourne for the first time as well,” Waller said.
“I think it is safer to run the same day as the Moir in Sydney in that Concorde, then she can go to wherever we want.
“We can go to a Manikato, back for an Everest and we can still plot a path towards the Golden Eagle or step her up at any stage because we know she wins over a mile.”
Lady Shenandoah, still prominent in futures betting, holds $6 in Winx Stakes odds, is $4.50 second favourite in the $10m Golden Eagle, and trades at $11 for the $20m The Everest.
