Premier handler Chris Waller advances his Golden Slipper prospects by fielding unbeaten youngster Fireball to secure an elegant comeback victory in the $2 million Inglis Millennium at Randwick.
Spell-bound since his Rosehill debut score back in November, the James Harron-owned $4.60 elect and colt blasted outwards to pip Ghana’s Akan ($17) on the line by half a length, Alibaba ($26) a head back in the minor placing.
Waller emphasised Fireball’s Saturday dominance stemmed from natural gifts, with maturity set to unlock more.
“He will get stronger, and he’ll get faster. He’s got the frame, he is well bred,” Waller said of the son of Snitzel.
“He hasn’t been wound up to get to today. He wasn’t even going to run unless he drew a nice barrier. I was more than happy to wait and just bide our time.”
Waller holds Hidrix, successful in the Canonbury Stakes, on course for the $5 million Golden Slipper (1200m) potentially through the Silver Slipper (1100m) February 21 edition, favouring separation of the colts.
An alternate stepping stone lies ahead for Fireball, eyed by Waller as a future heavyweight in the juvenile spectacle.
“We’re starting to work them out, which is good,” Waller said.
“The Silver Slipper is in two weeks and we’re in no rush. We got a few colts we can now sit back and split up a little bit and 1200 metres, I think will suit him better, so one of those (1200 metre) ones coming up.”
McDonald thanked Waller for persisting with Fireball despite doubts on thriving in the Inglis Millennium’s (1100m) packed peloton.
“I’ve been saying all week to Chris that the colt is a bit of a ‘dummy’ and I wasn’t sure if he was ready for a test like this,” McDonald said.
“But great credit to Chris, he had faith in the colt and said, ‘he is a very nice horse, as you will see when he is put under pressure’.”
“He was put under pressure today and we saw how well he responded.”
Strapper Craig Newitt lauded Alibaba, Blue Diamond Preview graduate on Sydney soil debut, for his fierce finish.
“He was unbelievable. On his Melbourne leg the whole race,” Newitt said.
“We were strung up in traffic, and he smashed the line. He’s a genuine Group One colt. Dive into the betting markets for the race to relive Inglis Millennium thrills.
The post Fireball explodes to win Inglis Millennium first appeared on Just Horse Racing.