A significant number of Chris Waller’s established equine talent, prominently featuring the outstanding mare Autumn Glow, commenced their spring campaigns at Randwick on Monday morning.
Group 1-winning horses trained by Waller were well-represented in the first three trials, all contested over 900 metres on the course proper. These trials were rescheduled from Friday due to persistent wet weather.
Autumn Glow finished third behind the impressive winner Napoleonic in the initial trial. About ten minutes later, fellow star mare Aeliana secured fourth place in a trial won by stablemate Barnavara.
These trials are taking place more than a month before their projected race returns. Autumn Glow is slated to resume her campaign in the $1 million Group 1 Winx Stakes (1400m) on August 22. Waller indicated that the preparation for the horses involved today would become more serious in the coming weeks.
“The Winx Stakes is about five weeks away, so we’ve still got a long way to go,” Waller stated. “They will only start to get tuned up after their second trial. It’s all about blowing the cobwebs out and making sure everything is good, keeping them mentally right, and being ahead of it.”
Autumn Glow was an early leader in her trial before jockey James McDonald restrained her to settle second last, with only stablemate Autumn Boy behind her. She remained in this position until the final 200 metres, at which point she was encouraged by McDonald to improve, narrowly edging out stablemate Lady Shenandoah for third on the line.
McDonald also guided Aeliana, who coasted to the finish in her trial, with the runners largely maintaining their positions throughout the workout. She finished 4-1/4 lengths behind Barnavara, whose sole Australian start was a fourth placing in the Neville Sellwood Stakes (2000m) when ridden by McDonald.
Kerrin McEvoy was aboard in Monday’s trial, but Waller mentioned that McDonald had been involved in Aeliana’s recent preparation, and his feedback had contributed to his excitement for the French Group 1 winner’s return.
“She has put on about thirty kilos, so she looks like an Australian horse,” Waller said. “James is rapt. He says she feels like a completely different horse. That’s exciting.”
Wootton Verni, another Waller-trained runner, finished as the runner-up in Trial 2. Dual Oaks winner Ohope Wins was also engaged in this heat and finished just behind Aeliana.
In the third trial, James McDonald was also aboard the injury-plagued import Soulcombe, who surged to the line to finish third, beaten less than a length by Screen Icon. Soulcombe has battled tendon issues over the past couple of seasons and has not raced since his second placing to Without A Fight in the 2023 Melbourne Cup.
Chris Waller is set to unveil more of his star horses at Tuesday’s Warwick Farm trials. Angel Capital, Beiwacht, Campione D’Italia, and Fireball are scheduled to have their first trials of the preparation in a 900m workout on the course proper.
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