chris waller | Horse Racing Free Tips

Strong Opening Bid for Funstar

A bid of A$1 million (€629,637) for Funstar (Aus) (Adelaide {Ire}) opened the action at the Inglis Digital July (Early) Online Sale on Friday. Funstar is a half-sister to G1 Queensland Oaks winner Youngstar (Aus) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and is out of a three-quarter sister to the triple Group 1 winner Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}).

Unbeaten as a 2-year-old, Funstar won five of her 18 starts for trainer Chris Waller, including victory in the G1 Flight S. and wins in the G2 Tea Rose S. and G2 Phar Lap S. She was also runner-up in the G1 Surround S., G1 Queen of the Turf S. and G1 Epsom H., earning over A$1.1 million in prizemoney.

Funstar is offered on behalf of her owners, including respected bloodstock agent Olly Koolman, who identified and purchased her as a yearling.

“Any form analyst will tell you she was performing to an extremely high level throughout her career, she took on the best and beat the best,” Koolman said. “She's one of those rare fillies that was undefeated at two–she was so precocious early on–but then trained on to be a magnificent older horse at three and four.

Inglis Digital's Business Manager Nick Melmeth added: “This is an extraordinary privilege to be given the opportunity to offer a mare such as Funstar for public sale.”

Bidding for the Inglis Digital July (Early) Online Sale closes from 12pm AEST Wednesday, July 14. Click here to view the catalogue.

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Australia: Waller Presents An Oaks Sextet

Chris Waller will unleash an arsenal of six fillies as he chases the Queensland Derby-Oaks double this Friday night at Brisbane's Eagle Farm Racecourse. Tune-in to TVG or stream on the new Sky Racing World App (First Post: 9:29 p.m. ET / 6:29 p.m. PT).

After Chris Waller captured last week's Group 1 Queensland Derby with Kukeracha (spoiling Explosive Jack's bid for a fourth derby win), the master conditioner set his sights on Friday night's G1 Oaks. Regardless of how many G1 trophies Waller accumulates – his current total is a whopping 126 – he will forever be synonymous with the storied career of Winx. The Queensland Oaks was the first of Winx's 25 G1 successes and the second win in her unforgettable streak of 33. The 1 3/8 miles of the Queensland Oaks was also the longest distance at which the great mare was victorious and Waller has won the race twice since. In search of a fourth Queensland Oaks, he will pack the same numerical punch that saw him train six of the first eight finishers in last week's Derby.

The Waller sextet is led by Grace and Harmony (5-1), who enjoyed a change of fortune at the post position draw (three). The filly was given a “negative” ride, tactically, from a wide alley when sixth as favorite two weeks ago in The Roses, the key local prep which has produced 12 of the last 20 Queensland Oaks winners. Waller still won The Roses with 15-1 shot Only Words, who is about half those odds (7-1) this Friday and has a wide gate with which to contend. Splitting that pair in wagering is Charms Star (6-1), who was third in The Roses in her Australian debut after placing in the New Zealand Oaks. Waller is also represented by Easifar and Signora Nera (each 16-1) and 100-1 shot Ruru.

For all the headlines that Chris Waller naturally generates, he doesn't train the Oaks favorite. Future book wagering had been headed by Duais, who lost favoritism to Bargain as a result of the post position draw. The pair bring strong formlines from the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival: Duais led a 1-2 finish in a G2 race, then a 2-3 finish in the G1 Australian Oaks during The Championships at Randwick. Duais could become the first G1 winner in the fledgling career of a fourth-generation trainer with royal racing bloodlines. Edward Cummings, 35, is a brother of James (Godolphin's private trainer in Australia), son of Anthony (with whom Edward trained in partnership before going solo in 2019), grandson of Bart (trainer of a record 12 Melbourne Cup winners) and great-grandson of Jim (who trained the 1950 Melbourne Cup winner). Edward named his stables Myrtle Lodge in honor of a horse that Jim Cummings rode to victory in 1910 before taking out the training license that would launch a great racing dynasty. Bart Cummings, the “Cups King,” had a checkered history with the Queensland Oaks, winning it only once (in 1987) and saddling the favorite in 2010, Dariana, who sensationally had her head in an adjacent stall when the gates opened and took no part.

Edward Cummings is forthright in his conviction that Duais is “the benchmark 3-year-old staying filly,” rating her second in the Australian Oaks the best performance in the race. He has elected to train Duais up to this Friday night's assignment, giving his filly an unusually long (by Australian standards) seven weeks between runs. After riding Duais in a May 13 trial (training race), jockey Hugh Bowman said, “Just go straight to the Oaks. She is in a great frame of mind and is a natural staying filly.” However, after drawing post 12 in the 14-horse field, Duais (5-1) was displaced for favoritism by Bargain (7-2). The well-named daughter of Shopaholic is trained by an in-form Mark Newnham, who saddled Spirit Ridge to win a G3race last week. Bargain has raced since the Australian Oaks, finishing second in The Roses.

Queensland's “Winter Racing Carnival” continues next Friday night with a tantalizing card, whose two G1 races might be overshadowed by the sport's newest star contesting a new race. Zaaki has exited his record-breaking G1 Doomben Cup win in excellent order and will line up in the Q22, a new event that currently carries G2 status but boasts an alluring $1.2 million purse. Zaaki, whose opposition is likely to include the aforementioned Spirit Ridge, promises to be a massive drawcard on a day that features the G1 Stradbroke Handicap at seven furlongs and the G1 J.J. Atkins Stakes at a mile for 2-year-olds.

The Eagle Farm card will be broadcast live on TVG this Friday night (First Post: 9:29 p.m. ET / 6:29 p.m. PT) alongside cards from Rosehill, Newcastle and Gold Coast. All races will be live-streamed in HD on the new Sky Racing World App, skyracingworld.com and major ADW platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet, NYRABets, WatchandWager, HPIbet, and AmWager. Wagering is also available via these ADW platforms. Fans can get free access to live-streaming, past performances and expert picks on all races at skyracingworld.com.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Wrona's vast U.S. experience includes; race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington, and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network and the 2016 Breeders' Cup on the International simulcast network. Wrona also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.

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Australia: With Sydney Carnival Reset, Golden Slipper And Five More Group 1s On Tap

Fans of Australian racing can wager with confidence on Friday night's rescheduled Golden Slipper (Group 1) card in Sydney, as drying conditions were expected across the second half of this week. And, if every cloud has a silver lining, the Rosehill program boasts even more star power after fields were redrawn for the four other G1 races on the card. The “Slipper” card is available to stream on the new Sky Racing World App and will be broadcast live on TVG (First Post: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT).

Racetracks in three states have cancelled dozens of programs since late last week, with the biggest casualty being the postponement of last weekend's Golden Slipper, the world's richest 2-year-old race. The entire program has been transplanted on the calendar to this Friday night, pushing back each subsequent card for the duration of Sydney's “Autumn Racing Carnival.” (This means that “The Championships” at Randwick, a two-day Breeders' Cup-style event offering more than $21 million in purses, will now be staged on April 9 and 16). Only the Golden Slipper field remained intact, and the extra week has suited the schedule of several high-profile horses, whose inclusion in the “supporting” stakes races has further bolstered the program's appeal.

The G1 sequence begins with the Ranvet Stakes (Race 4). Quirky and intractable in her younger days, Verry Elleegant has furnished into a top-class professional athlete under the tutelage of Sydney's leading trainer, Chris Waller. The 5-year-old mare has won five G1 races in the past year, exhibiting tigerish tenacity to clinch four of them in heart-stopping photo finishes. Her ½-length loss to English stayer Addeybb in the 2020 Ranvet was the “Race of the Carnival,” and the pair will lock horns again Friday night in the weight-for-age contest at 1 1/4 miles. Each horse follows an identical preparation to last year, with Addeybb (even-money favorite) unraced since winning the G1 Champion Stakes at Ascot in October and Verry Elleegant (9-5) making her third start of the year.

Despite Rosehill's excellent drainage, the surface will still be in the “soft-to-heavy” range after being inundated with some 15 inches of rain. There are few racehorses in the world with a more pronounced preference for wet tracks than Colette (5-1), a Godolphin mare whose record on firm footing is 8:1-2-0 but who seemingly grows an extra leg — or flipper — on wet surfaces (6:5-1-0). The redrawn Ranvet field now also includes Sir Dragonet (13-1), who is struggling for form this campaign but gets race and surface conditions that resemble his triumph in last October's Cox Plate.

Race 5 is the Rosehill Guineas (G1) at 1 1/4 miles for 3-year-olds, a natural progression from the one-mile Randwick Guineas three weeks ago. Mo'unga is 5-2 favorite to turn the tables on Lion's Roar, after finishing a desperately unlucky second behind the 25-1 upset winner of the Randwick Guineas. Lion's Roar is 7-1 to repeat, and each colt has won his only start on a “heavy” track. Splitting them in the wagering are Montefilia and Grandslam (each at 6-1). Montefilia is a dual G1-winning filly who defeated colts – including Lion's Roar – at this distance last year. Grandslam is an addition to the original field who is coming off a six-length G2 win. He is a full-brother to elite staying mare Jameka, winner of the 2016 Caulfield Cup.

Race 6 is the George Ryder Stakes (G1), a weight-for-age race at 7 1/2 furlongs. Wagering is headed by 7-year-old Godolphin warhorse Avilius (3-1), an earner of $3.5 million who is two-for-two on “heavy” tracks. Avilius (whose damsire is Sunday Silence) hasn't won since 2019, but showed his old spark with a close third-place finish off a layoff.

Friday's final G1 race is the most open: The Galaxy (Race 8) is a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs, boasting co-favorites at 4-1. The Waller-trained Haut Brion Her is primed to enhance her excellent record fresh, while Tailleur is a rapidly rising talent for Godolphin who has won six of eight starts.

The Rosehill card will be broadcast live on TVG this Friday night (First Post: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT) alongside cards from Doomben, Wyong and Gold Coast. All races will be livestreamed in HD on the new Sky Racing World App, skyracingworld.com and major ADW platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet, NYRABets, WatchandWager, HPIbet, and AmWager. Wagering is also available via these ADW platforms. Fans can get free access to livestreaming, past performances and expert picks on all races at skyracingworld.com.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Wrona's vast U.S. experience includes race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network, and the 2016 Breeders' Cup on the International simulcast network. Wrona also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.

The post Australia: With Sydney Carnival Reset, Golden Slipper And Five More Group 1s On Tap appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Group Winners Down Under for Frankel, Shalaa

Chris Waller snapped up the golden ticket into next Saturday's G1 Golden Slipper S. with Shaquero (Aus) (Shalaa {Ire}) after his victory at Rosehill. The Waller-trained Shaquero was successful in the G3 Bowermans Commercial Furniture Pago Pago S. Shaquero won the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast in January and in one subsequent appearance since a break had finished sixth in the G2 Skyline S. Improved for that outing, he settled in the trail and once into the clear 200 meters off the post he accelerated quickly and held out the late charge of Tiger Of Malay (Extreme Choice).

“He does well between his runs and he will be fitter again in seven days' time. He ran the week before the Magic Millions as well,” Waller said. “He's a decent horse obviously and on a better track he's a different sort of horse. It was good to see him settle and then push out and held a strong gallop to the post.”

Champion trainer Chris Waller has dominated the G2 Phar Lap S. in recent years and he was again the dominant force at Rosehill, this time taking major honors with Hungry Heart (Aus) (Frankel {GB}). Waller won his first Phar Lap in 2015 with none other than Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) and he missed out in the following edition, but then produced Foxplay (Aus) (Foxwedge), Unforgotten (Aus) (Fastnet Rock), Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) and Funstar (Aus) (Adelaide {Ire}) to land the next five on the bounce.

“It's a good lineup that's for sure. It's been a good race to us and there's no bigger name than Winx,” Waller said.

Hungry Heart had been out of sorts in her two previous runs, but Waller said the filly had genuine excuses and he hadn't been put off her chances.

“The Vinery in two weeks' time looks a good race for her,” he said.

The post Group Winners Down Under for Frankel, Shalaa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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