Chris Waller is set to roll out a powerful line-up in Saturday’s Winx Stakes at Randwick, yet one notable mare expected to feature in the $1 million Group 1 will instead remain in her box.
The champion trainer has indicated that triple Group 1 heroine Lady Shenandoah will bypass the 1400-metre weight-for-age contest, which includes stable stars Via Sistina, Fangirl and Aeliana.
Instead, Waller is leaning towards a sprinting campaign for the Snitzel mare, who might not make her return until September.
“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),” Waller said after she worked over 800m on the Rosehill course proper last Saturday.
“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.”
Lady Shenandoah is in career-best form with five consecutive victories, highlighted by Group 1 triumphs in the Flight Stakes (1600m), Surround Stakes (1400m) and Coolmore Classic (1500m).
The Group 3 Concorde Stakes at Randwick on September 6 looms as her likely starting point, staged on 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.”
Despite missing the Winx Stakes, Lady Shenandoah was rated a $6 chance in Winx Stakes odds on Sunday, sits at $4.50 for the $10m Golden Eagle on November 1, and is priced at $11 in the $20m The Everest two weeks prior.