Rosehill stables Chris Waller and David Payne are on a collision course for the Flight Stakes, with their respective fillies, Striking Alibi and Bangkok Hottie, set for a rematch at Randwick.
Bangkok Hottie holds the upper hand in their previous encounters, having won both the Furious and Tea Rose Stakes. However, Striking Alibi has emerged as the early favourite to exact revenge in the prestigious Group 1 race this Saturday.
Waller is optimistic that the punters have made the correct call, but he also expressed that he would be nearly as pleased for his fellow Rosehill trainer to secure the major prize should the odds prove wrong.
A highly respected figure in his native South Africa before building a successful career in Australia, Payne is considered one of the sport’s true gentlemen.
He has reduced his training string in recent years to approximately 16 horses, but this has not prevented him from enjoying a successful start to the season, with three stakes wins. Two of these victories have come courtesy of Bangkok Hottie, and the other with Persian Wonder.
Although both prepare their teams at Rosehill, Waller and Payne do not always cross paths at trackwork. Nevertheless, the former admitted to keeping a keen eye on his rival’s activities each morning.
“He stays down in the stewards’ tower, but I have a little look at him with the binoculars now and then, see what he’s up to, because his horses are going terrific,” Waller said. “He’s an amazing horseman. He’s a hard worker. If we don’t win, I hope he does.”
Striking Alibi, who hails from Perth, has delivered encouraging performances in her only two Sydney starts. She has shown a strong closing effort from the second half of the field to place in the Furious Stakes (1200m) and the Tea Rose Stakes (1400m).
Waller stated that the filly has continued to improve, and he has no doubt she will be competitive if she can handle the additional 200 metres of the Flight Stakes (1600m).
“She was awesome the other day. She just stepped away a little bit slow and because she was second-up, we were a bit reluctant to give her a message to recover quickly. It just put us in an awkward position, but she was great,” Waller commented. “She has learned so much from each run.”
Waller’s other runner is De Armas, a Listed winner in New Zealand who made late ground to finish midfield in her Australian debut over 1200m at Warwick Farm last month.
The Flight Stakes is shaping up to be a competitive affair, get the best betting markets for the race at your favourite Australian betting sites.