New Zealand apprentice Alysha Collett will begin her latest Sydney stint with a trio of rides for premier trainer Chris Waller on Saturday.
Collett, the sister of last season’s champion New Zealand apprentice Jason, spent three weeks with Waller during the winter when she kicked home four winners.
Waller was impressed enough to lure the 18-year-old back on a three-month loan.
Her rides for him at Rosehill will include Coup Acclaim and Fast And Sexy.
Waller took a couple of days off following the culmination of the Sydney spring carnival on Saturday but racing manager Liam Prior said Collett would be a welcome addition to the team.
“She’s a two-kilo claiming apprentice, she comes to Sydney at the right time of year with the better jockeys going to Melbourne and she’ll be with us for three months,” Prior said.
“She pleased Chris at the initial loan period she was with us and it’s the right time of year to have a good claiming apprentice riding in town.”
Senior jockey Glyn Schofield will partner the Waller-trained Nocturnelle in the Listed Angst Stakes (1500m), the only feature race on the Rosehill program.
The mare has won two of her past three starts and posted her first black-type victory over 1400m at Newcastle at her most recent appearance.
Prior doesn’t expect the extra 100m of Saturday’s race to pose any problems.
“She relaxed good in her race the other day. Obviously we were having a few little issues with her relaxing in her races earlier on in the prep but she seems to be relaxing now,” he said.
“For that reason you’d think running out the trip will be fine.”
The stable thought highly enough of Nocturnelle to take her to Melbourne earlier this year for two Group races.
She wasn’t disgraced in either, finishing sixth to Shopaholic in the Armanasco Stakes and eighth to Empress Rock in the Kewney.
“She was still pretty immature at that time and it was probably the making of her for this preparation,” Prior said.
Skyerush and Colorado Claire are topweights for the Angst with 57kg while Nocturnelle will carry 1kg less.
