Rugged Cross isn’t the best horse in Chris Waller’s stable but his victory in the final stakes race of the Sydney season earned him a minor claim to fame.
He gets another chance to grab the spotlight at Rosehill on Saturday when he contests the first black-type event of the new racing term, the Listed Winter Challenge.
The last-start Winter Stakes winner is one of three Waller-trained nominations for the 1500m race along with You’ll Never and Eigelstein.
Stablemate Marenostro will also be striving to continue his winning momentum into the new season.
The rising five-year-old has been nominated for a 1900m benchmark race on the Rosehill program, the first Sydney metropolitan meeting for 2015/16.
Marenostro took his record to four victories from five starts this campaign when he scored on a heavy Rosehill track on July 18.
Waller contemplated backing him up at Canterbury on Saturday but decided the gelding would benefit from an extra week between runs.
“He’s racing so well and coming through his races well,” Waller said.
“But at this time of year you have to make sure they are 100 per cent. You can win and be in great form but it’s harder to recover from a wet track run than it is to recover from a run on a dry track.”
Marenostro is among 15 Rosehill entries for Waller, who will finish the season as Sydney’s leading trainer for the fifth straight year.
He also has the in-form Japonisme slated to have his first run as a three-year-old in an 1100m benchmark race which has also attracted Godolphin’s Inner Circle and the Gerald Ryan-trained King’s Troop.
Japonisme lowered the colours of King’s Troop last start to take his record to two wins from as many starts this campaign, although Waller has no lofty plans for the gelding at this stage.
The Waller-trained Wine Tales, who finished runner-up in two Group races during the autumn carnival and was spelled after a midfield finish in the ATC Australian Oaks, is entered to kick off her preparation in a benchmark 75 handicap over 1400m.
