A rain-affected track could add an intriguing twist to the Verry Elleegant Stakes, but trainer Chris Waller won’t be concerning himself with weather conditions until race morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a wide-ranging forecast for the remainder of the week, predicting anywhere from 4mm to around 60mm of rain.
Glamour mare and odds-on favourite Autumn Glow has won on all types of surfaces, including a heavy 10 in the Toy Show Quality (1100m) in August, but whether she is as effective on it at Group 1 level remains to be seen.
Not that Waller is letting track conditions trouble him – for now.
“I’ll worry about it Saturday morning,” Waller said.
“If you worry about it before then, you start bringing things in that you have no control over and you can lose sight of other things. Yes, it’s a factor. But as long as it’s safe, she will be running.
“They’ve got the tracks in Sydney pretty good at the moment . . . There will be room for a bit of rain.”
Racing’s latest star, Autumn Glow is yet to taste defeat in nine starts, making a successful and smooth transition to weight-for-age company when downing stablemates Aeliana and Lindermann in the Apollo Stakes (1400m) last start.
Both will again be among her rivals in the Group 1 Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday and are expected to better suited by the rise in journey.
“They’re a bit more comfortable at the distance,” Waller said.
“But it’s hard to quantify, Autumn Glow might be better too.”
Waller has captured seven of the past 10 renewals of the race – four of them with Winx between 2016 and 2019 – and punters think Autumn Glow will add her name to the illustrious honour roll with the mare an early $1.30 favourite.
