A younger sibling to champion colt The Autumn Sun has made an impressive start to her racing career, blitzing her opposition in a maiden at Warwick Farm.
The Chris Waller-trained Archanna was a notable market drifter in Monday’s Hyland Race Colours Plate (1300m) for three-year-olds but the filly stormed clear over the final 150m under star jockey James McDonald to win by 3-3/4-lengths.
A $1.3 million yearling, Archanna is by Snitzel out of Azmiyna and is a three-quarter sister to The Autumn Sun who Waller trained to win five Group One races before he was retired to Arrowfield Stud last year.
“Obviously she’s been beautifully handled up until this point,” McDonald told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“She has been taken along slowly and she needed that because I trialled her in the first trial she ever had and she was quite hot.
“I think Chris realised that and has taken her step by step, and she was perfect.
“I loved her attitude today.”
There were some nervous moments when the filly was backed out of the barriers but she was quickly cleared to run.
“One horse kicked the stalls and she just thought it was go time and lunged at the front,” McDonald said.
“Luckily she got her head over and got away with it.
“She’s done a really good job today. She was pretty green but I loved her last 100 metres. It was excellent.”
Archanna ($6) was back and wide but chimed in quickly in the straight to hit the front inside the final 200m.
“She’s got a really good action. You can see it even just by her walking around,” McDonald said.
“She really stretches and extends but I think she’s a filly that will progress over a bit further than what she stepped out over today. It was a really good starting point.”
The win gave Waller a race-to-race double to start Monday’s program after lightly raced colt Spokesman claimed his second win from three starts in a 1300m handicap for two-year-olds off a 10-week let-up.
Spokesman could get the chance to emulate his sire Press Statement in the Group One J J Atkins in Brisbane in June.
