Chris Waller has plundered the first two legs of Sydney’s juvenile triple crown with Militarize winning the Group 1 Sires’ Produce Stakes two weeks after stablemate Shinzo’s Golden Slipper success.
It continued a breakout two-year-old season for Waller, who is better known for his patient approach with horses and until this year had never won a Group 1 juvenile race in Sydney.
But he now stands to make a clean-sweep of the three majors for the babies if he can add the Champagne Stakes (1600m) in a fortnight, although such statistics interest Waller less than they do others.
“We’ve been going OK without them,” Waller said of his two-year-old success.
“But it’s always a talking point for people and actually, it probably makes us a little more accessible to the really fast two-year-olds because often owners would buy a portfolio of horses and they’ll say, ‘we’ll give Chris the ones that need a bit of time’.
“It puts us on the back foot to start with, so maybe they’ll give us the fast ones now as well.”
Militarize finished towards the rear in the Golden Slipper after almost falling when Learning To Fly clipped heels near the 600m.
Prior to that he had banked a debut win at Canterbury and a solid third in the Todman Stakes (1200m), a performance that convinced Waller to aim towards Saturday’s Sires’ Produce (1400m).
“He was a horse we considered just needed a little bit of time and we haven’t put him under too much pressure to get anywhere,” Waller said.
“His early races have all been very encouraging, even when he got beaten here in the small field. I loved the way, the last 100 metres, he still got through the line and to me, showed that this was a nice race for him. The Golden Slipper was a step on that path.”
Militarize ($21 unibet) exploded halfway up the straight to win running away by 3-1/2 lengths over Don Corleone ($7.50) with Pier Pressure ($151) another 1-1/4 lengths away third.
The victory gave visiting jockey Joao Moreira his second feature of the day after he earlier won the Chairman’s Handicap on Surefire and Waller said the hoop was a class act.
“Great to have Joao here. It’s been obvious to see the way the public perceive him, he’s a real rockstar,” Waller said.
“That’s what Australian racing needs on these big days, whether it’s Cup week or whether it’s Everest day, we’ve got to have all the stars, horses, jockeys and it creates a great vibe.”
Waller will speak to Militarize’s owners before deciding if he goes to the Champagne Stakes (1600m) in two weeks.
