Improving gelding Travolta is in line to join several barn mates in the Wyong Cup with the Chris Waller stable keen to back him up following his classy win at Rosehill.
Lumping 59.5kg after the three kilo claim of apprentice Siena Grima, Travolta ($6.50) settled back in the field and powered down the outside to take out Saturday’s Wests Group Macarthur Handicap (2000m) by 1-1/4 length over She’s Unusual ($10) with the winner’s stablemate Tazima ($2.20 fav) another three-quarters of a length away third.
Waller’s assistant Charlie Duckworth confirmed Travolta was likely to back up in the Listed Wyong Cup (2100m) after proving he was as adept on drying ground as rain-affected tracks.
“He keeps ticking the boxes and progressing and to tell you the truth, we don’t really know how far he can go,” Duckworth said.
“He is a very exciting horse. He seems to be very push-button.
“It was good to see him do it on a dry track today because when he started winning at the beginning of the prep you’re thinking, is he just a wet tracker? He obviously isn’t so he’s got a very bright future.
“He might back up and go to Wyong on Friday.”
Travolta’s success brought up a milestone for Grima, providing her first Saturday metropolitan win just under three weeks after she broke through for her maiden midweek victory in town aboard Tazima.
Making it even sweeter was the fact she just missed celebrating it aboard Travolta two weeks ago when they were edged out by James McDonald on the Waller-trained Amusing.
“She was shattered to have come up against ‘J Mac’ last time and they had a bit of a match again today so delighted for her and delighted for the owners.”
Duckworth confirmed the stable was likely to have multiple runners in the Wyong Cup with Saltcoats, Tajanis and Hutchins all earmarked for the feature, which carries Big Dance eligibility.
