Fresh from a Canonbury Stakes victory that rocketed Hidrix to Golden Slipper favouritism, Chris Waller will put another trio of two-year-olds to the test at Randwick.
Fireball and Defensemen will step out in the $2 million Inglis Millennium (1100m), a race the champion trainer is yet to win, while Campione D’Italia will make his debut in the Listed Lonhro Plate (1000m).
Waller has been playing an increasingly influential role in the juvenile races in recent seasons and says the stable has a handful of precocious youngsters capable of featuring over the carnival.
“We have five or six good two-year-olds and we are just finding out where they fit in,” Waller said.
“Fireball has already won a race at Rosehill quite impressively. He had a trial the other morning and he has come back well.
“Defensemen has had two runs in the Golden Gift and one (race) before that and was just in behind them. He has come back strong.”
Fireball and Defensemen have drawn alongside each other in barriers three and four respectively, the former a clear market pick of the pair as a $5.50 equal favourite alongside Tulloch Lodge flagbearer Plagiarism.
Waller will also be represented by Campione D’Italia in the afternoon’s other two-year-old feature, the $500,000 yearling purchase scratched from last weekend’s Canonbury Stakes in preference for Saturday’s Lonhro Plate (1000m).
However, Waller’s juvenile contingent could well be eclipsed by his sextet of horses being given exhibition gallops after the opening races.
Aeliana (Zac Lloyd), Autumn Glow (McDonald) and Lazzura (Tommy Berry) will work over 1000m after race one, while Lady Shenandoah (McDonald), Lindermann (Nash Rawiller) and Trinity College (Lloyd) will be given hit-outs after the second event as they continue their respective autumn carnival build ups.
