Chris Waller has confirmed that two of his star sprinters, Nature Strip and September Run, will resume in next month’s Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) at Flemington.
The pair took part in a star-studded trial at Rosehill on Friday alongside Group 1-winning stablemates Verry Elleegant, Kolding and Toffee Tongue, with both horses pleasing their trainer in the 900m hit-out.
A four-time Group 1 winner who boasts an imposing record at Flemington, Nature Strip suffered a shock defeat as the $1.45 favourite in last year’s Lightning, while three-year-old filly September Run is undefeated in three straight-track runs at Flemington, including a dominant performance in last year’s Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m).
“Nature Strip and September run will come down for the Lightning on the 13th of February,” Waller told RSN.
“We’re pretty excited to be taking two horses like that to the Lightning first-up.
“They’ll just meander their way through the autumn from there.”
Star Godolphin colt Bivouac has also been flagged as a possible contender for the $750,000 feature, while dual-Group 1 winner Pippie, Tony McEvoy’s stable favourite Hey Doc and Saturday’s Kensington Stakes winner Fabergino are others that have been earmarked to tackle the Lightning.
Waller also reported that Saturday’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m) winner Shaquero would now be aimed at the Golden Slipper (1200m) in March, while a decision on whether stablemate She’s All Class has another run this campaign hasn’t been made.
Shaquero is rated a $15 chance in Sportsbet’s Golden Slipper market, which is headed by Enthaar ($6), Remarque ($9) and Acrobat ($15).
“Who knows where these two-year-olds end up, it’s a taxing time in their career and you’ve got to be careful of that so that it doesn’t take away from their late three and four-year-old career,” Waller said.
“We’ll be mindful of that but at the same time we might have a look at the Golden Slipper and then give him a good spell after that.
“She (She’s All Class) is not mature yet so we’ve got to be a bit careful.
“I’m sure once a decision is made, she’ll be set for a certain race and she’ll be very hard to beat.”
– James Tzaferis, Racing.com
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