After encountering a horror run in last month’s G2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Randwick, leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller is hoping his talented mare Joliestar will have a vital change of luck in Saturday’s (8 March) G1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington.
The mare, ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, started the dominant favourite but featured heavily in the stewards’ report after being heavily supported in her first-up run from a spell.
She first encountered problems at the 900m mark when she had to be checked from the heels of another runner and then got her head up and bumped another runner.
Joliestar then raced three-wide without cover from the 700m mark in the six-horse field before finishing under a length from the winner in third.
Joliestar also had little luck in her previous two starts in the G1 The Everest (1200m) and then the Golden Eagle (1500m).
The mare, who will be ridden by Damian Lane, has raced once at Flemington when she finished a close second in the Listed Desirable Stakes (1400m) in 2023 but this will be the first time she has raced down the famous and testing “straight six.”
Waller gave Joliestar, along with stablemate Gatsby’s, an 800m jump-out down the Flemington straight last week (Friday, 28 February). They were accompanied by James Cummings-trained Traffic Warden, who the pair will also encounter on Saturday.
Three-year-old colt Gatsby’s – to be ridden by Hong Kong-based Karis Teetan – has drawn the extreme outside barrier in the field of 15.
Waller is hoping a change of scenery might spark some good luck for Joliestar in the AU$1.5 million (approx. HK$7.2 million) feature.
“She just needs a bit of confidence and a bit of luck, so we thought bringing her down to Flemington to run in the Newmarket next Saturday would be a good idea,” Waller said. “She is certainly good enough in our opinion.
“Obviously it’s a different style of racing, but one that she should adapt to.
“We love to give our horses an experience of running down the straight because there are so many great races here at Flemington, or even overseas if we want to travel, so it gives you that option.”
Waller said Joliestar was going as well as ever and is capable of winning another big race to add to each of her Group 1, 2 and 3 wins.
Trainer Jason Warren was pleased to see the big field which he said would suit his top mare Benedetta, who finished a close fourth in this race last year.
“As she’s a horse that gets back a bit, we’d like a bigger field as the race would be more genuinely run, which would suit her,” he said.
Benedetta won the G1 The Goodwood (1200m) last year when she defeated another of Saturday’s opposition, the highly fancied Phillip Stokes-trained Stretan Angel by a short head.
“She’s (Stretan Angel) come back stronger and she wasn’t far off the elite last prep so that’s why we’re targeting this race,” Stokes said.
Stretan Angel finished second, beaten a length by Skybird, when she resumed in the G1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) at Flemington on 15 February. Her second-up record is excellent with two wins, a second and a third from four attempts.
“She always runs well down the straight,” Stokes said. “She’s trained on beautifully since the Lightning and she worked very well again on Saturday morning.
“Her record second-up is excellent so there’s no problems with her.”
Trainer Robbie Griffiths is hoping for another Newmarket Handicap winner with the consistent Rey Magnerio, nine years after winning the Group 1 feature with The Quarterback.
