Saturday Summary: Cream rises as Lady Shenandoah claims Coolmore Classic

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Lady Shenandoah a touch too classy in G1 Coolmore Classic

Lady Shenandoah (Snitzel) might not have been at her scintillating best but it was enough to deliver Chris Waller his third consecutive G1 Coolmore Classic victory at Rosehill on Saturday after an inch perfect ride by James McDonald.

Previously won by Waller with Zougotcha (Zoustar) last year and Espiona (Extreme Choice) in 2023, the champion trainer revealed he had a few concerns heading into the Group 1 feature on Saturday, all of which were further exacerbated by drawing wide in gate 11.

“Pre-race it wasn’t perfect, it’s a warm Rosehill day, and she had a good sweat which scared me a little, but it was a great ride from that draw to get into the spot that he did and that certainly saved a bit of petrol for late,” Waller said.

James McDonald executed a brilliant ride, positioning Lady Shenandoah one-out, midfield from the difficult gate. When asked for the ultimate effort, the last-start G1 Surround Stakes winner responded well, surging to the front, while lacking her customary barnstorming finish. Lady of Camelot, who was forced to race wide without cover, remained a threat until the very end, while stablemate Firestorm (NZ) (Satono Aladdin {Jpn}) made a powerful late run from the back, ultimately finish just 0.13 lengths behind in second. Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) fought on valiantly in third 0.5l behind.

McDonald was full of praise for the filly, which he indicated was there to be beaten if her opposition were good enough.

“She’s pretty good. She’s doing the right things anyway,” McDonald said.

“She wasn’t entitled to win, she was all out at the 100 metres, and she was worked up prior to the start which was a bit of a concern. Just whether that was her home track. But we were able to take a couple of minutes where she took a breath around at the start.”

“She began well and fitted in and showed her quality fighting spirit. I think that she is a fast filly, and as she gets older and starts filling out into her frame I think that she will come back in trip and be even faster.”

Waller is leaving the option for another autumn run on the table, but suggested that Lady Shenandoah will probably be sent to the paddock.

“What else has she got to prove? And she did have a good sweat before the race so the signs are there,” he said.

“We look after her and she will be in all the great races (next campaign).”

Bred by Arrowfield Pastoral Pty Ltd & Planette Thoroughbreds, Lady Shenandoah was a $525,000 purchase for Hermitage Thoroughbreds from the Arrowfield Stud draft at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

She is a three-quarter sister to G1 Sha Tin Centenary Sprint Cup winner, Stronger (Not A Single Doubt) out of the winning Starcraft (NZ) mare Star Pupil. Star Pupil is a half to Group 3 winner Bachman (All American) and Singapore Horse of the Year in 2015 Stepitup (Hussonet {USA}).

Lady Shenandoah’s yearling half-brother by Maurice (Jpn) is set to sell at Inglis Easter as Lot 187.

Pride of Jenni bolts in G2 Peter Young Stakes on race return

After being declared retired by her owner Tony Ottobre when well beaten in the G1 Champions Mile last spring as a result of a bleed, Pride of Jenni (Pride of Dubai) was back to her spectacular front-running best when leading throughout in the G2 Peter Young Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.

After serving her mandatory bleeding ban, Pride Of Jenni’s condition and demeanour convinced connections to put her back in training, resulting in much debate between racing fans as to whether this was the right decision. However, the connection's decision to put the champion mare back into work was fully justified after a faultless performance on her return.

Pride of Jenni demonstrated her customary speed as she seized control of the race early under Craig Newitt, sustaining a strong gallop throughout secure a memorable victory by 2.75l over race favourite, Zardozi (Kingman {GB}).

“She’s going the right way about it. Fair play to Tony and Lynn,” Newitt said.

“They put their backsides on the line to bring her back into work when everyone had their opinion that he shouldn’t have.

“Fair credit to him, it’s been justified today.

“Ciaron and his team, they just do a tremendous job and they know this mare inside out so I’m just very grateful to be part of the ride now.

“The old girl, when she turned down the side at the half mile, she grabbed hold of the bridle and basically said, hang on.

“So I just went with her and she picked up the tempo.

“I thought she might have just been starting to fatigue a little bit, but I put one round her tail and she dropped the gear and disappeared.

“She ran through the line as solid as anything, so she’ll only take great benefit from the run and by all signs, she looks like she’s pulled up traffic, so it’s very exciting.

“It’s a great reward for hard work. I work all year round, and we live to get on these sorts of mares. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and hopefully we can continue.”

Gallery: Images courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Elated by the win, stable representative Jack Turnball shared his thoughts on how extraordinary Pride of Jenni has been in her preparations for returning to the track.

“It was a just a Group 2 but that win sits right up there,” Jack Turnbull said.

“It’s just an amazing team effort to get her back. We’re very thankful for Tony and Lynn for giving us that opportunity. It was a big effort from the team also, Sammy does all her riding, we have a very good group of staff down there at Cranbourne and with the facility there we were able to get her ready off one jump out.

“We have a lot of information on her, a lot of workouts and the like to compare, and we have done some pretty tough workouts by our standards and she has bounced through, and Ciaron was scratching his head thinking we are a bit more forward than we thought. We kept putting the pressure on and she kept stepping up. Even throughout this week, she had a good bit of work on the Saturday and on the Tuesday. She’s just a freak of nature, she’s a credit to herself.”

Turnball says all options are on the table now, however the initial plan was to head towards the G1 Australian Cup at Flemington on March 29.

“Given the way she has won there, the Australian Cup would have to be looked at for sure,” he said.

“Then up in Sydney you have races like the Queen of the Turf, if you come back in trip slightly, and then the Queen Elizabeth would be an ultimate grand final, but at the moment we’ll just saviour the win.”

Pride of Jenni was bought for $100,000 from the Segenhoe Stud draft for Tony and Lynn Ottobre’s Cape Schanck Stud. Bred by Trelawney Stud, she is the first foal of the O’Reilly (NZ) mare Sancerre, who is a daughter of G1 Queensland Oaks winner Vouvray (NZ) (Zabeel).

Vauban a first-up winner for Gai and Adrian in G2 Sky High Stakes

It was meant to be just a fitness building hit out for high-profile and high-priced import Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), however the gelding stormed to a surprise victory in the G2 Sky High Stakes at Randwick on Saturday, signalling an exciting preparation ahead.

Purchased privately by Australian Bloodstock for a reported $2 million after starting single figures and failing to fire in the past two Melbourne Cups when trained by Irishman Willie Mullins, Vauban was having his first start for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and was expected to improve immensely on whatever he did first-up.

Despite becoming quite hot and excitable in the mounting yard, Vauban settled well at the back of the small field under jockey Tim Clark.

For a moment it appeared Vauban would run a nice placing as the race favourite Lindermann (Lonhro) skipped clear with Arapaho (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) into the straight, however a powerful late surge down the outside saw the 7-year-old clinch an impressive first-up win by a half-head to Arapaho. The odds-on favourite finished third, 1.28l behind.

Bott expressed his excitement as Vauban heads towards the G1 Tancred Stakes.

“A 36 degree day today as well will help him acclimatise pretty quickly,” Bott said.

“It’s been a fantastic job for him. I didn't mind that he got a bit sweaty today. I was pre-empting that he would.

“I guess he was probably meant to be at Cheltenham at the moment, it’d be much cooler there for him. It’s amazing how he's come here and he obviously came over, well recognised in Australia starting as favourite in two Melbourne Cups.

“He obviously brought plenty of form and talent and ability from there. I wasn't sure how sharp we could get him and it's hard to gauge over the shorter trials here. He wouldn't have run over those shorter races in his career. It’s not until you can see them under race day pressure in these race conditions that you get a true guide. I was really impressed by that today.

“I think today's been a real positive experience for him. I think he'll walk away with a lot of confidence off the back of that and I think we can see him continue to settle in and hopefully just adapt to the way of going down here.”

“We’ll head to the Group 1 next start - the Tancred Stakes over 2400 metres. I think that'll be a great race for him and then we decide what we do off the back of that.”

Vauban is the $3.50 equal favourite with Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai) for the Tancred Stakes after his victory in the Sky High, while he's also early favourite for the 2025 Melbourne Cup.

Vauban hails from a strong European staying family that also includes G1 St Leger winner Masked Marvel (GB) and G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Waldgeist (GB), who stand at stud at Haras D’Etreham in France and Ballylinch Stud in Ireland respectively.

Lazzura lands deserved G2 victory in Phar Lap Stakes

After putting in strong performances behind star filly Lady Shenondoah at her past two starts, Lazzura (Snitzel) has earnt a valuable Group 2 victory with a dominant performance in Saturday’s G2 Phar Lap Stakes at Rosehill.

The Chris Waller-trained filly had found her stable mate a touch too classy in the G2 Light Fingers Stakes and the G1 Surround Stakes at her two previous starts this preparation, however still managed to finish within 3l. That proved more than enough form to race to an impressive 1.7l victory over Victorian visitor Wonder Boy (Cosmic Force) after a positive ride by Tommy Berry.

“I didn't even have to give Chris a call to scratch Lady Shenandoah. So that made her job a bit easier today,” Berry said.

“You feel sorry for horses like this and you just hope it doesn't dint their confidence chasing good horses around all the time. I think that says a lot about her attitude. She came here and she was very full of herself today and halfway around when I got an easy couple of sectionals.

“She hasn't been in a race with a slow tempo like that since the first start where she could show that turn of speed. That turn of speed's been dragged out of her by good horses. So a very good effort for her.”

Over the past decade, Chris Waller has successfully prepared eight winners of the 3-year-old feature, starting with his exceptional champion Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) in 2015. Considering the win, Waller indicated that this filly will get her chance again at the elite level again.

“I would say she would head towards probably a Queen of the Turf,” Waller said.

“It’s still four weeks away, but we've won that race with a 3-year-old before by sort of keeping a horse fresh. Today's a really hot day, so it might take a little bit out of them as well. So we'll have a chat to the owners, but we’ll be leaning towards that way.”

Lazzura, bought for $500,000 by B2B Thoroughbreds from the draft of Arrowfield Stud at the Magic Millions, contributes to an extraordinary 24-hours of stakes victories for horses bred and sold by Arrowfield Stud. This includes Verona Rose's (Castelvecchio) win in the G3 Kembla Classic on Friday, Skyhook's (Written Tycoon) triumph in the G3 Pago Pago earlier today, and Lady Shenandoah's success in the G1 Coolmore Classic.

Eagle Nest all heart in G3 Maurice McCarten

After appearing to be headed inside the final furlong, Eagle Nest (Shalaa {Ire}) found again to hold off her more fancied rivals and add valuable black-type to her pedigree page in the G3 Maurice McCarten Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.

Ridden by Rachel King and trained by Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou, Eagle Nest showed good speed to take up the lead and even more resilience to fight back and hold off Time to Boogie (Sooboog) who momentarily took the lead inside the furlong, ultimately winning by a long neck, with race favourite Pisanello (Ribchester {Ire}) finishing off well, a nose back in third.

“It’s really pleasing. She's a really bonny mare,” Alexiou said.

“She gives you everything. I didn't think she'd get the front as easy as she did, but when she did, I was quite confident she was going to reach be really hard to beat and she really dug in late.”

Alexiou believes the mare has done enough to justify a crack at the elite level next start.

Initially, Eagle Nest was purchased for $550,000 from the Segenhoe Stud draft at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale by IRON and George Moore Bloodstock, however she was then again sold at the 2024 Inglis Chairman’s Sale to Newgate Bloodstock for $300,000.

Eagle Nest was bred by Segenhoe and is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Kalashnikov (Capitalist) from Flying Spur mare Rough Ride, who is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Eagle Way (More Than Ready {USA}) and Stakes winners Assertive Eagle (Danewin), Impressive Eagle (Rubiton) and Soaressa (Twining {USA}).

Segenhoe sold an I Am Invincible filly from Rough Ride at Magic Millions this year for $750,000 to O'Shea-Charlton Racing and James Bester Bloodstock.

Eagle Nest is one of 18 stakes-winners for Woodside Park Stud’s Shalaa (Ire).

Iowna Merc books Doncaster spot after G2 Ajax Stakes success

In a thrilling finish to the G2 Ajax Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday, Iowna Merc (Winning Rupert) and Willaidow (Shamus Award) crossed the line almost simultaneously, with Iowna Merc narrowly securing the win in the $300,000 event.

Trained by Bjorn Baker, Iowna Merc has shown remarkable progression this season, marking his fourth win and earning a spot in the G1 Doncaster Mile, should connections decide to pursue that option.

The 5-year-old displayed determination, leading alongside Willaidow from the outset, and the race maintained its early dynamics, with the pair settling down for a ding-dong battle inside the final furlong. Ultimately, it was Josh Parr aboard Iowna Merc who managed to get his horse’s head down at the crucial moment, resulting in the gelding's eighth career victory.

Baker made his debut as an Australian citizen at Rosehill on Saturday, where he couldn't hide his delight with the effort put forth.

“The race worked out well but he had to carry a big weight and he is now a Group 2 winner,” said Baker.

“I am very lucky to be here. It’s the greatest country in the world with the best racing and I don’t say that light heartedly. It’s been a very special place for me and my family. I did turn into a true Aussie – the day after my citizenship ceremony I had a sleep in!

“Murray (Baker), any time he had a good horse, he would bring it out here. He loves Australia, I think more than I do in some ways. He never won a Doncaster, but he has done a lot better at the Championships than I have anyway.”

With this being the third stakes win for Iowna Merc, the Winning Rupert gelding now boasts an impressive record of eight victories and 10 placings from 24 starts, accumulating over $1 million in prize money.

Bred by Scott Darby, Iowna Merc is the best of three winners from Snitzel mare Mercedes, a half-sister to stakes-winner Divine Centuri (I Am Invincible). She died in 2023 and her last foal is an unnamed 2-year-old gelding by Time to Reign.