Chris Waller ready to make his Guineas mark with Press Statement
EIGHT years ago, trainer Chris Waller went home after the Randwick Guineas wondering if he would ever win a Group One race.
Triple Honour had gone down by a nose to odds-on favourite Weekend Hussler, who went on to claim the title of the season’s best.
“I have never gone away from a racetrack so disappointed,” Waller said.
“I just thought I was never going to win a Group One race. Driving home I was devastated.
“The it dawned on me that he almost beat Weekend Hussler and I thought `hey that’s not all bad’.
“It was a race that showed we were getting close to that level.”
Waller was still finding his way in Sydney racing and Triple Honour would fulfil his destiny as the trainer’s first group 1 winner two starts later in the Doncaster.
On Saturday, Waller goes to the Randwick Guineas as the hunted, with Press Statement the $1.50 favourite to give Sydney’s premier trainer his 59th win at the highest level and his first Randwick Guineas.
Just 20 minutes later he has the chance to rack up No.60 when Vanbrugh runs in the Australian Guineas at Flemington.
The emotion of group 1 racing is still there but the nerves are more settled as Waller goes to the race in the knowledge he has the proven horse in the field.
As a two-year-old Press Statement won the Group 1 JJ Atkins Stakes in Brisbane and confirmed he was no flash in the pan with his win in the Caulfield Guineas in the spring.
Both races were over the 1600m of Saturday’s Guineas, a distance at which he excels.
There is a different kind of pressure. Unlike Triple Honour, a gelding who raced for several seasons, Press Statement’s future group 1 opportunities are limited and each one counts.
The colt will stand at Vinery Stud in the spring and the more he wins, the more valuable he is.
The Doncaster is a target as is a trip to Royal Ascot in June but first he needs to get through Saturday, and his trainer has no doubts he will.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get a gauge on him in trackwork and trials because he is a very laidback colt,” Waller said.
“But his work on Tuesday morning was very sharp so he is going to the races as well as he can be.”