Waller set for more G1 glory

MELBOURNE – Champion trainer Chris Waller is making a habit of winning Group 1 races yet again.

Of the six run so far in the 2026-27 season, Waller has won four at the highest level.

A winner of 206 Group 1s, the 16-time Sydney champion trainer has a strong hand of five runners in the A$1 million (S$907,000) Group 1 Golden Rose (1,400m) at Rosehill on Sept 26 while his sole starter in the A$2 million Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1,200m) at Caulfield on the next day will be Beiwacht.

The four-year-old is already a Group 1 winner for Waller this season, taking out the Memsie Stakes (1,400m) at Caulfield on Aug 29 and the Bivouac entire was at Caulfield on the morning of Sept 22 for a gallop in preparation for Sunday’s contest.

Former jockey Steven Arnold, now a trusted work rider for the Waller stable, partnered Beiwacht in his hit-out.

Arnold gave a glowing report, saying while Beiwacht is a 1,400m specialist, the drop back in trip to 1,200m will not pose any concern.

“I was really happy with his work this morning,” said Arnold whose highest acclaim as a jockey was the Cox Plate win aboard So You Think in 2010.

“We were not here to test his ability, just a training exercise to get him out of the box and stimulate him a bit.

“He did it all perfectly. He’s been here before, he gets on his right leads around here and he felt amazing up the straight.

“His fitness is perfect coming back to the six furlongs (1,200m).

“I was very happy with his work and he’s ready to go.”

Beiwacht has only had the one start this campaign, taking out the Memsie, and the Waller team has had four weeks to freshen him for his bid for a second Group 1 win, and overall fifth success.

“He hasn’t done a lot between runs and he’s a natural athlete,” said Arnold.

“I think the six furlongs holds no fears for him, and he likes to dominate those seven-furlong (1,400m) races.

“It’s probably speed-dependent and how much pressure there is in the race, but if he can get up on top of the speed and get into a good rhythm, which he does, then he’ll be highly competitive.”

Arnold, who will hand the reins over to Memsie winning partner Nash Rawiller on race day, said Waller was a master at having his horses ready to perform at the highest level on the day.

“He’s very good at aiming them at races and getting them right on the day as we saw with Angel Capital (won the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes) on the weekend,” said Arnold.