A RELIEVED Kim Waugh can now concentrate on feature races with comeback filly Kimillsy, while rival trainer Chris Waller broke new ground at Canterbury yesterday.
Waller landed a winning running double when import Hartmann followed stablemate Able Too in the first-place stall, with the victories coming on top of a three-timer at Tuesday's Australian Jockey Club meeting at Newcastle. The New Zealander, now training out of Rosehill and making an impact on the local racing scene, thought long and hard when asked if he had broken new ground with five metropolitan-class winners in the space of two days.
"Yes," was the reply. "It is good to train a double, a treble, but when you do it over two days, it is great."
Hartmann was bought out of the UK last November as part of a seven-horse package purchased by Waller and three stable clients. The raid has proved successful, with five of the seven winning, and Waller is confident the trot will continue.
"The other two have been placed," Waller said. "It has been a good exercise. I think we can fine-tune it a bit this year. We might spend a bit more on the horses."
Another of the imports, Bright Mind, is out to win again at Rosehill on the weekend, while Waller has no doubt Hartmann "is a Saturday-class horse" - which "is what your owners want".
Hartmann and Able Too, which was having its first start since joining the team of the Doncaster Handicap-winning trainer, provided form jockey Hugh Bowman with a double which came on top of a winner at Newcastle on Tuesday.
Only last Saturday Bowman won the Warwick Stakes aboard Racing To Win and the Silver Shadow on group 1-winning filly Samantha Miss while Waugh also won with improving stayer Tangalooma. Waugh had intentions of running Kimillsy in the Silver Shadow but decided on a soft kill for the three-year-old, which hadn't been seen since debuting with a second behind Gai Waterhouse's flyer She's Meaner in January.
"We nominated her for last Saturday's Silver Shadow but I just wanted to give her another gallop," Waugh said. "[I] said to connections, 'Let's go the easy option, go here', but this turned out a pretty strong race."
The Silver Shadow was the first leg of the four-race Princess Series, which culminates with the group 1 Flight Stakes at Randwick on "Super Saturday" October 4. Waugh's husband Mark, the former Australian cricket star, owns a slice of the $230,000 Magic Millions yearling purchase with well-known owner Damon Flower, and the trainer hasn't given up on a start in the Flight Stakes.
"We don't know where we'll go in between but we might came back that way," Waugh said.
Kimillsy's spring kick-off was due a couple of weeks ago but the filly picked up a virus - and that came on top of the galloper having bone chips removed from a knee after its debut at Randwick.
"We took it out and gave her three months off," Waugh said. "She is back now. She was a beautiful filly. At the sale, I kept dragging Damon over and saying, 'Have another look at this filly'."
It was a mixed day at Canterbury for Waugh, who saddled up See The Angels in the race prior to Kimillsy's win. Unfortunately for See The Angels, it was jammed up on the rail mid-race, which resulted in Glen Boss receiving a reprimand from the stewards. "The horse had a good blow after the race but I think it had plenty to do with having the wind knocked out of it," Waugh said.
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