Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller expects Boban’s class will be enough for him to continue his winning streak in the Group 2 $200,000 Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Boban going for 6 straight wins in the Expressway Stakes. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Boban hasn’t raced since winning the Group 1 $1m Emirates Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on November 9 and went through his Spring Carnival campaign undefeated from five starts.
Waller has given the four year old one soft barrier trial at Rosehill on January 21 and even though the premiership winning trainer says that he is not at his top, he still expects him to be hard to beat.
“He seems to have come back well,” Waller told TVN this morning.
“You have to remember this is a long way from his Grand Final on Saturday but his class will take him a long way.”
Waller added that Boban has really thrived since coming back into the stable following his spell after the Spring Carnival.
Nash Rawiller will be replacing the suspended Glyn Schofield who was aboard Boban for all his five Spring Carnival wins, including the two Group 1 wins, the Emirates Stakes and the $500,000 The Star Epsom (1600m) at Randwick on October 5.
Schofield will also be on the sidelines when Boban goes around in the Group 2 $250,000 Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on February 22 or the Group 1 $500,000 Cathay Pacific Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on the same day.
Waller has his eyes set on the Group 1 $4m Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 19 as Boban’s grand final for the Autumn and said that he was a little surprised how much the four year old did improve during the Spring.
“He has surprised us, it’s as simple as that. That’s what keeps us going, the uncertainty, and the highs and lows that go with it,” Waller said.
“We’ll run him in the Expressway Stakes on Saturday, with the Queen Elizabeth the big aim. It’s a long way, but we want him racing and to get him to relax and switch off so he’ll get the 2000m. It will be a nice, gradual campaign.
“After Saturday the plan will be to go to the Apollo Stakes, or the Group 1 Futurity, which will be run on the same day.”
Waller has also nominated Arinosa, Moriarty and new stable acquisition Sizzling for the Expressway Stakes.
