Flamingo Star will make his Australian racing debut in the 2015 Doomben 10,000 this weekend and trainer Chris Waller admits that the imported German stayer is an unknown quantity heading into the Group 1 event in Brisbane this weekend.
Boban is one of two Chris Waller-trained gallopers in the 2015 Doomben 10,000 in Brisbane this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
Flamingo Star made his racing debut in Germany in September of 2012 and he contested races like the Group 1 German Derby (2413m) before he was purchased by a group of Australian-based owners after he took out the Group 3 GP Dusseldorf (1710m) in Germany on October 5 and the Group 3 Prix Perth (1600m) at Saint Cloud in France.
Waller does not believe that Flamingo Star is capable of winning a Group 1 in his Australian racing debut, but Waller’s Racing Manager Liam Prior said that the imported stayer has enough class to blow away the 2015 Doomben 10,000 field this weekend.
“He clearly has a great deal of class, but it is hard to get a line on him right at the moment,” Prior said.
“You would think if he hit the line strongly and ran midfield you would be tickled pink, but it is an unknown with these sort of horses that have raced at a high level in the northern hemisphere.
“You don’t really know how good they are until you get them under full pressure, but he is definitely a horse worth following in the spring.”
Waller has also included Boban in the Doomben 10,000 field and the leading Sydney trainer does not believe that the five-year-old is without a winning chance in the Group 1 event.
Boban has not been seen since he failed to fire in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Warwick Farm on February 28, but Waller has been happy with the recent trackwork of the enigmatic galloper.
“It is not a genuine Group 1 field and there are a couple of horses there that go well,” Waller said.
“There are a couple that only just got beaten last start, but Boban has only ever raced better fields than this.
“He is not at his peak and his career best form was well over a year ago, but his work has been good and he trialed ok.”
Boban has been backed into 2015 Doomben 10,000 odds of $18, while there has been a sprinkling of support for Flamingo Star and he is into $17.
