“But yeah, of course, I would love Rosehill to have the big spring feature of the Golden Eagle, the richest race of the spring when you take out of the slots of the [$20 million] Everest.
“It’s not perfect, from my perspective, or the people out in the west, but I think we can still promote Rosehill a little bit better, and I think there’s new management and new goals to be set, and I think they’re heading in the right direction.
“I think Sydney’s never been in a better position. We’ve gone through some changes, and I can see it’s ready to explode, and it’s amazing to see the sellout crowd at the Everest and the follow on from the Randwick crowds. So, yeah, we’ll get the west up and going in another year or so.”
As for Autumn Glow, Waller had far fewer concerns. The $2.10 TAB favourite did some light work with fellow Golden Eagle runner Lord Penman and Russell Balding Stakes contender Lady Shenandoah on Wednesday morning before Waller spoke to the press.
Autumn Glow overcame a thrown shoe to win her maiden group 1, the Epsom Handicap, last start and continue a faultless preparation taking in victories in the Toy Show Quality and Theo Marks Stakes. The ideal run has been a weight off Waller’s shoulders, after a bone chip ended her first preparation before the group 1 Flight Stakes, then illness and the work to regain fitness restricted her to one run in the autumn.
Asked if the campaign had put him more at ease about Autumn Glow, Waller said: “It did when she won the group 1, and now we should reap the rewards.
“You soon forget those days when she was scratched as a $1.40 favourite in the Flight stakes, once they’re up in mature and they’ve got no problems. She’s spot on. She’s a mature horse and we’ve looked after her.”
Chris Waller with Autumn Glow on Wednesday.Credit: KATE GERAGHTY
Autumn Glow is unbeaten in seven starts, which has inevitably sparked comparisons to Waller’s legendary mare, Winx, which won 33 successive races taking in 25 group 1s.
“Way too early,” he said of the comparison. “She’s got the brilliance of a very good horse. She’s got what it takes. The difference between your Via Sistinas and Winx is they did it over a long time, so she just needs to maintain what she’s doing and keep going, keep improving, and let’s hope we are talking about her in the same terms.
“We don’t know how good Autumn Glow is just yet. She hasn’t reached the ceiling, and hopefully she doesn’t reach the ceiling this Saturday.”
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Waller rated the Golden Eagle as a slightly harder test than the Epsom for Autumn Glow, given the international challengers – especially Japanese group 1 winner Panja Tower – and a deeper and bigger field.
“She’s unbeaten and this is her biggest test to date,” he said. “She’s taking on an international field, and the best of what’s around, a four-year-old race for $10 million.
“Everyone who works with Autumn Glow suggests that she’s just something different, so until they’re under that immense pressure, you really don’t know, but she looks capable of just finding a new peak each time she runs. Distance is fine, the track conditions are fine. She hasn’t been over-raced, so she’s ready to peak.”
The Golden Eagle was down to 16 runners with long-shot Eclair Encore racing at Rosehill on Wednesday instead.
