Sprint path likely for Lady Shenandoah

Chris Waller will send a strong squad into Saturday’s Winx Stakes at Randwick, though Lady Shenandoah, expected to be a highlight in the $1 million race, will sit this one out.

The celebrated trainer has confirmed the three-time Group 1 mare won’t line up in the 1400-metre weight-for-age clash, preferring instead to map out a sprinting program. Stable stars Via Sistina, Fangirl and Aeliana will take her place in the feature.

Lady Shenandoah, by Snitzel, is likely to resume in September.

“We haven’t made the final decision, but I think we are going to go down a sprinting path because we are so top-heavy (in middle-distance races),” Waller said after her gallop at Rosehill on Saturday morning.

“We’ve gone through her races, arguably her best win in the Autumn was the Light Fingers (1200m), she beat Lady Of Camelot easily. The next couple of races were tighter finishes.

“She has won Group Ones over a mile, 1500 metres and 1400 metres, so she is pretty versatile.

“I think we will start her off shorter. We might even look at like a 1000-metre race in a few weeks’ time, the Concorde Stakes.

“(It’s) a million-dollar race and that might just give us a chance to put her on that sprinting path where we’re top-heavy with our mile/2000m horses and Joliestar in the sprinting ranks. But I think Lady Shenandoah could join her.”

Unbeaten in her last five appearances, Lady Shenandoah boasts Group 1 triumphs in the Flight Stakes (1600m), Surround Stakes (1400m) and Coolmore Classic (1500m).

The Group 3 Concorde Stakes at Randwick on September 6 shapes as her return option, scheduled the same afternoon as the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at The Valley.

“I thought about the Moir first up but if that was the case she would be running over a 1000m, which she’s never run, and she would be running in Melbourne for the first time as well,” Waller said.

“I think it is safer to run the same day as the Moir in Sydney in that Concorde, then she can go to wherever we want.

“We can go to a Manikato, back for an Everest and we can still plot a path towards the Golden Eagle or step her up at any stage because we know she wins over a mile.”

Her odds remain strong: $6 in Winx Stakes betting, $4.50 for the $10m Golden Eagle, and $11 in the $20m The Everest.