Hawkesbury Gold Cup looms as Waterford's next mission

Experienced racer Waterford often notches wins through his preparations, with Chris Waller keeping the Hawkesbury Gold Cup firmly in mind as a primary goal for a while now.

Since his last triumph in the Group 2 Shannon Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill during September, the seven-year-old has been off the track following an unsuccessful comeback in the Doncaster Prelude (1500m) on March 28.

Charlie Duckworth, Waller's assistant trainer, noted that the month-long spell for Waterford was a calculated move to avoid the big Sydney autumn races and zero in on Saturday's Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m).

"Literally, it was just to wait for Hawkesbury," Duckworth said.

"He's had four weeks between runs. He's had a barrier trial, and he trialled at Hawkesbury.

"He's more than capable of winning a race like that on his day."

For the Cup, Waller fields a formidable team including Waterford, the hat-trick hopeful Captain Furai, previous runner-up Osipenko, Imperialist, and Yet He Moves.

In the Clarendon Stakes (1400m), Waller boasts five of eight starters, featuring young The Autumn Sun colt The Roaring Sun, runner-up to the promising Seraphox on his first outing at Warwick Farm earlier this month.

The assistant trainer sees stakes potential in the colt and anticipates the Saturday feature serving as a springboard towards the Brisbane winter series.

"Our best two-year-old going there is The Roaring Sun. He was narrowly beaten at Warwick Farm, caught wide the trip," Duckworth said.

"He is a genuine Group horse, and this is a race Chris has used in the past as a stepping stone (to Queensland)."

Horses of note have taken the Clarendon Stakes, such as Zardozi's 2023 victory before her VRC Oaks (2500m) success the subsequent spring.

Several of Waller's developing two-year-olds have progressed from this race to Brisbane under his guidance, including 2013 victor Zoustar, who later won the Sires' Produce Stakes (1400m) at Doomben and was second in the Group 1 J J Atkins (1600m).

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