Lady Shenandoah triumphs in the Toorak Handicap

The dominant duo of trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald has reached a milestone of 66 Group 1 wins together, courtesy of Lady Shenandoah's impressive victory in the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield.

Following McDonald's advice, Waller opted to send Lady Shenandoah to Melbourne for the 1600m Group 1 Handicap on Saturday, rather than competing in the 1400m Alan Brown Stakes at Rosehill.

Lady Shenandoah, who started as the $5.50 co-favourite, overcame a wide barrier to secure a head victory over Changing Colours ($8), with Welcometotheshow ($16) finishing a close third.

Waller praised McDonald's ride, noting it denied Lucy Yeomans, in her second year of training, a Group 1 win with her first runner at the elite level.

Changing Colours, a former charge of Waller's before moving to Yeomans' Cranbourne stable, arrived at the race having won its last four starts.

"I'm sorry for spoiling their party because they've done a great job with that horse to get it up to Group 1 level," Waller commented. "But it's credit to a good horse (Lady Shenadoah) and a good ride from James. That was one of the best you will ever see with the big weight and for a mare, that's massive.

"She's a really good horse and I think that's her fourth Group 1 and she's done it in handicaps. Not many horses do that in handicaps after three Group 1's."

Waller revealed that his 'form analyst' had identified Lady Shenandoah as a strong contender for a top-three finish despite her handicap weight, and McDonald had also strongly advocated for the mare.

"We kept that pretty close to our chest," Waller said. "James was coming down and Ben (Melham) was already riding Birdman as he had won a Group 1 on him. I thought I can't just bring you down here for the Guineas as the Guineas, we didn't think we could win it, but we could run top three (with this mare), and with that, and James saying she can win, we decided to bring her down."

The trainer indicated that the Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington during Melbourne Cup week is now firmly on Lady Shenandoah's radar.

With three weeks until the October 31st race, Waller is weighing the decision of returning Lady Shenandoah to Sydney or keeping her stabled in Melbourne.

"We normally leave them down, but we took her home (after running in the Sir Rupert Clarke)," Waller explained. "She doesn't do that well down here and we've got three weeks. I had her booked in to go to the farm tomorrow, so I'll have a think whether to send her there or take her back home."

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