A Brisbane Cup start will be a reward should one of Chris Waller’s five WJ McKell Cup runners give Sydney’s leading trainer his first win in the off-season staying race at Randwick.
In saddlecloth order, Waller will be represented by Permit, Secessio, Wazn, Sacred Flyer and Madam Nash in a race that has significance to his career without him ever winning it.
Party Belle gave Waller a sample of Australian stakes racing with her third placing in the 1999 McKell Cup and it wasn’t long before he made a permanent move to Rosehill.
But while his impressive training resume is littered with wins in most of Sydney’s black-type staying races, the McKell Cup (2400m) has been elusive with Party Belle only one of two placegetters he has saddled up.
Bookmakers rate last-start Lord Mayor’s Cup placegetter Secessio ($6.50) the best of Waller’s quintet as the well-related La Amistad holds down favouritism at $2.80.
“If one of them wins, they will probably go the Brisbane Cup,” Waller said.
“There’s a two-mile race in two weeks here and one or two of them will go there.”
Waller, who trained Moriarty to win last year’s Brisbane Cup, said Secessio was peaking for Saturday.
“Last start he was second-up over 2000 (metres) so he was entitled to be a little soft. He should be rock-hard fit now,” Waller said.
While there are more obvious ways of getting to the Queensland Derby, there is a precedent for the three-year-old Order Of The Sun to stamp his claims by running well in the McKell Cup.
Order Of The Sun takes on older stayers having campaigned through the Sydney autumn carnival.
And after winning the VRC St Leger and finishing sixth in the South Australian Derby, Order Of The Sun will be on the move again as he uses the Randwick race as his lead-up to the Queensland Derby for which he is a $16 chance.
A more traditional path is through Saturday’s Grand Prix Stakes at Doomben but beating off-season Sydney distance horses at Listed level en route to Queensland has worked before.
The Graeme Rogerson-trained Shootoff won the 2011 Lord Mayor’s Cup and two starts later he posted his only Group One win in the Queensland Derby.
