A past Everest experiment that backfired is shaping Chris Waller’s early spring agenda for Group One winner Joliestar as he bids to ensure history doesn’t repeat.
Twelve months ago, connections of stablemate Zougotcha considered the mare an Everest contender and Waller designed her program accordingly, training her as a sprinter and launching her campaign in the 2023 Toy Show Quality (1100m).
She finished sixth, also disappointing in two subsequent runs over short trips, before Waller pulled the plug on her spring.
In Joliestar, Waller has a mare with a remarkably similar profile to Zougotcha 12 months ago – both had been three-year-old Group 1 winners over a mile.
But where he got it wrong with Zougotcha, the champion trainer is making some adjustments to try to get it right with Joliestar, who resumes over the slightly longer 1200m journey of Saturday’s Show County Quality, rather than the 1100m of the Toy Show.
Waller admitted that this time last year, he was convinced the former could be honed into a top sprinter, and when asked if he thought Joliestar had more natural speed than her barn mate for him to work with, Waller’s answer was an honest “no”.
“It’s interesting, I thought exactly the same with Zougotcha last year,” Waller said.
“But hence the reason I don’t want to start her over the 1100-metre distance.
“We did with Zougotcha, she started in the Toy Show the same day, so I’m not going 1100 with Joliestar, I want to go 1200.
“She is like Zougotcha, she’s got that Zoustar speed, but I don’t want to waste it.”
Joliestar’s task has been made more difficult by a tricky draw in barrier 11.
But she will have the advantage of leading jockey James Mcdonald, and she did score an impressive win in the Arrowfield 3YO Stakes first-up over the same course and distance in the autumn.
Waller is happy to give her every chance to show she is a serious contender for the $20 million The Everest (1200m) but says the showpiece race isn’t the be-all, end-all.
“We’ve still got her in that Everest consideration, and she was very good in the Arrowfield,” he said.
“To win an Everest, you’d want to be pretty impressive over 1200 first-up and then you’ve got to find a way to keep the speed in her legs.
“I’d say she has got a twenty per cent chance of getting to the Everest. There are so many other options we’re looking at as important as the Everest.”
Zougotcha will also be in action on Saturday in the Group 1 Winx Stakes (1400m) as she looks to enhance her already strong first-up strike-rate of three wins from five fresh runs.
The mare responded to be being prepared as a sprinter-miler in the autumn, bouncing back to her best to go through her three-start campaign undefeated, culminating in her Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) and Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) victories.
