Chris Waller’s good season with two-year-olds continued at Randwick with O’President upstaging his more fancied rivals to snare the Skyline Stakes.
The premier trainer has arguably his best group of youngsters yet with the likes of Home Affairs, She’s All Class, Head Of State and Shaquero all in Golden Slipper contention.
O’President added his name to that list when he led throughout for Tim Clark in Saturday’s Skyline Stakes (1200m) at Randwick to book a Slipper berth.
“He will go (to the Slipper) for sure. The team behind the horse will back me up on that, he’s a nice horse,” Waller said.
“I don’t think he’s a natural leader by any means but he’s got a bright future.
“They left him alone out there. Tim is obviously a great jockey and there is probably very few better in front at rating tempo.
“They let him get away with a tempo that O’President was comfortable with so he showed a good turn of foot at the top of the rise and was very good to the line.”
Stablemate and Magic Millions winner Shaquero was the more fancied of Waller’s pair and appeared to have every chance, settling third and tiring late to finish sixth.
Waller was unperturbed by the run and felt the soft track played against him.
Shaquero will go to the Pago Pago Stakes in two weeks and back-up into the Golden Slipper seven days later, a formula used with success in his Magic Millions win.
“He seems to be a horse that does pretty well between runs so there is certainly improvement in him,” Waller said.
O’President ($8.50) scored by 1-1/4 lengths over Hilal ($3.20 fav), who was doing his best work late, with Captivant ($3.50) the same margin away third.
Tommy Berry was rapt with the effort of Hilal.
“It was a massive run. They handed it to the winner,” Berry said.
“They went very slow and then I got run off the track halfway down and he still got pretty close to the winner.”
