Chris Waller and connections of champion mare Verry Elleegant have confirmed her spring carnival plans, with a trip to France for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe off the table.
The 11-time Group 1 winner disappointed in the autumn following a Melbourne Cup-winning campaign, winning just the one race from her four starts, which all but ruled out an overseas run later in the year.
While France is off the table, Waller has announced that his rising seven-year-old could target a Group 1 race for fillies and mares over 2400m on Champions Day at Ascot (October 15), while a Melbourne Cup defence is also a possibility.
“After a really good discussion with the ownership group, it has been decided that Verry Elleegant will have a five-week spell and resume pre-training to be prepared first up, for the Winx Stakes,” Waller's statement read.
“Whilst running her in the Arc would be a dream come true for all of us, we just felt that it would come around too soon to enable her to have a proper spell and be fully prepared in Australia for this assignment.
“However, a trip to Europe a little later in the Spring is still strongly on the cards providing she returns to the form she showed in the Spring when dominating the Melbourne Cup. A race that we have identified as a prospective target is the 2400m Fillies and Mares Group 1 race on Champions Day at Ascot (October 15th), one of the most prestigious race days in the world and a worthy stage to showcase her talents.”
Waller says that Verry Elleegant is likely to have three Australian starts early in the spring, before making a decision on whether she will head to Europe or line up once again on the first Tuesday in November.
“It is likely that she will have three runs in Australia in the Spring with the Winx Stakes, The Chelmsford, The Kingston Town and The Underwood all being considered prior to the decision being made on a Melbourne Cup defence or a trip to Europe,” he said.
The defending champion is a +1200 hope with Bovada to go back-to-back in the 2022 Melbourne Cup.