Waller To Have Strong Chances In Coolmore

Having trained three of the past five winners of the Group One , Chris Waller knows what it takes to win the feature sprint for three-year-olds during the carnival.

And Waller says he would not swap either of his stable’s two colts – Zousain and Lean Mean Machine – going into this Saturday’s edition of the $1 million race over the straight 1200m course at Flemington.

Zousain and Lean Mean Machine are both by stallion who Waller trained to win the race in 2013.

Zoustar’s sire also won the Coolmore five years before that.

Zousain was the slight $3.80 favourite in an all-in market on ahead of trainer Grahame Begg’s stable star ($4) who has won six of his seven starts with his only defeat being his fourth placing in this year’s in April.

Zousain has been knocking on the door of a Group One win, having been narrowly beaten by stablemate The Autumn Sun twice at the elite level this year including last month’s in Sydney.

The Autumn Sun confirmed he was a special three-year-old by destroying his rivals 4-1/2-lengths in the Guineas at his next start to further enhance that form line.

“We think Zousain is a real star,” Waller said.

“And he’s the spitting image of his dad.”

Lean Mean Machine was at $10 on Tuesday and is expected to wear blinkers after having them on in a gallop on Tuesday when he finished about half a length ahead of Zousain in a gallop.

“He seemed to work well,” Waller said.

“He was nice and sharp so that’s what we wanted to see.

“I think Zousain was having a good look at the outside fence and that’s all part of the experience.

“But I wouldn’t change them for anything. Both of them.

“And I think the straight 1200 will suit Lean Mean Machine.”

Waller gave Lean Mean Machine and Zousain a comfortable jump-out up the straight last Friday which was won by Written By, believing the hit-out was similar to that which has proven effective for his Stakes runners in previous years.

Looking for Melbourne Cup guides? Cups Betting has all the 2018 Melbourne Cup guides and news you need right here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© Copyright 2024 Racing Online | Global Horse Racing & Online Betting
Powered by WordPress | Mercury Theme