Image: Steve Hart
Chris Waller has assembled an interesting trio of mares for his bid to claim a third Tatts Tiara crown.
She is the roughest of Chris Waller’s three Tatt’s Tiara runners but from the inside draw, Vienna Princess is capable of landing a Group 1 upset if she can reproduce her best form.
The winner of the Silver Eagle in the spring, Vienna Princess wasn’t disgraced when sixth to Japanese raider Obamburumai in the Golden Eagle, a race that has been a handy form reference in its short history.
Freshened following a mixed autumn in Sydney, she got back to last from a wide gate in the Dane Ripper Stakes but was doing her best work late on a day when it was difficult to make ground down the outside.
Waller’s assistant Charlie Duckworth says the four-year-old has the talent to feature in Saturday’s 1400m contest, if she can get the breaks at the right time.
“She is an interesting one. If you go back eighteen months, she suffered with a bit of a sore back through the Magic Millions carnival and we had to give her some time,” Duckworth said.
“She came back and really built in confidence winning the Silver Eagle and then into the Golden Eagle.
“She is a talented horse.
“It’s a Group One that Chris always tries to target with these sorts of fillies, and he’s got a good record in it, so fingers crossed she can get some Group One black-type. She should get the luck from the good draw.”
At $41, Vienna Princess is the least favoured of Waller’s Tatt’s Tiara (1400m) trio, C’Est Magique regarded as his best chance at $7 with Roots at $19.
C’est Magique, a $1.7 million purchase for Coolmore at last month’s Chairman’s Sale, delivered an immediate return on their investment with her Dane Ripper Stakes win and has continued to thrive in Queensland.
Blake Shinn has been confirmed as her new rider with James Mcdonald ruled out due to a mystery illness.
Roots has overcome a setback to take her place in the race as she bids to go one better than her second to Palaisipan 12 months ago.
Scratched from the Dane Ripper after returning mucus in a scope, Roots will be striving to win Saturday’s race first-up, a feat no horse has achieved in at least 20 years.
“We have to go in fresh, which is less than ideal, and it does make things tougher,” Duckworth said.
“But we’ve come this far and we can’t fault her work.
“If we hadn’t scoped her, we wouldn’t have known (there was an issue) and we probably would have run her two weeks ago. She seems to be going well.”
Waller has won the winter feature twice before with Invincibella (2019) and Red Tracer (2013).
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