Verry close to elite group
VERRY Elleegant can join a select group of great Australian champions if she can secure her sixth Group 1 win for the season in the $4 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick tomorrow.
Since the Group and Listed race classifications were introduced in 1979, only four horses have managed to win at least six majors in a season.
The legendary Kingston Town, an inaugural Hall of Famer, won six at the elite level during his incredible three-year-old season in 1979-80 including the AJC Australian Derby, Tancred Stakes and Sydney Cup.
Kingston Town’s feat wasn’t matched until Weekend Hussler won six Group 1 races as a three-year-old in 2007-08 including the Caulfield Guineas, Newmarket Handicap and George Ryder Stakes.
Black Caviar, the unbeaten champion sprinter, also collected six Group 1 wins in 2011-12 culminating with her famous victory in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
And then there was Winx, the relentless winning machine
who Chris Waller trained to twice win six majors in a season.
But Winx went one better her farewell season of in
2018-19, winning seven Group 1 races including her fourth successive Cox Plate, fourth successive George Ryder Stakes and her unforgettable
final race start in the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Stakes when she scored her 33rd consecutive win.
Waller also trains Verry Elleegant
and described his latest stable star as “an amazing horse”. “Because she has been racing over so many seasons now, she did it (Group 1 winner) as a three-year-old, fouryear-old and now as a fiveyear-old, I certainly have a soft spot for her and she is creating her own following,’’ Waller said of Verry Elleegant.
Where Winx would toy with her opposition and often win by big margins, Verry Elleegant has to fight hard to beat her rivals. She is racing’s “blue-collar champ”, earning the admiration and respect of punters because of her sheer determination and fierce willto-win.
Kingston Town, Weekend Hussler, Black Caviar and Winx all won Horse of the Year honours when they had their successful Group 1-winning seasons and Verry Elleegant can clinch that title if she wins the Queen Elizabeth Stakes tomorrow.
“Verry Elleegant has had a faultless preparation and she had a nice gallop this morning on the course proper without doing too much,’’ Waller said.
“To my eyes she has done enough already (to secure Horse of the Year) as she is a multiple Group 1 winner over all distances, weight-for-age and handicap conditions,
“But there is one race to go and it would be a big help if we could win it.’’