Queensland sunshine to revitalise Waller filly

Ben Dorries - Tuesday August 22

Chris Waller hopes the Queensland sunshine will work wonders for Colosimo as the filly strives to return to form at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

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Queensland. Beautiful one day, perfect the next. But can some winter sunshine work wonders for Chris Waller's filly?

The former Steve O'Dea-trained sprinter impressed in winning two Sydney trials for Waller but disappointed when she was beaten almost eight lengths over 1250m at Canterbury on August 9.

There were excuses that day when Colosimo, wearing blinkers for the first time, pulled hard and raced without cover and was also found to have a laceration to the off hind cannon.

The Foxwedge filly clearly has talent, winning her first two starts in Queensland last December, but is yet to bridge the gap between potential and performance.

Searching for a return to form, Colosimo will run in Saturday's QTIS 3YO Handicap (1100m) at the Gold Coast with Damian Browne to ride.

Waller's Gold Coast stable manager Paul Shailer said a change of environment should be great for the filly and he feels she should win if she brings her trial form to race day.

"She is still learning the trade but to be fair she was disappointing in Sydney in her last start," Shailer said.

"But Chris has been saying there have been a few fillies in Sydney at the moment struggling with the cold and he felt bringing Colosimo to the Queensland sunshine could get her back thriving again.

"It is a lesser company she will be racing against on the Gold Coast and if she brings the form that saw her trial up well there is no reason she shouldn't be winning."

Waller has thrown in nominations for the Thousand Guineas (1600m) and Caulfield Classic (2000m) with Colosimo but Shailer indicated the immediate plan was simply to get her progressing through her grades in Queensland.

Waller now has 15 horses in his Gold Coast stable with a plan to target the riches of the Gold Coast Magic Millions carnival and be an even more dominant force during the winter carnival.

However Shailer said Waller's serious assault on the Magic Millions might be more than a year away.

"I would say that this being the first year we have had this (Gold Coast) stable, Chris will just watch the Magic Millions and assess it and put together some plans for the following year," Shailer said.

"At the moment the plan for the Queensland stable is getting the recipe right to be competitive up here in Wednesday and Saturday races.

"We still need to get that recipe right but Chris has cracked it in the toughest arena in Sydney so I'm sure he will find a great recipe for success in Queensland."

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