21-07-2025
Via Sistina all tuned up as Spring campaign nears
SYDNEY Champion trainer Chris Waller said Via Sistina could follow a similar programme to last spring's, which saw the top mare land four Group 1 victories - the Winx Stakes (1,400m), the Turnbull Stakes (2,000m), the Cox Plate (2,040m) and the Champions Stakes (2,000m).
The 2024-25 Australian Horse of the Year will make her first public appearance on the morning of July 22 when she steps out in the opening heat of 17 trials at Randwick.
The 850m trial on the Kensington track has brought together a field of eight, which includes Via Sistina's stablemate and Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1,600m) winner Fangirl, as well as two other Group 1 winners - Tom Kitten and Zardozi - trained by James Cummings.
Waller is planning on having Via Sistina - the victor of the 2024 Winx Stakes - defend her title first-up in the Winx Stakes at Randwick on Aug 23. He will then look at bringing the Fastnet Rock seven-year-old to Melbourne to run in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1,600m) at Flemington on Sept 13.
Second-up at her Spring campaign in 2024, Via Sistina ran fifth to Mr Brightside in the Makybe Diva on Sept 14, but she followed up with a consecutive Group 1-winning spree at her next three starts in Melbourne; taking out the Turnbull Stakes, the Cox Plate and the Champion Stakes.
The mare then raced exclusively in Sydney during the autumn, collecting three more Group 1 successes: the Verry Elleegant Stakes (1,600m) on March 1, the Ranvet Stakes (2,000m) on March 22 and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2,000m) at her last run on April 12.
Waller said he would discuss the options with Via Sistina's owners, Yulong Investments, as to what plans they have for the nine-time Group 1 winner - who ran in Ireland and UK before kicking off her career in Australia in 2024 - and potentially avoid any clashes with their other horses.
"She has come back well. She has come back stronger than she has been," said Waller.
"I don't think it makes them run faster, but she has adapted to Australia. She has been here 18 months now and it takes that long for mares to adjust.
"From a health perspective, she's great."
Waller said the Makybe Diva Stakes may suit a number of his horses, including Via Sistina and Fangirl.
"The Makybe Diva might suit Via Sistina, and then maybe the Turnbull, so it (Winx Stakes) could be her only run in Sydney," Waller said.
"But I won't rule out that she won't stay here either.
"Obviously, I've got to speak to the owners and see what other horses they've got. They might have their other good mare (Treasurethe Moment) going towards the Makybe Diva and they might not want her there, so we'll have to see.
"Fangirl, she could even go to the Makybe Diva as well second-up and then come back for the King Charles.
"That's probably her first grand final. She is more of a miler, but she has come back well."
The Sebring six-year-old mare has also been earmarked for a first-up run in the Winx Stakes that she won in 2023.
The Turnbull Stakes will be at Flemington on Oct 4, while the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1,600m) will be run at The Everest meeting at Randwick on Oct 18.
Waller would not be asking a lot of Via Sistina and Fangirl on July 22.
"They're stablemates, they live next to each other, and they will probably finish out the back next to each other on Tuesday," he said. SKY RACING WORLD
