Champion mare Joliestar is highly likely to miss the Stradbroke Handicap
Group 1 star Joliestar is highly likely to bypass the prestigious $3 million Stradbroke Handicap on Saturday week.
Cambridge Stud boss Brendan Lindsay, who owns the Chris Waller -trained mare, said he expected Joliestar would head to the paddock after Saturday's rescheduled Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm.
Joliestar was the $3 favourite for the $1m Kingsford Smith last Saturday at Eagle Farm before heavy rain forced officials to shift the feature to this weekend, alongside the Queensland Derby and Queensland Oaks to create a 'Super Saturday' of racing.
The winner of the Kingsford Smith scores a golden ticket into the 1400m Stradbroke on June 14 at Eagle Farm but two-time Group 1 winner Joliestar, with a rating of 114, was already assured of a spot in Queensland's premier race.
However with an allocated weight of 56kg in the Stradbroke and with spring carnival riches in mind, Waller is almost certain to send Joliestar to the paddock after her winter grand final on Saturday.
'I think she's 50-50 for the Straddie, I don't think she'll carry on,' New Zealander Lindsay said on Sunday.
'I think she'll get too much weight in the Straddie. He (Waller) said 'we'll just see how we go'.
'Obviously we were meant to go last Saturday but I'm pleased we didn't with that (heavy) track.
'The plan is to go back again next week. I guess after that Chris will make some decisions but I'd think it's unlikely she'll backup in the Stradbroke.
'It's only a week's later and we've got to prepare her for the spring.
'If she can run on a good track on Saturday then it'll tell us where we're going in the spring.'
Joliestar is currently $7 in the Stradbroke betting market, behind only the Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained gelding War Machine, the $4.50 pre-post favourite.
Lindsay said it was a 'blessing in disguise' that Joliestar didn't run on a heavy (9) rated track last Saturday after jockeys deemed conditions unsafe due to poor visibility.
'I think it's pretty tough for a sprinter to line up on a heavy track - it's like running 1600m going wide,' Lindsay, who told Racenet about his fairytale rags-to-riches story last week, said.
'She's got no wet-track form - a couple of placings on a soft track - but wow wee, it's a big ask. I think it was a blessing in disguise personally.
'The weather forecast looks good this week and (Joliestar's regular jockey) James McDonald is still around so we'll throw the dice next weekend.
'If we can win another Group 1 this year that's two Group 1s for the season. That would be fantastic - what a way to finish the season.'
The highly talented Zoustar mare triumphed in the $1.5 million Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington in early March, adding to her Thousand Guineas (1600m) victory at Caulfield in 2023.
JOLIESTAR wins the @YulongInvest Newmarket Handicap for @cwallerracing and @LaneDamian 🙌
🎥 @Racing #RacingSpectacular #SuperSaturday #AllStarMile pic.twitter.com/GjktkpX7PS
— Victoria Racing Club (@FlemingtonVRC) March 8, 2025
Meanwhile, Sydney trainer Rob Archibald said he was yet to decide whether his colt Bosustow would run in the rescheduled Fred Best Classic (1350m) at Doomben on Wednesday or go straight to the Stradbroke.
Archibald, who trains in partnership with his wife Annabel, also has the option of running Bosustow in the Kingsford Smith Cup on Saturday but that would mean a shorter turnaround going into the Stradbroke.
'No decision's been made yet,' Archibald said on Sunday.
'We would've loved to have seen him run on Saturday. We had confidence he would've got through the ground but there's nothing we can do about it.
'They cancelled it because it was in the best interests of everybody and we'll be ready to go with whatever race we run in this week.'
Dominant last-start Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) winner Bosustow will have a light weight of 51.5kg in the Stradbroke.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
14 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tom Sermanni talks about the Matildas' evolution after his final game in charge
When Tom Sermanni first took charge of the Australian women's national football team, they were not playing in front of sell-out crowds. They were not even called the Matildas. As international team manager * - Australian women's team was first known as the Matildas in 1995 ** - Interim Matildas coach Sermanni's first home game as coach of the Female Socceroos, as they were still known back in 1995, was played in front of a handful of spectators at a training ground at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. His last was in front of a capacity crowd of 25,125 next door at Canberra Stadium on Monday night. That is a record not just for a women's football game in the ACT, but any football game played in the nation's capital. It is the highest attendance of any sport at the venue in almost six years. "It's bizarre," Sermanni reflected, following his final match as interim coach before Joe Montemurro steps into the role. "It's just been a phenomenal experience. I've never witnessed a crowd such as the Matildas crowd. "I kind of pinch myself when I go out and stand in front of it before the game starts. "I just can't believe I'm back and had the privilege to be back in this environment." As he ends his third, and probably final, stint at the helm of the Matildas, the landscape of women's football in Australia is unrecognisable from when he first encountered it. That is largely down to Sermanni, 70, himself. In his first tenure, from 1994 to 1997, the charismatic Caledonian led the Matildas to their first World Cup. But it was his contribution off the field that had the biggest impact. From a small office in the Canberra suburb of Hackett, Sermanni and a team of two or three running the entire women's program established the foundations for the National Training Centres that would incubate the golden generation of Australian women's football. "I think that was one of the things, if I look back, that we created that I feel was really beneficial," he said "And the second thing was the W-League. I think the W-League has been really instrumental in giving opportunities to domestic players that might not have had opportunities if we didn't have that league." In his second stint, from 2004 to 2012, Sermanni handed debuts to a crop of young players — including the likes of Sam Kerr, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord — who took the Matildas to another level and nearly a home World Cup final in 2023. But the decision to can the National Training Centres program in 2014 set back the development of new talent and left a shortage of new players coming through to replace them, Sermanni lamented. "We need to put resources into development," he said. "You don't notice your development collapsing overnight. It takes time, and then all of a sudden, we turn around and say, we've got all these great players, but they're 30-plus." Now unemployed, the longest-serving coach of the Matildas does not know what his future holds, but he left the door open to continuing his relationship with Football Australia. "We've had some chats, but there's been no particular concrete role. So I think everybody will just wait to see what happens when things change and things start to happen again," he said. "If there's something there, fantastic. If there's not, I'll be quite happy to leave the building and relax." AAP
ABC News
16 minutes ago
- ABC News
Teens who attacked Toutai Kefu and family in their Brisbane home have sentences upheld following appeal
Queensland's attorney-general has failed to appeal the sentences handed to two teenagers who attacked former rugby great Toutai Kefu and his family during a home invasion. Last year the two boys, who were aged 15 at the time of the incident, were sentenced over the 2021 break-in at Coorparoo, after pleading guilty to several offences including multiple counts of malicious acts with intent. They were both given less than 10 years in detention, and had no convictions recorded. The then attorney-general Yvette D'Ath launched an appeal on the grounds the sentences were manifestly inadequate. During a hearing held in the Court of Appeal earlier this year, prosecutors argued the sentencing judge did not have regard to the maximum penalty for some of the offences, which were deemed "particularly heinous". Under Queensland youth justice laws at the time, it meant the teenagers could face a punishment of up to and including life in prison. In a published judgement, three Court of Appeal judges found "no error had been established" by the attorney-general in relation to the sentencing judge's consideration of an appropriate term of detention.
News.com.au
21 minutes ago
- News.com.au
'Letting the team down': Glenn Maxwell's sad admission as he retires from ODI cricket
Glenn Maxwell has called time on his One Day International (ODI) cricket career as he revealed he felt his recent performances were letting his teammates down. The Victorian retired on Monday with two World Cups, four centuries and a double-hundred next to his name in the 50-over game. Maxwell will forever be remembered for his matchwinning double century against Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup. Watch England vs. India Test Series LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports| New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. However, the white-ball specialist is still under contract Cricket Australia and therefore will still be available for selection for any T20 internationals. And while the 36-year-old has not officially confirmed his retirement from first-class cricket, any return to that format appears highly unlikely given he hasn't featured for his state since mid-2023 or played a Test match for Australia since 2017. In the end, Australia's Champions Trophy semi-final defeat to India in early March proved to be the catalyst for Maxwell's ODI retirement, with the all-rounder's bad back and injury niggles finally making him feel like he was no longer an asset to the team. Speaking about his decision to walk away, Maxwell told Adam Collins in an interview for the Final Word podcast he felt his body could no longer handle the rigours of the 50-over format. 'My decision to retire from one-day international cricket was probably more so on the back of the first couple of games in the Champions Trophy. I felt like I gave myself a really good opportunity to be fit and ready for those games,' Maxwell said. 'The first game in Lahore we played on a rock-hard outfield and post that game I was pretty sore. Against Afghanistan, we fielded 50 overs on a really, really wet outfield. It was slippery, it was soft, and I just didn't pull up that well. 'I started to think about if I don't have the perfect conditions in 50-over cricket, my body just probably struggled to get through that. 'It feels like it's a tiring affair just to get through on the basics of almost surviving the 50 overs, let alone being at my best.' Maxwell said he knew it was time to walk away when he felt he was no longer a game-changer and if anything was letting his teammates down. 'I felt like I was sort of letting the team down a little bit with how my body was reacting to the conditions. I had a really good chat with (selection chair) George Bailey while we were in the rain delay,' he continued. 'We basically talked about the 2027 World Cup, and I basically said to him there and then that I don't think I'm going to make that and I think it's time to start planning I suppose for people in my position to have a crack at it and make that spot their own for the 2027 World Cup, and hopefully they have enough of a lead-in where they can I suppose have success in that role. 'I think in reality I'd be doing a disservice to the team by hanging on a little bit longer and struggling to get through, and more hoping rather than expecting to get through. I don't think that would be fair to anyone.' In a whopping 149 ODIs, Maxwell finished with 3,990 runs and took 77 wickets with his off-spin. His batting strike rate of 126.70 is also currently the highest of anyone to face 1000 balls in ODIs.
