Every race Waitak has run in this season has either been a Group 1 or has been won by a Group 1 performer, but trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott are lowering the bar slightly for Saturday’s Group 2 Japan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga.
Himself the winner of the Group 1 Railway (1200m) last year, Waitak has taken on elite opposition throughout a nine-race preparation this season that has produced a second, two thirds, two fourths and a fifth.
The Proisir gelding kicked off with a close fourth behind Bonny Lass in the Group 2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m), followed by a fifth in the Group 1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) won by his stablemate Grail Seeker.
Waitak chased home this season’s Railway placegetter Luberon when third in the Group 3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m) and Group 3 Counties Bowl (1100m), then ran second to the multiple Group 1 placegetter Babylon Berlin in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1200m).
The third placegetter in the Concorde was Crocetti, who went on to win the Railway in January.
After finishing ninth in the Group 1 Telegraph (1200m) and sixth in the Railway, Waitak stepped up in distance and produced strong finishes for fourth in the Group 1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) and sixth in the Group 1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m).
“He’s been hitting the line hard in Group One company lately, and he ran the mile out strongly in that WFA Classic at Ellerslie last time,” Scott said.
“Now we think it might be the right time to get him away from that top-league opposition that he’s been up against all season, hopefully to build up a little bit of confidence.
“His work on Tuesday was as good as it’s ever been. Ryan Elliot is going to ride him on Saturday. We might try to get him into a slightly more prominent position. His problem has been that he’s got so far out of his ground and has just been leaving himself with too much to do.”
Bookmakers rate Waitak a $5 favourite for the Japan Trophy.
The others in single figures are Aegon ($5.50), Navigator ($7.50), Herbert ($8) and What You Wish For ($9.50).
O’Sullivan and Scott have a second runner in Saturday’s race, the $27 chance Uderzo, who has won both of his two previous starts at Tauranga.
A return to his favourite venue and step up in distance could bring improvement on his last-start sixth over 1400m at Taupo.
Another Tauranga specialist representing Wexford Stables on Saturday is Grande Gallo in the Triton Pacific Owens Plate (1200m).
Her three previous starts at this track have produced two wins and a placing, and she was a two-length winner over You Say D’Orsay and Mars in a three-year-old race on this day last year.
Grande Gallo resumed with an outstanding win over 1200m on Boxing Day at Ellerslie, then battled home in eighth in a 1400m race at the same track on February 22.
“She got a bit of a check in the straight that day, but there’s a possibility that the 1400m might have been a bit further than she wanted to run as well,” Scott said.
“She drops back to 1200m on Saturday at a course where she’s raced very well in the past.
“She possibly got away from us a little bit leading into that last-start run, but she’ll strip a much fitter mare for the race this weekend. She also steps up from Rating 75 into open class, which we think she’ll cope with, and it brings a bit of welcome weight relief. So there’s a few factors there that suggest she might be able to bounce back into some good form.”
O’Sullivan and Scott have a total of nine entries across Saturday’s eight-race card.
“As far as our other runners go, I think Tanganyika is going very well,” Scott said.
“He’s a progressive horse who we don’t think is far away from putting his foot in the till again. Another one worth looking at is Texas Hold ‘Em, whose last start was in the Auckland Guineas (Group 2, 1400m). This is a decent step down from that level of competition.”
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