Chris Waller & James McDonald have combined early on Everest Day, with Aeliana ($9.00) swamping her rivals to claim the Group 3 Reginald Allen Quality (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday afternoon.
The race was set up for the back markers to come into play, with Jellicious ($9.00) and well-supported favourite Dominetta ($3.30) fighting for the lead, with Tommy Berry attempting to dictate terms in the early stages for the Ciaron Maher-trained filly.
Adam Hyeronimus was happy to cruise to her outside, ensuring a genuine tempo, leaving the likes of Motoscafo (151.00) and Titanium Miss ($26.00) to gain economical runs in transit.
The eventual winner was a pair further back and appeared to need luck in the concluding stages, while stable companion Good Sort ($23.00) produced a barnstorming under Zac Lloyd to filly out the minor money.
It was all about the winner in the end, however, with James McDonald weaving a passage aboard the daughter of Castelvecchio, stamping herself as a contender for the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) later in the spring.
2024 Group 3 Reginald Allen Quality Replay – Aeliana
Chris Waller spoke about the victory post-race before suggesting there’s more to come from the lightly raced three-year-old.
“She’s started her innings, that’s for sure,” said Waller.
“A type and I don’t think it’ll be her last one.
“Right from her first win here on the Kensington track, it was pretty special. We backed off her after that to try and have her ready for a race like this so we thought enough of it to bring her today.
“We booked James McDonald to ride which is a pointer of what we think of her.”
James McDonald was brief in his post-race assessment, suggest the filly has plenty of upside.
“Pretty competitive race and she’s a filly first-up,” said McDonald.
“She’ll improve off that and she did a really good job today.
“She’s only had a few starts so it is all ahead of her.”
Aeliana is currently on the fourth line of betting at $11.00 with horse racing bookmakers for the Group 1 Thousand Guineas on November 16.
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