Atishu (NZ) (Savabeel) is no stranger to big-race successes at Flemington and champion trainer Chris Waller says the mare is “ready to go” for another tilt at winning a Gr.1 Australian Cup on Saturday.
Among the multiple Group One winner’s feature race wins at Flemington during her career are a Gr.1 Champions Stakes (2000m) during the 2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival and last year’s Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m).
The mare has also won a Gr.2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at the course last year and the 2022 Gr.2 Matriarch Stakes, while a week after her Empire Rose win last spring the seven-year-old also finished second to Cox Plate-winning stablemate Via Sistina in the Gr.1 Champions Stakes (2000m).
Saturday’s weight-for-age Australian Cup – which will be the 12th time Atishu has raced at Flemington – has been one of the mare’s autumn targets and she heads into the $2.5 million event off a last-start fifth in the All-Star Mile at the same course in her second start of this campaign.
Atishu was third in the Australian Cup last year behind Cascadian and Pride Of Jenni and Waller said he had made a point of trying to keep the mare fitter this campaign in a bid to get her to peak earlier than in previous campaigns.
“I think she’s ready to go,” Waller said.
“I’ve made a purpose of just keeping her weight down. She does very well between runs, and I think that’s why her best runs are at the end of the prep, because she does so well between races and from her spells we’ve sort of always been behind the eight-ball.
“We saw that in the spring, we finally got her to peak on the first day of Cup Week (winning the Empire Rose) and then she ran second to Via Sistina on the last day.
“So we’ve made a purpose of just keeping her a bit fitter and ready to go. So, she’s ready to peak in the Australian Cup.”
Melbourne’s premiership-leading jockey Blake Shinn is booked to ride Atishu in Saturday’s Australian Cup.
Waller did nominate Atishu for the Sunline Stakes at The Valley on Saturday – won by Grinzinger Belle (NZ) (Shamexpress) – with an option to back her up seven days later into the Australian Cup, but decided against accepting for that race and he said the mare still had another target during The Championships in Sydney after the Australian Cup.
“The seven-day back-up wasn’t the issue, I think she races best on a seven-day back-up,” Waller said.
“The issue was bringing her back to Sydney to run in the Queen Of The Turf or the Queen Elizabeth.
“So that was the reason for not running on Saturday, because I would have loved to. Yes, the Australian Cup is one of her grand finals, but two years ago she won the Queen Of The Turf and last year she was beaten a nostril.
“She just runs so well in that race, and it could well be her last race after the Australian Cup before she gets sold. So the owners might even want to say, ‘well, we’ll run in the Queen Elizabeth’.”
Both the Gr.1 Queen Of The Turf (1600m) for fillies and mares and the weight-for-age Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth (2000m) are at Randwick two weeks after the Australian Cup.
Waller’s lone Australian Cup win to date came from current Brighthill Farm sire Preferment (NZ) (Zabeel) in 2016.
