Group One placegetter Subpoenaed (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) will travel to Brisbane midweek ahead of her Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) assignment.
Chris Waller will have up to three runners in the Stradbroke Handicap with Subpoenaed putting the finishing touches to her preparation with an exhibition gallop at Rosehill on Saturday.
The Robert Sangster Stakes runner-up will be joined in the race by stablemate Imaging (Oasis Dream), while Waller is still mulling over whether to start Madam Rouge (Zoustar) in the 1400m feature.
While no jockey has been locked in for Madam Rouge, Tim Clark has been booked for Imaging and Ron Stewart for Subpoenaed, who has just 51kg.
Waller and Stewart combined for a memorable Group One win with Selino (Champs Elysees) in the Sydney Cup (3200m) during the autumn and stable representative Charlie Duckworth said they didn’t hesitate to call on him in another major.
“He’s done nothing wrong for us and rides at the weight without any hassle at all,” Duckworth said.
“If you can’t get your first Sydney picks, or you can’t get one who can ride that light, you may as well stick with a local jockey who rides for the stable a lot and knows our tactics and how Chris likes his horses ridden.”
Subpoenaed will travel to Queensland on Wednesday after tuning up for her Stradbroke tilt with a 1000m workout between races at Rosehill.
Duckworth said they had pinpointed the Brisbane feature as a target after her close second in the Robert Sangster.
“It has always been the plan since Adelaide. She was only touched off in a Group One there and had Craig Williams’ horse (Instant Attraction) not got such a lucky run, we probably win,” Duckworth said.
Imaging has finished out of the placings at his past two starts but has been freshened since his tenth to stablemate Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park) in the Gr.1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) in April and the stable is keen to see him draw a good gate.
Waller is weighing up whether to start Madam Rouge in the Dane Ripper Stakes (1300m) on Saturday’s program, or the Stradbroke in which she was runner-up to Tyzone (Written Tycoon) 12 months ago.
“She’s got a good race in her and she was only touched off in the Stradbroke last year, which is probably why you’ve nearly got to roll the dice and have another crack,” Duckworth said.
