Chris Waller-trained Egg Tart set new standard with Doomben win

Chris Waller seems to save his best fillies to win Queensland Oaks at Doomben.

 

Winx, of course won her first group 1 over the 2200m at Doomben two years ago, and Egg Tart joined her on the honour roll, charging away from her rivals on Saturday.

 

It was Egg Tart’s second group 1 after winning the Australasian Oaks in Adelaide last start – and the win marked her sixth on the trot.

 

Amazingly, the past four wins have come in four different states, starting in Sydney via Melbourne and Adelaide.

 

“I have never tried that with any horse, I don’t think I have had one good enough to do it,” Waller said. “She is a special filly and they can do special things.

 

“We knew she was pretty good, but she just came too late for the Sydney Oaks, so we looked at the program and gave her challenge.

 

“She has lived up to it.

 

“She has that x-factor, where she is not calling on her reserves – and just like Winx, I will give her a chance to show me how good she is.”

 

Egg Tart could follow a similar path to Winx in her four-year-old spring.

 

“After Winx won the Queensland, Oaks we ended up chasing the Epsom at Randwick. It was probably because the Epsom was put up to being worth $1 million,” Waller said.

 

“It is the type of race we will probably look at with Egg Tart.”

 

Egg Tart settled near the tail of the field, but Kerrin McEvoy never panicked as he started to come into the race from the 800m. At the top of the straight, she had clear running and EggTart did the rest, bursting away to win 1¼ lengths from Pygmy, which tracked her everywhere she went, and Oklahoma Girl running into third.

 

McEvoy was delighted with Egg Tart and believes there is still more to come from her.

 

“I didn’t want to get off her, she is that good,” McEvoy said. “I haven’t ridden too many fillies which have that sharpness. She just relaxed and then let down really quickly and got me out of a tricky position.

 

“She is one of those fillies that feels like she is going to be even better in the spring.”

 

Egg Tart continued a good season for her owners, the Hermitage syndicate, which also won the New Zealand Sires Produce Stakes with Summer Passage.

 

Egg Tart started the day at $3.10 and in her charge to victory went past stable Dawn Wall, which had been backed from $7.50 to $4, but failed to run out the trip, finishing in midfield. – Chris Roots, Sydney Morning Herald