Top Kiwi mare joins Chris Waller stable

Champion trainer Chris Waller will welcome another Kiwi Group I winner to his huge team.

The 2018/19 New Zealand Champion Middle Distance horse Danzdanzdance will continue her career in Waller’s care.

Chris Gibbs and Michelle Bradley trained Danzdanzdance to win the Group I Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) and Zabeel Classic (2000m) last season.

Part-owner Kylie Bax, who bought Danzdanzdance for $NZ5000 as a yearling in 2016, said the shift to Waller was to maximise the racing and breeding opportunities for the daughter of Mastercraftsman.

“Chris and Michelle have done a wonderful job to develop her into a genuine Group I contender and we can’t thank them enough,” Bax said in a statement.

“She is however at a little bit of a crossroads as to where she goes from both a racing and breeding perspective, so we wanted to keep her in Australia to examine the best options for her, rather than bring her back to New Zealand, especially after her last start performance which certainly didn’t go as planned.”

Danzdanzdance ran last in the Group I George Main Stakes (1600m) at Randwick last time out but Bax said the mare had a genuine excuse for her poor performance.

“She was heavily in season,” Bax said.

“We know that’s not her real ability so we would like Chris to assess her now and provide us with his opinion on where we head with her.

“That might be to press on with this campaign, give her a break and bring her back in the autumn or even retire her to the broodmare paddock straight away.” – Racenet.com.au