The re-distribution of the Godolphin owned Australian racehorses has been a hot topic in recent weeks as they departed the care of James Cummings to join a wide spread of different trainers and one of those was Chris Waller, whose first runner for the blue army was a winner at Rosehill on Saturday.
A last start winner at Rosehill over 1500m on July 19, four year-old mare Amusing held her form despite the testing heavy 10 track and strode clear to win over the same course with James McDonald in the saddle.
Amusing is likely to be the first of many winners for the Godolphin / Waller partnership and the history of the occasion was not lost on Sydney’s champion trainer.
“It's certainly a great honour to be training for Godolphin. They've been our biggest competitor for so many years and we’ve watched them every week to see what they are doing and how we are performing against them as they are the best yardstick,” said Chris Waller.
“Their success is amazing, obviously starting with Woodlands and the Inghams with Sheikh Mohammed buying that operation out and then developing their own brand here and what their team's done has been amazing for Australian racing.
“To be one of the nine or ten trainers chosen to train for them is an honour.”
Nine horses have joined the Waller stable already including Group winners Beiwacht and Commemorative and there are unraced new season two year olds to come as well.
A lightly raced mare with plenty of upside, Amusing has won three of seven starts earning over $200,000 and has a pedigree that makes her unique in Australia.
A half-sister to French Group III winner Egot, Amusing appears to be the only named offspring in Australia of Godolphin’s homebred Derby winning colt Masar, who stood at a fee of £10,000 at their Dalham Hall base in the UK, but was relocated to Sunnyhill Stud in Ireland as a National Hunt sire when his lack of success became apparent.
With his oldest progeny now four year-olds, Masar has sired 57 winners worldwide, but is yet to produce a stakes-winner.
Amusing is the third winner from Australian bred Group III placed Street Cry (IRE) mare Entertains, who started her stud career in Europe and is a three-quarter sister-in-blood to dual Group I winner Trekking from Champion Australian 3YO Filly Serenade Rose.
Now in Australia, Entertains has a three year-old filly by Ghaiyyath (IRE) called Contemplates, that has been placed at her first two starts and is now spelling, and a two year-old filly by Palace Pier (GB) called Shadow Play.
Entertains is due to foal to Ghaiyyath again after slipping to Dundeel.
