Photo: Grant Peters, Trackside Photography
Trainer Chris Waller has a good opinion of progressive two-year-old Imperialist (Churchill), who came with a perfectly timed run under James McDonald to claim the Listed The Phoenix (1500m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday in impressive fashion.
The New Zealand-bred son of Churchill notched his first win from just three starts and relished the solid tempo of the juvenile feature to close in the manner of a horse that has an exciting Classic season ahead of him.
Waller will now ponder whether to push on to next week’s Gr.1 J.J. Atkins (1600m) with the talented colt.
“James did a great job to weave a path through the field after getting him to settle in the first half of the race. The horse did the rest in the second half,” Waller said.
The champion trainer said the Queensland Winter Carnival was a perfect testing ground for late season two-year-olds.
“That’s part of the reason why we bring them up here to Queensland. They have a trip away and we see how they cope with the experience, the pressure and how they perform under that type of situation. He’s just a two-year-old and he has got a bright future.
“It wasn’t the must-be plan to go to the J.J. Atkins, but on the strength of that win today and depending on the opinion of some form people, we would have to consider it.”
Winning Jockey James McDonald was delighted to win for a number of loyal owners, with the horse sporting the colours of prominent Queensland-based Irishman Noel Greenhalgh.
“He’s a nice progressive horse and he did a good job out there today. It’s nice to win in these colours again,” McDonald said.
“He sprang into life out of the stalls but he’s still pretty new and he did a few things wrong, but he’ll be right.”
Bred by Curraghmore’s Gordon Cunningham in conjunction with Demi O’Byrne’s Arkle Bloodstock, Imperialist is out of the Fastnet Rock mare Dancing Hare, who in turn is out of a Sadler’s Wells daughter of outstanding producer Solo De Lune, whose 11 winners included an incredible eight stakes performers headed by the Group One winners Cerulean Sky, L'Ancresse and Moonstone.
Imperialist was purchased for $170,000 from the draft of Curraghmore at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale at Karaka by Chris Waller Racing and Guy Mulcaster Bloodstock.
Dancing Hare has a weanling filly by Satono Aladdin and is in foal to Ocean Park.
