CHAMPION Sydney trainer Chris Waller has a third straight Wagga Gold Cup in his sights.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Group one-winning jockey Kathy O'Hara has been booked to ride for Waller in the $160,000 listed Wagga Gold Cup (2000m) on May 1.
O'Hara is a confirmed starter for both days of the Wagga Gold Cup carnival after going into quarantine on Sunday in order to make herself available.
O'Hara had initially chosen the metropolitan area as her nominated region to ride, but has switched to the south west zone and is undergoing two weeks of self-isolation in order to ride at Wagga.
The 33-year-old rode at Randwick for the second day of The Championships last Saturday where she rode in a couple of group one features.
O'Hara's manager, Ryan Roberts, confirmed she is Wagga bound.
"Yes she will be heading down for both days," Roberts said.
"She will be riding for Chris Waller in the Cup."
O'Hara is no stranger to success at Wagga. She won the 2011 Gold Cup on the Nick Olive-trained Voice Commander and then steered Coolring to victory for Joe Cleary in the 2018 Wagga Town Plate.
Murrumbidgee Turf Club chief executive Steve Keene is pleased to see O'Hara go to such measures to ride at the Wagga carnival.
"It's a great indictment on what a quality carnival it is that even in these tough times, Kathy is willing to lock herself away for 14 days to ride here," Keene said.
"She's always been a great supporter of the carnival and we're looking forward to having her ride here again this year."
Waller has won the past two Wagga Gold Cups with Life Less Ordinary and Abdon. They followed his first success in 2014 with Trade Commissioner.
Keene expects Waller to be one of a number of Sydney trainers to target this year's carnival.
"There has been a lot of contact from a lot of trainers all around NSW targeting these races," he said.
"They have been on their radar for a number of months and even though we've had the prizemoney decrease, like all races, the carnival is still well on their radar and is very attractive to stables across the state."
The Wagga Gold Cup carnival officially gets underway on Sunday with the prelude meeting.
READ MORE
