Phar Out Waller's Fillies Hold Sway

The history book of the Gr2 Phar Lap Stakes highlights the dominance of Chris Waller-trained fillies, with Funstar (Adelaide), Verry Elleegant (Zed), Unforgotten (Fastnet Rock) and Foxplay (Foxwedge) having won the race for the past four years, and then skip a year and go back to 2015 where we see Winx (Street Cry) on the honour board. With each of these fillies Group 1 winners in their own right, this dominance in recent years is relatively new in the 1500m feature, with very few fillies winning the race prior to the Waller's supremacy. This year's running sees two Waller fillies nominated for the race in the shape of the Yulong-owned Hungry Heart (Frankel-Harlech, by Pivotal) and Star Thoroughbreds' Only Words (Sweynesse-Jungle Pago, by Darci Brahma) a recent acquisition from New Zealand, and while neither has the runs on the board in recent starts, take look back during their careers and they are both more than capable of making their presence felt on Saturday against the colts and geldings.

Hungry Heart is one of two Waller runners in the Phar Lap (pic: Steve Hart)