Baller, I Wish I Win Chase G1 Glory in Black Caviar

Trainer Tony Gollan is aware that Baller faces a tough task in the Feb. 18 AU$1 million Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (G1) at Flemington Racecourse but is confident that the multiple group stakes-winning gelding’s spring exertions will stand him in good stead this campaign.

The 7-year-old son of High Chaparral won the Bobbie Lewis Quality (G2) and also finished third in both the Gilgai Stakes (G2) and Champions VRC Sprint Classic (G1) in a highly successful three-start preparation.

“He’s just a lovely big, powerful animal who likes big tracks and a bit of room,” Gollan said. “He enjoyed his time here last spring. We worked out a schedule for him that worked with the racing; we spaced his runs, gave him time off after each run, and really targeted him for each sprint.

"He just kept turning up and running better and better each time until his best run, when he ran third in the big race at the end of spring, so we immediately set our sights on returning for the straight races this year. Whether he’s good enough to win this race at 1,000 (meters)—there are some champion sprinters in there—we don’t know, but he’s a good straight horse and he will race well.”

I Wish I Win Bidding for Feature Success

Ten years on from guiding the brilliant Black Caviar  to Lightning Stakes success, jockey Luke Nolen will again team up with trainer Peter Moody to ride last year’s Golden Eagle winner I Wish I Win in Saturday's feature contest.

“If it’s run at an even gallop, he’ll get a chance to travel better and be strong late,” Nolen told Racing.com. “If they go breakneck, he’s going to have to get a long way off them to travel well in the race, so it’s going to make his job a lot harder. These couple of shorter races, namely the Newmarket and the Lightning, he’s (Moody) kept him nice and sharp, for these two assignments and he seems to have trialed up well. He’s done everything well at home, so whether or not we’re sharp enough at 1,000 meters down the straight, we probably won’t know 'til Saturday.”

I Wish I Win, a 5-year-old son of Savabeel  is unraced since his nose triumph in the Oct. 29 Golden Eagle at Rosehill Gardens. The New Zealand-bred has been 3-for-4 since being sent to Australia and joining Moody's barn.