Chris Waller predicts we will ‘see something special’ on Saturday morning - so who is the ‘best filly in Australia’?

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Chris Waller has quite the knack for unearthing the next star filly. First there was Winx, the all-conquering darling of Australia who landed a mammoth 25 Group 1s and went on a memorable 33-race unbeaten run before closing out her career in 2019.

Verry Elleegant continued the theme, winning 11 Group 1s during a three-and-a-half-year stint with Waller, including success in the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups, and Via Sistina added a further 11 top-level races to her CV after joining the top trainer in 2024.

Autumn Glow looks to be Waller’s next out-of-the-ordinary filly and boasts a perfect 10-10 record going into Saturday’s Group 1 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill (4.50). Even rival trainer Tom Charlton has described her as “the best filly in Australia” – so read on to find out about her career so far.

What has she achieved?

Autumn Glow, a daughter of Waller’s former Group 1 star The Autumn Sun and South African Grade 1 winner Via Africa, topped the Inglis Australian Easter Sale when bought for A$1.8 million (£948,474/€1.1m) in 2023 and went on to win her three starts at two before climbing the ranks in her three-year-old campaign.

Her seventh straight win was a top-level breakthrough in the TAB Epsom at Randwick in October, recording the second-highest winning Racing Post Rating (120) in the last 11 years.

Autumn Glow signed off at three with victory in the Golden Eagle – worth a whopping £2.6 million to the winner – at the same track, and has added two more Randwick victories to her CV this year, most recently landing a second Group 1 in the TAB Verry Elleegant Stakes.

Interestingly, she recorded a higher RPR (124) in the race than any of the seven wins of Winx, Verry Elleegant and Via Sistina.

Quotes from the camp

James McDonald (after latest win): “Her demeanour, her presence, she knows she's so good. You can just see her strut around, even cantering to the start looking around like ‘you guys have got none’. She's pretty good and she moves like a dream. She is so push-button. She’s got an incredible turn of foot. Even though the wet track wasn’t to her liking she was always going to win, even if I went another furlong.”

James McDonald: has been on board for six of Autumn Glow's ten winsCredit: Edward Whitaker

Chris Waller (previewing Saturday’s race): “She’s ready to peak. I think you’re going to see something special to start with. Have we seen her get to her highest level? I don’t think we have. All horses have a ceiling so we’re mindful of that. We keep putting challenges in front of her, though, and she keeps taking them with every step.”

Saturday’s assignment

The betting suggests the George Ryder Stakes will be a formality for Autumn Glow, who heads the market at 1-4 with Ladbrokes and is as short as 1-10 with William Hill.

Racing Post Ratings indicate it may not be a walk in the park, with Autumn Glow having 3lb to spare over nearest rival and three-year-old Godolphin-owned stablemate Beiwacht on the figures. Last year’s Golden Rose winner was second to leading sprinter and another stablemate in Joliestar in the Canterbury Stakes a fortnight ago.

Other opponents include last year’s winner Gringotts and Pericles, who gained a Group 1 breakthrough in the Futurity Stakes at Caulfield last month.

Waller bids to win another Group 1 on the Golden Slipper card with Autumn Boy, a son of The Autumn Son who is the 6-5 favourite for the Rosehill Guineas (4.15) on the back of a second in the Randwick Guineas last time.

Read more . . .

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