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Improvise boosts broodmare value after Listed win

14 April 2018

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By Glenn Davis

Champion trainer Chris Waller added to his haul of big Sydney feature wins when Improvise boosted her future broodmare value with a gutsy win in the Princess Stakes at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.

Waller was in spectacular form winning all three Group One races at Randwick with Unforgotten (Australian Oaks), Winx (Queen Elizabeth Stakes) and Who Shot The Barman in the Sydney Cup.

Winx’s win was her 25th straight victory equalling Black Caviar’s record.

Moments after Who Shot The Barman won the Sydney Cup at his fifth attempt, Improvise flashed home to win the Listed Princess Stakes (1600m) by a short neck over the fast finishing La Scopa.

Skate To Paris battled on for third, a further neck away.

Improvise, a daughter of Hinchinbrook, was sent to Waller’s Gold Coast stables for the winter with Black-Type races in mind and made her Queensland debut at Doomben last month finishing sixth to Hinchinstyle over 2040 metres.

Improvise’s win was only her second but Waller has always had a good opinion of the three-year-old who was sent to Melbourne finishing seventh in the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes at Flemington in November.

Waller’s Gold Coast stable foreman Paul Shailer said it was unlikely Improvise would head towards the Group One Queensland Oaks next month.

The Princess Stakes is the traditional starting point for fillies heading to the Queensland Oaks.

“Chris might say otherwise but I doubt she’ll stay,” Shailer said.

“She got beaten over 2000 metres at Doomben last start and this was a drop back in distance which suited her.”

Meanwhile Port Macquarie trainer Jenny Graham celebrated a rare Queensland win when Backhouse Billy claimed the Benchmark 80 Handicap (2200m).

Backhouse Billy made his winning move just before the 800 metres when premier jockey Jeff Lloyd shot the five-year-old to the lead before holding off the fast finishing Houdini The Great to score by a long neck.

The win ended a string of four consecutive placings and took Backhouse Billy’s record to five wins from 32 starts.

Racing Queensland webnews   April 14