Polytrack trial preps up Joliestar

By Trent Crebbin, Mandy Cottell and Danny Matthews 

Chris Waller’s star mare is set to line up in the Kingsford Smith Cup.

Joliestar will have to overcome a wide draw if she's to add a third Group 1 to her sparkling resume.

Waller's four-year-old mare has drawn barrier 13 of 14 in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

In her favour however will be the man aboard, with James McDonald set to reunite with the daughter of Zoustar for the first time since The Everest in October last year.

Since then, Joliestar has won the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap under Damian Lane, while she finished a narrow second to Jimmysstar in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes under Zac Lloyd at her most recent run.

Waller opted to freshen Joliestar for a tilt at Brisbane and skip the Group 1 Doomben 10,000, instead happy to give the mare a trial in between runs, which ended up with its own challenges.

With trials in Sydney washed out due to rain, a 740 metre trial conducted on May 22 on the Warwick Farm Polytrack was forced to be used as Joliestar's final public hit out.

"It was fine," Waller said of the situation.

"We've got to learn to use Polytracks and we just gave her a nice easy trial. The trial is one thing, the trip there, the day out, the trip home is probably more important than the actual trial.

"It's just one of those necessary tools. We want good grass when we want to use the grass, we can't have good grass and abuse it when it's wet.

"I think you've got to give and take a bit and learn to do safely, keep the Polytracks improving and keep educating us how to use them better because we need them."

While Joliestar finished last in the heat of eight runners, Waller said she did what she needed to before travelling to Brisbane earlier in the week.

"She had a good day out, she travelled up Monday, it gives her a week to settle in," Waller said.

"She stayed out of trouble and had a nice easy time."

Waller is yet to win a Kingsford Smith Cup, and alongside the Stradbroke Handicap, it is the only Group 1 race in Queensland - of which there are eight, that the 179-time Group 1-winning trainer has not yet succeeded in.

Joliestar will be joined by stablemate Democracy Manifest on Saturday, while new addition to the stable, three-year-old colt Angel Capital, did not accept, however, is well fancied in the Group 3 Fred Best Classic against his own age group.

Despite the wide draw, Joliestar is a firm favourite at $3 for the Kingsford Smith Cup ahead of Giga Kick at $4.40, who has drawn barrier 10.

Meanwhile, a wet track may have thwarted the finishing power of King Of Thunder last start but connections are hoping a drier surface will enable the horse to show his true colours in the Queensland Derby.

King Of Thunder finished third to Imperialist in heavy conditions at his final lead-up run in the Rough Habit Plate and while content with the performance, co-trainer Tom Charlton said the three-year-old wasn't at his best in the rain-affected going.

"It looked like he was coming to make his challenge and just worked away to the line," Charlton said.

"He shows a few more gears than that normally. The comment from the rider was he just got slightly dulled in the conditions.

"We were delighted with him the other day. He didn't love that ground and he's probably looking for a bit more of a test, which he will get next Saturday."

Fine weather is forecast in Brisbane this week and King Of Thunder will arrive at Eagle Farm well-seasoned with Saturday's classic the third Derby he will have contested.

He finished seventh in the Victorian Derby last spring and fifth in the ATC Australian Derby during the autumn carnival.

Connections are hoping Saturday will be a case of third time lucky.

"He has been running really well in all these Derby races and has a likable profile going into it," Charlton said.

King Of Thunder remains a $6 Derby favourite while stablemate Hurstville Zagreb has drifted from $11 to $15 after finishing a soundly beaten third to Let's Fly at Randwick on Saturday.

Let's Fly is being considered for a Queensland Oaks tilt with co-trainer Will Freedman confirming they will see how she comes through the race before deciding whether to pay the late entry fee for her to run.

The Queensland Oaks is at Eagle Farm on June 7.