Joliestar shines in Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington

Bad luck derailed Joliestar’s makeover as a sprinter last spring, but Chris Waller decided to persevere and was rewarded with a win in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap.

Damian Lane celebrates after Joliestar won the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington. Picture: Pat Scala/Racing Photos via Getty Images

Chris Waller’s marshalling of his forces landed another Group 1 win in Saturday’s Newmarket Handicap at Flemington.

Few stables can challenge Waller’s depth in the top echelon of racing.

Waller said his army of Sydney-based stars prompted him to look south for another Group 1 win for Joliestar.

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Joliestar won the Group 1 Thousand Guineas in Melbourne over 1600m as a three-year-old but Waller decided to prepare the Zoustar mare as a sprinter last spring.

The champion trainer said bad luck derailed that plan but the stable decided to persevere with Joliestar over short courses in her autumn campaign.

“We’ve got the likes of Via Sistina and Fangirl over a mile so we didn’t need all of them,” Waller said.

“We set her for The Everest and that went sort of pear-shaped.

“We lost the spring because we went to The Everest and we turned her into a sprinter.

“She ran in the Golden Eagle over 1500(m) and she didn’t have much luck.”

Joliestar’s run of indifferent luck continued when she was caught wide in a small field when resuming in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes in Sydney but the gaps appeared at the right time in the Newmarket Handicap.

Joliestar too good in the Newmarket Handicap! 🏆@[e-mail]/wvIssTJSPz

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) March 8, 2025

Joliestar started as the well-supported $3.40 favourite but had little trouble posting a 1¼-length win over fellow NSW-trained sprinter Headwall ($14).

“It’s mission accomplished,” Waller said.

“She hadn’t had a lot of luck go her way and finally, people see how good she is.”

Joliestar gave Waller his second Newmarket Handicap win after winning the feature sprint with Brazen Beau in 2015.

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Brazen Beau subsequently headed to England where he finished second in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes during that year’s Royal Ascot carnival.

Waller had earlier flagged similar plans could emerge should Joliestar win the Newmarket Handicap.

However, he said a shot at another of Australia’s premier sprints during The Championships in Sydney awaited the winner of more than $3.6m.

“Hopefully she can show them up in Sydney, in the TJ (Smith Stakes), how good she is at weight-for-age level as well,” Waller said.

Winning rider Damian Lane received the Dean Holland Trophy, named in honour of the fallen rider, who won the 2023 Newmarket Handicap on In Secret a matter of weeks before his passing after a race fall at Donald.

Originally published as Joliestar shines in Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington