Waltz On By to be tested as a Queensland carnival candidate in Straight Six at Flemington

Wet weather prompted trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman to rethink their plans with Waltz On By but winning Saturday’s Listed Straight Six at Flemington would be a handy back-up.

Winning Saturday’s Listed Straight Six would be part of a handy back-up plan to get talented mare Waltz On By to Brisbane for a possible tilt at next month’s Stradbroke Handicap.

Trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman wanted to run Waltz By at Scone on Saturday but NSW’s weather forecast prompted them to keep the four-year-old in Melbourne.

Instead Waltz On By will enjoy a class drop at Flemington after a midfield effort in the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes in Adelaide on April 27.

“We were hoping to send her to Scone for a 1400m race but given it’s probably going to be a heavy track or soft, that doesn’t suit her at all so we’ll run her at Flemington instead,” Coleman said.

The impeccably bred Waltz By, by I Am Invincible out of Thousand Guineas winner Stay With Me, has won two stakes races over 1400 during her 18-start career.

Waltz On By’s aptitude at 1400m created opportunities over that distance in Brisbane, including in next month’s Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap and Tattersalls Tiara.

Coleman said running at Scone would have given herself and Moody a chance to assess Waltz On By as a possible Stradbroke hopeful.

Stay With Me could head north to Queensland for races such as the Stradbroke Handicap and Tatts Tiara during the Brisbane Winter Carnival. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images.

• Flemington Early Oil: $6 best bet

“The plan was to go to Scone and depending on how she ran there, she’d go on to Brisbane,” Coleman said.

“If she happened to run well here on Saturday, that might still be the plan.”

“She’s nominated for those races (the Stradbroke and Tatts Tiara) so that’s still a possibility.”

TAB rated Waltz On By at $10 chance to win the Straight Six with young rider Will Price in the saddle.

Moody and Coleman will give giant two-year-old Hazey Hill his debut Sir Eugene Gorman Handicap.

Coleman said Hazey Hill was already on his way towards 17 hands high but had continually stood up in his trackwork to warrant a race start at Flemington.

“We’ve kept looking at him thinking he should be in the paddock but he keeps putting up his hand to be in work and go to the races,” Coleman said.

“He’s a Churchill so he’s bred to get out over a trip and he’ll be there for the race experience.

“He’ll probably have one for the experience and education then head off to the paddock but hopefully he won’t grow too much more.”

Hazey Hill jumped out soundly when third in his latest jumpout at Pakenham on April 30, prompting TAB to post him as a $14 chance.

Linda Meech will ride Hazey Hill at Flemington.

Originally published as Waltz On By to be tested as a Queensland carnival candidate in Straight Six at Flemington