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By Ray Hickson

She’s been mixing it with the boys all autumn so trainer Chris Waller says Aeliana has earned the right to try and steal the Group 1 $2 million ATC Australian Derby (2400m) from them.

Trainer Chris Waller (Pic: Grant Guy)

Waller initially sent Aeliana out first-up in the Hobartville Stakes for two reasons – because she’d had a later spring finish than some of her stablemates and as she is one of a number of high class fillies there was a desire from Waller to split them up.

In all three runs against the colts and geldings this preparation it’s been evident that Aeliana is right in their league and her last start narrow defeat to Broadsiding in the Rosehill Guineas (2000m) sealed the deal.

So Aeliana will head to Randwick on Saturday aiming to be the first filly since Shamrocker in 2011 to win the ATC Derby.

“Because she’s raced against them it’s not the unknown,’’ Waller said.

“The only unknown is the distance and it looks like, the way she’s racing, that 2400m might suit her.”

Fourteen years ago Shamrocker had beaten the boys in the Australian Guineas then ran third in the Rosehill Guineas and started a well fancied $5 chance in her Derby win.

Waller said he feels the Derby is the right Group 1 target for Aeliana, notwithstanding the dominance Treasurethe Moment is showing over the other staying fillies, to have her best chance of snaring a major this campaign.

“She’s got the right formlines and she gets the 2kg off for being a filly,’’ he said.

“She deserved a Group 1 win in the Thousand Guineas and she just ran into bad luck.”

Aeliana, $3.70 favourite with TAB on Thursday, will be ridden by Golden Slipper winning jockey Damian Lane and she’s drawn barrier two in the capacity field.

Punter’s Intelligence sectional data showed in the Rosehill Guineas the filly was the only horse to break 34 seconds for the last 600m, running 33.79, and her 11.21 final 200m dash was the race’s best by almost two lengths.

Waller already has six wins in the Group 1 $4m The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m), one short of the record held by TJ Smith and Gai Waterhouse, and among his five runners on Saturday he’ll unveil two international mares in Moira and Anisette.

Both mares, Yulong purchases, bring North American form to Australia with Anisette a three time Group 1 winner including the American Oaks at Santa Anita in 2023 and Moira is a last start Group 1 Breeders’ Cup F&M winner from Del Mar last November.

There’s little doubt that Waller feels the latter is the better credentialed horse but the former seems to have thrived a bit more with the travel.

“She’s not as good as Moira,’’ Waller said of Anisette.

“I wouldn’t say Moira has travelled bad but (Anisette) has come to Australia with more condition. She looks the better of the two in terms of how they’ve done since they’ve been here.

“Moira is a talented horse, I think she will be better in the spring but I think the Doncaster is the right race for her.”

The mares have drawn alongside each other in the Doncaster in 20 and 21 with Michael Dee on Anisette and Zac Purton partnering Moira.

Aeliana runs second in the Rosheill Guineas

Militarize, Kovalica and Firestorm complete the Waller quintet and, of them, he said he’s expecting a big improvement from Militarize at his third run back since running third in last year’s Doncaster.

“He was a bit flat second-up, things didn’t go his way he was three wide outside the lead no cover,’’ he said.

“His first-up run was really good and third run I’d expect him to bounce back.”

All the fields, form and replays for Day 1 of The Star Championships at Randwick