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Royal Ascot plan shelved for multiple Group 1 winner
With a trip to Royal Ascot off the agenda, the Chris Waller-trained Nature Strip (Nicconi) will hunt for further riches in Queensland.
"(It) doesn't look like we'll be able to get to Ascot this year, so there's some nice sprint races in Queensland worth good money and you see some horses thrive up there," Waller told Peter Moody on his Moody On The Mic podcast on Wednesday.
The five-time Group 1 winner was last seen suffering a shock defeat to Eduardo (Host) in the Challenge Stakes (Gr 2, 1000m) at Randwick last Saturday and his planned trip to Queensland means he will bypass the William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Moonee Valley on March 19.
"He went to the paddock for three days, he's coming back tomorrow (Thursday)," Waller said.
"We're just sort of following a similar path to last year because I'm taking him up to Queensland.
"He'll be back down there (in Melbourne) for the spring, that's for sure."
This will not be the first time Nature Strip has ventured up to Queensland; the son of Nicconi (Bianconi) tackled the Doomben 10,000 Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) in 2019 and finished fourth behind The Bostonian (Jimmy Choux).
