Chris Waller will decide later this week whether Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio) clashes with star stablemate Autumn Glow in the 7 Stakes at Randwick, or heads to Melbourne for a Group One assignment at Caulfield.

The mare will be an acceptor for the Gr.2 7 Stakes (1600m) and the Gr.1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) with Waller leaning towards keeping her closer to home, pending the barrier draw.

"We're going to accept for the Underwood and the 7 Stakes, and then make a decision," Waller said.

"I'm happy to give her one more run at home to make sure everything is perfect and then probably join up in Melbourne for the Turnbull (Stakes).

"If she was drawing an even gate in both places, she will probably stay in Sydney. If she draws better in Melbourne in the Underwood, she'll go to the Underwood."

The multiple Group One winner was scratched from the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday and instead given a 1000m solo workout between races at Rosehill.

With Zac Lloyd in the saddle, Aeliana covered the distance in 1:09.49, running home her final 600m in 36.53s, her overall time almost five seconds slower than Autumn Glow, who worked over the same journey.

Waller was pleased with the effort from both mares and said Autumn Glow carried more condition and needed a more solid gallop.

"She's very forward, Aeliana. If she's going to run over a mile, I still want to keep her sharp, so I didn't want her to do too much. Autumn Glow does well between runs," he said.

The Randwick meeting will also feature The Gr.2 Shorts (1100m) where a number of key Everest hopefuls are set to step out, including the Cambridge Stud owned Joliestar (Zoustar) who makes her first appearance since placing at Royal Ascot in June. - NZ Racing News

Mr Brightside all-clear after Makybe Diva Stakes run

Champion galloper Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) is fit and healthy and will forge ahead into the spring after being given the all-clear on Sunday.

The 10-time Group One hero pulled up lame in the right hind leg, following his seventh placing in the G1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington. He finished five lengths behind the winner, with jockey Blake Shinn saying the nine-year-old didn’t let down on the Good 3 surface.

“It’s all good news, the horse is absolutely fine, no problem at all and we will continue on with his prep,” co-trainer Ben Hayes told Racing.com.

“He’s nice and sound this morning, which is really standard for him, so we’re all happy with Mr B.”

Mr Brightside was chasing his fourth consecutive win in the Makybe Diva Stakes, which was won brilliantly by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman’s gun mare Sheza Alibi.

Saturday’s race was Mr Brightside’s 50th start and 40 of those have been in Group or Listed company. - Racing.com

Cup blow for King Pedro as spring hangs by a thread

Melbourne Cup hopes for the emerging stayer King Pedro (NZ) (Eminent) might soon be finished for 2026 with the New Zealand bred galloper laid low by an infection.

OTI Racing director Terry Henderson said on Sunday that King Pedro’s spring future was “in the balance” as he was now certain to miss the Gr.2 Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick on October 3, which was a race that would have fully qualified him for the Melbourne Cup.

“He’s had a bad blood count this week and an infection, so he is going to miss the Metropolitan and that means we are looking at other options,” Henderson said on Sunday.

“His spring is in the balance. Because he is a relatively immature horse, we wouldn’t be rushing him through.

“He’s had this infection for the last week, and the blood hasn’t improved much this morning (Sunday) so his spring is up in the air.

“If they wanted to spell him, I wouldn’t disagree with it.”

Meanwhile Henderson provided some updates on other OTI Racing runners:

Wigmore (NZ) (Sweynesse) “Unfortunately, it’s a tendon injury. He’ll be out until after next autumn. He’ll go on our rehab procedure – we’ve had some good success with that – but he’s off the scene for 12 months.”

Warmonger (NZ) (War Decree) “He has come through his tendon rehab really well and he’s down to trial on Monday week ahead of his comeback.” - Racing.com

Wentwood Grange fillies shining this spring

Last year’s Karaka yearling sale draft is proving to be a vintage crop for Cambridge farm Wentwood Grange, with several of their fillies shining this spring, including Sweetest Thing (NZ) (Hello Youmzain), who recorded her maiden stakes success in Saturday’s Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton.

It was Sweetest Thing’s first start for Te Akau trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, with the filly joining their barn after being purchased by Glentree Racing out of Roydon Bergerson’s Awapuni stable following her runner-up effort behind now-stablemate Seize The Day in the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m).

“She was such a good two-year-old last season running second in the Manawatu Sires’, and it is great to see her back and the Te Akau team doing such a fantastic job with her,” Wentwood Grange’s Dean Hawkins said.

A daughter of Cambridge Stud sire Hello Youmzain, Sweetest Thing is out of winning Irish-bred mare Ocean Drive, a half-sister to Group One performer Reply, who Wentwood Grange purchased out of Inglis’ 2022 Australian Broodmare Sale for A$45,000.

“She’s (Ocean Drive) a Sea the Stars mare that we bought at Inglis in-foal to Lucky Vega and unfortunately she lost that foal,” Hawkins said.

“We bred her to Hello Youmzain (Sweetest Thing), and we haven’t had much luck with her since, she missed to Home Affairs, but she is in-foal to Little Brose. She is in the foaling paddock and hopefully we will have a foal out of her in the next couple of weeks.”

Speed has been top of mind for Hawkins and his brothers, Sean and Leigh, when selecting Ocean Drive’s matings to date, and they are pleased the mare has struck early with Sweetest Thing.

“She (Ocean Drive) is a European-bred mare who won over 2600m, so we wanted to inject a little bit of speed, which is why she went to Hello Youmzain and Little Brose,” Hawkins said. “That has been our breeding protocol with those Northern Hemisphere mares, who do such a fantastic job, but sometimes they just need a little bit of speed injected into them.”

That protocol seems to be working, with Sweetest Thing having now won the Canterbury Belle Stakes and finished runner-up in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes and Listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m), from just five starts to date, and has earned more than $180,000 in prizemoney.

Hawkins said Sweetest Thing has always been an impressive individual and fetched $80,000 when purchased at Karaka last year by Chris Rutten and Roydon Bergerson.

“She was a lovely big, strong filly and we sold her at Karaka to Chris Rutten and Roydon Bergerson, who are fantastic judges,” Hawkins said. “It is always great to sell a horse to Chris Rutten because he has such a phenomenal record.”

Wentwood Grange sold another couple of exciting fillies from their Karaka draft last year who are stamping their mark this spring, including Hawea (Hellbent), who won the Listed Chittick Family Fillies Classic (1100m) at Taupo last month, and homebred Pinafore (NZ) (Pinatubo), who closed late to get within a head of Justin Case in Saturday’s Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m) at Hastings.

“It has been a good start for those three-year-old fillies,” Hawkins said.

Hawea looks to be progressing nicely, having taken out her 1050m trial at Te Rapa on Sunday, and the Graham Richardson and Rogan Norvall-trained filly is currently an $8 equal second favourite in the TAB’s futures market for November’s Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton, with Sweetest Thing at $10 and Pinafore at $31.

“We came second in the 2000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) last year with Affirmative Action, and it is always great to have runners in those spring races,” Hawkins said. - Joshua Smith LOVERACING.NZ News Desk