He wasn't able to replicate his heroics on the same program three years ago, but Chris Waller still came away with two of the three Group 1 races at Randwick on Epsom Handicap day.
In 2019, Waller made a clean sweep of the three feature races, winning the Metropolitan (2400m) with Come Play With Me, Flight Stakes (1600m) with Funstar and Epsom Handicap (1600m) with Kolding.
On Saturday, he got two-thirds of the way towards replicating that golden afternoon, capturing the Flight Stakes with Zougotcha, just missing in the Epsom when Hinged finished third and a long head off dead-heaters Top Ranked and Ellsberg, before winning the Metropolitan with No Compromise.
Like the Epsom, the Metropolitan produced a tight finish with just a nose separating No Compromise and second placegetter Le Don De Vie with Realm Of Flowers the same margin away third.
"Similar to the last race in the Epsom, it was a great finish," Waller said.
"I didn't know which way that one was going to go, but thankfully this one didn't take as long to put up.
"He's been a bit unlucky. He doesn't like the real wet tracks. Today, even though it's heavy, they are getting through it better than they were in the autumn and that was a help to him."
While Waller said No Compromise was a worthy winner, he felt the St Leger Stakes (2600m) back at Randwick on October 15 was a more realistic target than the Caulfield Cup, although he hadn't ruled out giving the gelding a shot at the latter.
The winner's stablemate Durston started an equal favourite off the back of his wins in the Wyong and Newcastle Cups and Waller felt he didn't enjoy the heavy conditions, but said all honours were with No Compromise.
"Durston got beaten but I think that was the track and this horse (No Compromise), he won the Queen's Cup leading into the Sydney Cup and he's always around the mark," Waller said.
No Compromise gave Waller his fifth Metropolitan and first since 2019, while it was jockey Tommy Berry's second win in the race after partnering Glencadam Gold in 2012, when he also won the Epsom Handicap aboard Fat Al.
ANOTHER nail-biter at Royal Randwick in the Metropolitan!! @TommyBerry21 @cwallerracing pic.twitter.com/3Am1kgqsHj
— 7HorseRacing (@7horseracing) October 1, 2022
| FP | Silk | Horse, Age & Sex Sire & Dam |
Jockey Trainer |
SP
WT |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |
|
6. NO COMPROMISE (NZ) 6yo G PINS (AUS) - BAGGY GREEN (AUS) |
TOMMY BERRY CHRIS WALLER |
$6
53.5kg |
|||||||
| G D Thurlow & Mrs P A Thurlow | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 2nd |
|
2. LE DON DE VIE (GB) 6yo G LEROIDESANIMAUX (BRZ) - LEADERENE (GB) |
JAMES MCDONALD CIARON MAHER & DAVID EUSTACE |
$5
56kg |
|||||||
| A Kheir, J A O'Neill, P Mehrten, V Kheir, Carty Racing, YES Bloodstock, S A Lewin, B D Nettlefold, D Edmonds, Barragunda Racing, Le Don's Crew, B M Spencer, M Pearce, A K Racing, Solar Eclipse Syndicate, S R Allan, Q J Olde, M Aubrey & N Ellmore | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 3rd |
|
10. REALM OF FLOWERS (AUS) 6yo M SO YOU THINK (NZ) - ASTRAL FLOWER (GB) |
REECE JONES A & S FREEDMAN |
$21
51kg |
|||||||
| Kia Ora 2009 (Mgr: R W Rose), Nandowra Racing (Mgr: Dr B L Roberts), R McClure, Mrs B M Mcclure, E J Lucas, P C McClure, Mrs B Bester, J A R Bester & J C Izon | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 4th |
|
1. STOCKMAN (NZ) 6yo G TAVISTOCK (NZ) - CRIMSON (NZ) |
SAM CLIPPERTON JOSEPH PRIDE |
$9.5
56.5kg |
|||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 5th |
|
8. SACRAMENTO (AUS) 6yo G PIERRO (AUS) - ALZORA (AUS) |
TIM CLARK G WATERHOUSE & A BOTT |
$41
53kg |
|||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 6th |
|
7. DURSTON (GB) 6yo G SEA THE MOON (GER) - CARIBANA (GB) |
KERRIN MCEVOY CHRIS WALLER |
$5
53kg |
|||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 7th |
|
12. CARIF (AUS) 7yo G SO YOU THINK (NZ) - NORZITA (NZ) |
ANDREW ADKINS PETER & PAUL SNOWDEN |
$41
51kg |
|||||||
| 8th |
|
4. ARAPAHO (FR) 5yo G LOPE DE VEGA (IRE) - ALZUBRA (GB) |
RACHEL KING BJORN BAKER |
$8.5
54.5kg |
|||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 9th |
|
5. MANKAYAN (IRE) 6yo G INTELLO (GER) - ANGELIC NOTE (IRE) |
JASON COLLETT CIARON MAHER & DAVID EUSTACE |
$12
54.5kg |
|||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 10th |
|
3. KUKERACHA (NZ) 5yo G NIGHT OF THUNDER (IRE) - PORTRAIT OF A LADY (USA) |
BRENTON AVDULLA CHRIS WALLER |
$51
55kg |
|||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 11th |
|
15. HAMERON (GB) 4yo G NIGHT OF THUNDER (IRE) - THURAYAAT (GB) |
JAY FORD CHRIS WALLER |
$14
51kg |
|||||||
|
|||||||||||
| 12th |
|
11. GROVE FERRY (IRE) 5yo G EXCELEBRATION (IRE) - REBELLINE (IRE) |
WINONA COSTIN G WATERHOUSE & A BOTT |
$8.5
51kg |
|||||||
|
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