Waller Eyeing 4th Q'land Derby

Sydney premier trainer banking on Belle Detelle among his Eagle Farm Group 1 trio

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BRISBANE - It has been anything bar a conventional lead-up for Chris Waller's trio of runners in the A$1 million (S$829,000) Group 1 Queensland Derby (2,400m) at Eagle Farm on May 31.

The master trainer has won the race three times, first with Hawkspur in 2013 followed by Kukeracha in 2021 and Kovalica in 2023.

The multiple Sydney champion trainer will again travel to the Sunshine State, sending up leading hope Belle Detelle as well as Imperialist and Existential Bob this year.

Belle Detelle already boasts a famous lineage. She is a three-quarter sister to Waller's 2021 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant.

The two share the same sire Zed while Verry Elleegant's dam Opulence is the mother of Belle Detelle's dam, Black Lace.

Belle Detelle, whose two wins include the Group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes (2,000m), is aiming to become just the third filly after Riva San (2008) and Dariana (2010) to win the Queensland Derby this century, with Waller preferring the true mile-and-a-half journey over the 2,200m of the Queensland Oaks.