Chris Waller saddled a staggering 151st victory at Group 1 level when Militarize produced a thrilling late burst to claim Rosehill’s Golden Rose Stakes in the hands of Joao Moreira.
The three-year-old son of Dundeel looked to be going nowhere with a furlong to run, but Moreira conjured a dramatic change of gear from his mount to overhaul Encap and Godolphin’s Cylinder in the shadows of the post for a head victory.
The winner was equipped with the blinkers for the first time and took his incredible record under Moreira to three victories from as many starts in top level contests.
A delighted Waller told Sky Racing: “Everything worked out well as he had a nice draw and received a nice confident ride from Joao.
“There was a bit of traffic in front of us at the 300m mark and Joao cleverly weaved a path and he (Militarize) still needed to dig deep in the last 100m and he did.
“He’s an amazing jockey and to have the world-class riders like Joao and Ryan (Moore) here today is pretty special.
“Joao has got an amazing record on this horse and that’s why he was onboard today.
“This horse has been the ultimate professional all the way out, he’s just a slow maturing horse that won two Group 1s as a two-year-old so he’s obviously very good. The world is his oyster.
“That’s the beauty of young horses, we are still learning about them week in and week out and a mile would be no problem to him.”
Referring to his previous winners in the race, The Autumn Sun and Zoustar, Waller believes Militarize bears comparison.
“They were great colts and they are doing it at stud too. The Autumn Sun went on to run in and win the Guineas and this lad will now head to the Guineas too.”
Magic Man Joao Moreira conjured a thrilling late run from Militarize to hand trainer Chris Waller his third Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes victory at Rosehill.
