Verry Elleegant Following Winx Path

Prominent owner Brae Sokolski has many of the predicted spring stars on his books but in his eyes there’s one that sits above the rest.

The Victorian businessman said that while he expects his runners Humidor, Yes Yes Yes, Kings Will Dream and Finche to fire in the coming months, it’s star mare Verry Elleegant that reigns supreme.

“I would argue she’s the best horse I’ve got and I’ve had,” Sokolski said onĀ RSN927’s Racing Pulse.

The four-year-old starred in the autumn with three wins and a second from her four starts, including Group 1 victories in the Vinery Stud Stakes and ATC Oaks.

While her part-owner would love to see her headed towards a Melbourne Cup, he knows Chris Waller has her on a similar path to his former star mare Winx, with the Cox Plate the main plan.

“It’s interesting because Chris is often just putting her in the same sentence as Winx, he did it yesterday in his media launch for the Spring Carnival,” Sokolski said.

“I’m not for one moment suggesting that she’s even in the same stratosphere as Winx but I believe that Chris genuinely feels that she’s his number one seed and that she’s potentially the next big thing that he has in his stable.”

Waller confirmed his intentions to kick off Verry Elleegant’s spring campaign in the Winx Stakes, then following the mighty mare’s well-worn path into the George Main and then the Cox Plate.

While Waller has flagged the potential of a fourth start this spring in the Melbourne Cup following the Cox Plate, Sokolski said Verry Elleegant’s former trainer Darren Weir was adamant he would have set her for the Melbourne Cup.

“Interestingly I had dinner with Darren Weir, it was actually the week before she won the Vinery, she hadn’t won Group 1 race, and he said to me if you have one message to Chris Waller of all the horses that I have with him, it’s set Verry Elleegant for the Melbourne Cup this year,” he said.

“Chris is adamant that the Cox Plate is the right race for her this year and I do agree with him.

“The problem is we’re convinced that she’s going to win Group 1 weight-for-age races this season, so if she’s going to do that she’s potentially going to handicap herself out of the Melbourne Cup in 2020, so it could well be we get one roll of the dice.”

– racing.com

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