Trainer Chris Waller broke the news on social media

Disappointing news came out of the Chris Waller stable this week that one of his stable stars Fangirl will not race again this autumn.

The Autumn Carnival will be missing one of its biggest stars as Chris Waller has announced that Fangirl is going to be out of race action until the spring. The five-year-old mare is a three-time Group 1 winner and was being targeted at some further big prizes this autumn. 

News broke this week that Fangirl would miss the rest of her intended engagements this autumn after sustaining an injury at home. While the injury is not a serious one, it is enough to have connections being cautious and not try to rush their star back to action. She will return in the spring and is likely to follow a similar campaign that she did this season with the likes of the Winx Stakes and the King Charles III Stakes probably targets if she is ready in time.   

The vet advised connections to rest Fangirl 

Fangirl misses the rest of the autumn due to a cut on her leg. While that may not sound all that bad, it was serious enough for the Waller team to get the vet involved and for the medical expert to suggest that she is not racing again this autumn. 
 
It is a plus that it is not a more serious injury which Waller alluded to in his statement. It is not something that is going to stop Fangirl from returning to the track in the spring but it is serious enough to have her miss some of the big autumn targets that connections will have been looking forward to with her.  

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes loses its favourite 

Being run on April 13 at Randwick, the loss of the $4.50 market leader with the horse racing bookmakers will shake up the market for the Group 1 contest. Mr Brightside has taken over at the top of the betting, despite suffering a defeat this weekend at Caulfield when trying to defend his All-Star Mile crown.  
 
The second favourite is Think It Over who beat Fangirl in the recent Verry Elleegant Stakes at Randwick while Pride of Jenni is the third in at the odds. It will be interesting to see how things unwind over the next four weeks until the race as it has the potential to be one of the contests of the autumn, even without Fangirl being in the field. 

Jenni tops Brightside in All-Star Mile 

Sydney lost their top miler this week and in Melbourne, their top miler was turned over in the All-Star Mile on Saturday afternoon. Mr Brightside is an old rival of Fangirl, failing to beat her on her own patch in the 2023 King Charles III Stakes. 
 
Everyone knows the way that Pride Of Jenni has to be ridden, point and shoot and just keep going. Despite that, Declan Bates was able to get the lead on her at Caulfield and although she was being closed on as the winning line approached, she never looked like getting picked up. 
 
She has a remarkable cruising speed which means that others are not able to put pressure on her early without ruining their own races. Rivals know she can’t be given the lead but don’t possess anything to live with her past halfway. It is an interesting puzzle for later in the autumn to see how they can keep up with her. 

The loss of Fangirl to the autumn carnival leaves a fair-sized hole to fill. She is without a question one of the most talented over 1600m in the country with the promise of some 2000m racing as well. Thankfully it is not a serious injury and we will see her in the spring.