The Chris Waller trained Joliestar is set to continue her stable’s brilliant autumn sweep of the majors heading betting on the feature race at Flemington on Saturday – the Group 1 $1.5 million Newmarket Handicap (1200m).

Waller enjoyed a Group 1 double in Sydney last weekend taking out the Surround Stakes with Lady Shenandoah and preparing the Verry Elleegant Stakes trifecta which was led by his Cox Plate champion mare Via Sistina.

He is now tipped to bring that good form south at Headquarters on Super Saturday saddling up the narrow favourite, Joliestar, in the 2025 Newmarket Handicap field at Flemington.

Waller has prepared just one previous winner of the iconic sprint down the famous Flemington ‘Straight Six’ with Brazen Beau in 2015.

This season he is hoping to break the decade long drought with his four-year-old daughter of Zoustar leading Newmarket Handicap betting at $5.50 through Ladbrokes.com.au after her good resuming run in Sydney’s Group 2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) in mid-February.

The 2023 Thousand Guineas winner has been kept fresh ready for a big Newmarket run this weekend from a midfield barrier eight draw with Damian Lane in the saddle.

Waller also has 50kg lightweight, Gatsby’s, jumping from the far outside alley (15) with the Coolmore Stud Stakes fifth placed Snitzel colt at $14.

He resumed in easier company running third fresh in the Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes at Randwick in early February and will relish the 8kg drop from what he carted there.

Following Joliestar in the markets are three other single figure hopes including the Phillip Stokes trained Stretan Angel at $7 and Growing Empire for Ciaron Maher at $7.50.

Stretan Angel carries 55.5kg from one the inside of the favourite with the progressive four-year-old Harry Angel mare chasing her first win since the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) here back in October of 2023.

It may have been a while between drinks, but she’s been competitive in her recent outings including a fourth under a length off Sunshine In Paris in November’s Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m) as an 80/1 outsider at the Melbourne Cup Carnival showdown.

She kicked off her autumn here on February 15 in the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) running an eye-catching second to Skybird when underrated again at 20/1 but is being kept much shorter in the markets now at her pet track.

As for Growing Empire, he too has support in the markets with plenty of punters willing to give the Zoustar colt another go after his somewhat disappointing seventh when resuming in the Black Caviar Lightning.

Out to be the third straight three-year-old Newmarket Handicap winner joining the filly In Secret (2023) and Cylinder (2024) last year, Growing Empire was a gun over the spring and can recapture that form up to the 1200m now.

He enjoyed top three placings in the Group 1 Manikato, $20 million The Everest, and the Coolmore at this track and trip making him a big chance here now he’s shrugged off the first-up cobwebs.

Maher is after his maiden Newmarket win and also saddles-up Buenos Noches ($19), ninth in the race last year, in the horse’s first run for his new stable.

The Robbie Griffiths trained Rey Magnerio meanwhile is the other runner under $10 Newmarket Handicap odds.

Third-up and fit at Headquarters the Magnus five-year-old resumed with a narrow Group 2 Rubiton win at Caulfield two back before finishing third to Jimmysstar in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate.

He gets up to the six-furlongs now, which he’s got a strong strike-rate over (7:2-3-1), and he’s a gun down the straight with plenty of past Flemington form to rely on.

Rey Magnerio was narrowly denied here in a Group 3 photo-finish over the Melbourne Cup Carnival last year before winning his last start at Flemington after that in Black-Type company just seven days later.

He’ll jump from a nice gate four draw on a manageable 56kg and looks to be going at career best.”

The early Newmarket Handicap market mover is the Matthew Smith trained Headwall backed in from $18 to $14 for the upset on 52.5kg which is just a half-kilo more than what he carried to fourth in the Oakleigh last time out.

At the opposite end of the Newmarket Handicap weights with the 57kg top kilos is Jason Warren‘s five-year-old daughter of Hellbent, Benedetta.

The Group 1 The Goodwood winning mare in Adelaide last May was third fresh in the Lightning with 56.5kg and is at a current quote of $10 to be the first Newmarket Handicap winner to carry 57kg to victory since Zoutori in 2021.

The 2025 Yulong Newmarket Handicap is set to run as Flemington Race 9 at 4:50pm (AEDT) as the penultimate event on the Saturday card.

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