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📻 IMPORTANT AUCKLAND UPDATE 📻
J-Mac: Joliestar primed for The Shorts
Connor Scanlon • September 15th, 2025 7:26 pm
Three-time Group 1 winner Joliestar is set to return this Saturday for her first run of the spring.
The Chris Waller trained bay was originally meant to kick off her carnival in the Sheraco Stakes (1200m) last weekend, but he scratched her from that Group 2 to run the mare in The Shorts (1100m).
Joliestar has an amazing first-up record, winning three from five first-up races and placing in the other two.
James McDonald believes the five-year-old mare is looking in fantastic shape ahead of her $1 million Shorts ride.
“I’m really looking forward to that,” McDonald told SENTrack and RSN’s Giddy Up.
“She’s prepping up really sharp, she did a nice exercise gallop this morning.
“She looks great, she’s nice and forward.”
Alongside Joliestar, Group 1 winners Briasa and Marhoona will be joining her on the Randwick track.
The 120-time Group 1 winning jockey admitted this race will be a good test for the mare, but she’s definitely up to the challenge.
“It’s some race that Short because Briasa’s there, you’ve got Marhoona,” J-Mac said.
“You’ve got a fair few of those speedsters, so it’s a really good test for her to see where we fit in.
“But she seems to be really, really good.”
Chris Waller who has an amazing jockey-trainer partnership with McDonald will have two horses in this years addition of the $20 million Everest – Lady Shenandoah and Joliestar.
Despite riding both those horses in the past, McDonald admitted he doesn’t know which horse he will be riding on in The Everest yet.
“That’s more up to Chris,” McDonald said.
“Chris will make the decision of which one and obviously we’ll discuss it, but he’s the boss, he’ll make what he thinks best.”
