Weir nominates seven for the Auckland Cup

Leading Victorian trainer Darren Weir is looking to expand his wings further in the chase for Group One glory.

On Saturday, Weir will have his first Group One runner in Perth with Rageese in the Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot and the trainer is also looking further afield.

He has nominated seven stayers for next year’s Auckland Cup as well as a sprinter in the Group One Railway Stakes in New Zealand.

Taiyoo, Real Love, Lord Van Percy, Shamkiyr, High Church, Loresho and Auvray are among nominations for the Group One Auckland Cup (3200m) in March.

Taiyoo is also entered for the Group Three City Of Auckland Cup (2400m) on New Year’s Day while Stellar Collision is among Railway Stakes nominations. on the same program.

“”The hardest thing for us is that the Auckland Cup is two days before the Adelaide Cup, but we’ve nominated a few for Auckland and we’ll see what happens. It’s early days yet,” Weir’s racing manager Jeremy Rogers told NZracing.co.

Taiyoo was a close second to Tanby in the 2015 Adelaide Cup over the 3200m of the Auckland Cup while a big drawcard for Real Love would be to get a Group One win before her retirement to stud.

He said Stellar Collison, the winner of four of his seven starts, was part-owned in Christchurch in New Zealand’s South Island.

Chris Waller has also entered three stayers in the Auckland Cup, including 2014 winner Who Shot Thebarman.