Champion trainer Chris Waller is poised to field a formidable quintet in the upcoming $1 million Golden Rose Stakes. Although early betting suggests St Gotthard is his strongest contender, Waller maintains that his five runners are closely matched.

St Gotthard, a full sibling to Switzerland, encountered his maiden defeat when narrowly beaten by Warwoven in the recent Run To The Rose (1200m), a traditional stepping stone to the prestigious Saturday feature event.

Joining St Gotthard in the 1400m Golden Rose will be stablemates Tron Bolt, Central Europe, Stormy Marco, and Campione D’Italia. Waller expressed confidence in all of them, irrespective of their barrier draw positions.

“It’s such a fair track, Rosehill, and over the 1400, there’s four hundred metres to the first bend,” Waller commented. “We’ve had some good success from bad draws. Going back to Zoustar, I think he drew the outside and (jockey) Jimmy Cassidy was even more confident. He said, ‘nothing will get in his way’. It’s not something you can worry about.”

“I could make a case for all of them, to tell you the truth,” he added.

Guest House, the winner of the San Domenico Stakes, is currently the pre-post favourite at $2.80 to emulate Forensics (2007-08) by achieving the Golden Slipper-Golden Rose double.

St Gotthard is positioned second in the betting at $4.50, with Warwoven at $6 and Tron Bolt at $7 following closely.

In other stable news, Champagne Stakes victor Fireball will not participate as Waller has confirmed the colt has been sent for a spell after not fully recovering from a viral infection.

A similar viral issue led to the race-day scratching of Sing Your Song from the Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday. This setback dashed her aspirations for the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) next month.

However, Waller is optimistic about salvaging part of her spring campaign, with plans to redirect her towards the Reginald Allen Quality (1400m) on Everest day, possibly followed by a trip to Melbourne.

“That was a bit tough to take (on Saturday) morning, but that’s what happens, isn’t it?” Waller remarked.

Despite these setbacks, Waller still anticipates having a strong contender in the Flight Stakes (1600m) with former Perth filly Striking Alibi, who endured a luckless run when finishing second to Bangkok Hottie in the Tea Rose.