Multi-million-dollar filly Tutta La Vita has been scratched from Saturday’s $700,000 Group 1 Queensland Oaks and will not race again in Australia.
But the daughter of The Autumn Sun is not finished as a racehorse, set to continue her career in the United States where the Breeders Cup meeting will be a target.
Tutta La Vita was bought by Resolute Racing’s John Stewart for $3.2 million at last month’s Chairman’s Sale and has had one run in Australia for Stewart, for an eighth placing in The Roses at Doomben.
As sad as trainer Chris Waller is to see Tutta La Vita go, he has endorsed her exportation and is excited about seeing a product of his former star three-year-old colt perform in the US.
“She’s not going to run, she’s going to go to America, which I’m fully supportive of,” Waller revealed in his weekly stable video update when discussing his Oaks team.
“You’ll probably see her run in the Breeders Cup, which is normally the end of October.
“Resolute Racing and the team are going to take her there, so it will be good to have The Autumn Sun flying the flag for Australia and certainly Tutta La Vita.”
Tutta La Vita has only won one of her 12 starts, but has been placed three times at Group 1 level from 1400m to 2000m.
This year’s Breeders Cup meeting, at Del Mar on November 1 and 2, is headlined by the US$7m Breeders Cup Classic (2012m) on dirt and US$5m Breeders Cup Turf (2414m), but also features the Breeders Cup Fillies & Mares Turf, a 2213m event worth US$2m.
Tutta La Vita’s scratching reduces Waller’s Oaks hand to five runners and two emergencies, headlined by favourite Scarlet Oak.
The Kiwi recruit narrowly defeated stablemate Mare Of Mt Buller in The Roses and also has well-supported SA Derby hard-luck story Ahuriri for competition, but Waller said Scarlet Oak deserves to be considered the horse to beat.
“She’s probably our No 1 seed, I don’t like to have favourites, but I think what she did last start – in fact, in her limited runs to date – would announce her as a pretty serious horse on the rise,” Waller said.
“It’s another step and a step up in distance, (there’s) a lot of boxes unticked, but a filly of her class should be very hard to bowl.”