Flit’s Sister Impresses Again

Alex Marsh

Editor

Last updated: Wed 05 Aug 2026 07:44

Alex Marsh 05 Aug 2026

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Glissando completed an early Canterbury double for Chris Waller and James McDonald
The Godolphin mare has now won two straight after backing up a dominant Kembla Grange breakthrough
She is a half-sister to Thousand Guineas winner Flit and closely related to Broadsiding

Glissando’s half-sister Flit winning the 2019 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield. (Getty)

It was a strong start to Wednesday’s Canterbury meeting for the powerful Chris Waller and James McDonald partnership, with the pair combining to win the opening two races.

Phantom Major completed the first leg of the double when swooping from the rear to salute in style before odds-on favourite Glissando led throughout to claim the second event.

The Godolphin mare is progressing well in her first campaign, having improved from a solid debut performance over 1150m at Randwick-Kensington to dominate a Kembla Grange maiden by 3.5 lengths at her second start.

The rise to 1300m suited Glissando on that occasion, while another 250m and the step up in grade proved no obstacle at Canterbury on Wednesday.

Glissando is a half-sister to three-time stakes winner Flit, whose career highlight came over a mile in the 2019 Group 1 Thousand Guineas.

Another half-sister, Speedway, also left her mark in the breeding barn, producing two foals headed by four-time Group 1 winner Broadsiding, who will cover his second book of mares this spring.

Record-breaking partnership

Wednesday’s early double continued a remarkable run for Waller and McDonald following their record-breaking achievements during the 2025/26 season.

McDonald surpassed Damien Oliver’s Australasian record of 129 Group 1 wins when Autumn Boy provided him with victory number 130 in the Rosehill Guineas on Golden Slipper Day.

He later eclipsed Malcolm Johnston’s long-standing Australian seasonal record of 16 Group 1 victories when Tron Bolt gave him his 17th aboard a Waller-trained runner in the J.J. Atkins.

Incredibly, all 17 of McDonald’s Australian Group 1 victories during the season were provided by the Waller stable.