TAB Champions Stakes (Group 1)

WITH the shadows drawing on this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival, which would prove to be the best attended since 2017 with 307,889 spectators across four days, the final of eight Group 1s was the A$3 million Champions Stakes over 2,000 metres.

This saw the return of the Cox Plate winner Cosmic Crusader, along with six others from that race in Saturday’s field of 10, with the Maurice gelding a $3.30 favourite.

Out to turn the tables was the Irish-bred Birdman who was last on settling down, with jockey Ben Melham keeping a close eye on Cosmic Crusader.

Angling around Omni Man, Melham found the back of the favourite and used him to take him into the race as ahead, Land Legend got out to a five-length lead down the inside. Swinging through the bend, Cosmic Crusader was wide and building into the race as Birdman sat in his slipstream.

Timed momentum

Rolling out at the 400-metre mark, Melham gave Birdman his task, as ahead Sir Delius hit the front before a line of six formed at the clocktower. With beautifully timed momentum, Birdman went on with it, running strongly through the line, as the Free Eagle gelding won by three-quarters of a length, reversing the Cox Plate result by the same margin to defeat Cosmic Crusader.

Third was the Sir Delius horse Frankel who may head to Hong Kong’s International Day in December where he holds entries for both the Hong Kong Cup and Hong Kong Vase.

The result also confirmed Chris Waller (seven wins, four Group 1s) and James McDonald (six wins, three Group 1s) as the leading trainer and jockey of the Carnival.

With purpose

“The way he finished the race off, he was strong,” said Chris Waller. “He hit the 200-metre mark with purpose, and he was running down some good horses. I could see Cosmic Crusader on Aeliana’s back, and I thought, ‘Oh no, here we go again’, but he just really launched, he said ‘I’m here’, so it was good to see. He’ll hold it now, he’ll hold that form.”

Having begun his career with Jessica Harrington with a Queen’s Vase third place, Birdman had a debut 10th in the 2024 Geelong Cup for Chris Waller.

He has since won six of his 22 starts, with this his second Group 1 win, both with Ben Melham up.

“The horse is in a happy place, and he’s ultra effective on his day,” said Melham

VRC Champions Mile (Group 1)

“SHE’S as good as any horse that I’ve trained, it’s just about longevity,” said Chris Waller reflecting on his superstar mare Autumn Glow after she’d just won her sixth Group 1 in the A$3 million Champions Mile, leading home a stable trifecta.

“Winx just kept going, and going and going for four or five years. She could beat Winx on her day but Winx would probably beat her on Winx’s best day, pretty easily in fact, especially over 2,000 metres. That’s the unique thing about people’s favourites, you can’t really compare them.”

Ridden by James McDonald, Autumn Glow, at $1.18, was the final of the six favourites that claimed victories across Carnival’s eight Group 1 races.

With the pace set by her stablemate, the ever-durable Lonhro gelding Lindermann led into the straight. It was not quite plain sailing for The Autumn Sun mare who was having her first start outside of Sydney.

Dangerous

“He’s so dangerous, that horse, because he’s got a beautiful high cruising speed,” said McDonald of Lindermann. “When Damian (Lane on Lindermann) let the shackles go at the 600 metres, she was a little bit lost, at sea a bit. Even when we straightened and I gave her a click, she took about 50 metres to get going.

“But once she opened the shoulders up, she was never going to get rolled. She’s just a brilliant specimen, a pleasure to ride, she’s just so, so special.”

The margin on the line was just over a length to Lindermann with the Fastnet Rock gelding Buckaroo completing the Waller-trained trifecta.

The win improved Autumn Glow’s record to 15 wins from 16 starts for just over $14.6 million in earnings.

VRC Champions Sprint (Group 1)

THE father and son training team of Anthony and Sam Freedman revealed a possible Royal Ascot contender on Saturday in the form of the filly Point Barrow who won the Group 1 Champions Sprint over 1,200 metres on the final day of Flemington’s Melbourne Cup Carnival.

“Form pending, and how she comes back in the autumn and her conditioning and everything like that, we’d love to think about having a crack. Whether that’s over 1,000 metres or 1,200 metres, we’d have to give that a bit of thought,” said Sam Freedman on Royal Ascot.

The presence of the Everest winner Tempted skewed the market with the crowd of just over 70,000 settling on the Street Boss filly as a $1.70 favourite.

Ridden by Mark Zahra, Point Barrow had experience down the straight winning the Group 3 Red Roses over 1,100 metres on Oaks Day last year. Point Barrow came with a sustained sprint from the 300 metre mark to belie her $18 market price.

Surge clear

Straight down the middle of the track, she overwhelmed a group of five to surge clear and win by a half-length. The Blue Point filly defeated the Zoustar filly Plaintiff with the Exosphere mare Skybird in third. Tempted the widest runner and not in the best ground could only manage fifth.

“She had been set for the race since the start of the prep,” said Sam Freedman. “Once the rain didn’t come, I knew she would reel off a brilliant last 400 (metres) and Mark Zahra, he tends to get it right on the big days.”

A $400,000 Magic Millions Yearling Sale purchase, Point Barrow has now won eight of 13 for earnings in excess of $2.6 million.

“I waited and just needed a little bit of room when I went in. She’s got such a good turn of foot I was able to part the seas and she was in for the fight late,” said Zahra.

“She dug in and I always say the fresh horse on the scene, that hasn’t been to The Everest, is the one and she’s got the chips.”

New Zealand

Barneswood Farm 54th New Zealand 1000 Guineas (Group 1)

THE Hollie Elliot-trained Angels Halo caused an upset to win the 54th edition of the New Zealand 1000 at Riccarton on Saturday.

Waved away as a $31 chance, the Proisir filly with Masa Hashizume up jumped from barrier two in the 15-horse field to take up a position two-pairs back in fifth. Given the run of the race Hashizume and Angels Halo never left the fence taking a vital gap at the top of the straight that gave the filly the shortest route home.

Breaking clear at the 300 metre mark, Angels Halo quickly grabbed a decisive margin as Dashing Dixie began to bridge the gap. Crossing the line first, Angels Halo won by three-quarters of a length from Dashing Dixie with Irishman Joe Doyle up, whilst Te Akau’s favourite, Asturia was a further length back in third.

“I can’t believe this,” said Hashizume, celebrating his first Group 1 win. “Full credit to the horse and the trainer. She’d been disappointing in her last start, but Hollie was confident that she could run in the top three today, so I stuck with her. This is just unbelievable.” Dangerous

Masa Hashizume came to New Zealand in 2014. “I was born and grew up in Fukuoka in Japan,” he said in an earlier interview. “I didn’t have any contact with horses at all, although I liked animals and I told my parents one day that I wanted to be a zookeeper. I ended up leaving school when I was 16 and I was arguing all the time with my parents about what I was going to do.

“My mum did some research and found out about a (riding) school in Australia as well as one in Christchurch. I told her I would go to the one in New Zealand.”

The now 30-year-old has won 333 races in New Zealand and is fifth on this season’s Jockeys’ Premiership.