Craig Kerry
Trainer Adrian Bott was focused on a belated shot at the Cox Plate (2040m) with Sir Delius after the rich import ended the perfect record of Autumn Glow, and seemingly her hopes of going to the spring Victorian feature, with victory in the $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).
Autumn Glow was the star attraction on Saturday at Randwick as the Chris Waller-trained four-year-old tried to stretch her winning streak to 12 and prove she could still dominate going beyond a mile for the first time.
Autumn Glow started a $1.30 favourite but was tested throughout as Light Infantry Man led and Sir Delius took off under Craig Williams down the back straight, leaving the star mare midfield without cover.
Williams pressed on and took the lead at the 350m, and Autumn Glow could not go with him, finishing 2ยฝ lengths away in third. Waller-trained stablemate Lindermann was expected to lead but was in last spot before powering home for second, 2ยผ lengths off. Nash Rawiller was suspended for a week from April 19 for excessive whip use on Lindermann, which he struck 10 times before the 100m.
In ending Autumn Glowโs run, Sir Delius completed a stunning comeback after being ruled out of the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup last year when failing Racing Victoria scans.
A record $2.7 million buy for Bott, legendary co-trainer Gai Waterhouse and supporters at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale in October 2024 in England, Sir Delius won two group 1s in Melbourne before the controversial call.
Bott was confident he could have Sir Delius peaking third up for the Queen Elizabeth, but admitted he was second-guessing the preparation after thirds in the Verry Elleegant and Ranvet Stakes. Waterhouse had declared Sir Delius the best weight-for-age horse in Australia over 2000m.
โGreat to see him getting back where he deserves to be because heโs such a talent,โ Bott said.
โI was second guessing whether weโd not had him right in those first couple of runs, then not having him as forward as we needed to, but, you know, itโs all satisfying now.
โThis is the one that counted. Obviously it was difficult those first parts of the preparation, he had a little bit of expectation on him from what he was able to achieve in the spring. But we kept focus and this was the goal that we really wanted to be able to achieve. Today was the right set-up and Craig executed it perfectly.
โIโm delighted for all the owners that are involved and the team thatโs made it possible.โ
Bott said the Cox Plate would now be the target, but he was unsure if Sir Delius would press on to the Melbourne Cup. He said Saturdayโs win was โright up thereโ with his best biggest since joining Waterhouse in 2016. The pair have won two Golden Slippers together.
โWe move forward, youโve got to look at those targets in front of you,โ he said of last springโs ruling.
โIโm delighted heโs been able to get back to the top level. Heโs executed really well and canโt wait for the spring again.โ
Earlier, Waller and top jockey James McDonald combined with Ohope Wins to claim the $1 million Australian Oaks (2400m).
Ohope Wins settled second last and stormed home to become the fourth filly to win the New Zealand-Australian Oaks double, beating Profoundly by a long neck.
Waller was unsure what the spring targets would be for the Yulong-owned filly.
โWeโre still learning about her and as youโve seen with our horses, winning an Oaks might not mean much come the spring,โ Waller said.
โAll we know is weโve got a horse at the elite level and itโs now our job to train her like an Australian and see how much speed sheโs got.
โSheโll tell us how she comes back the first couple of runs and weโll see where she fits in.
โIt was just going back to simple things, like how she raced in New Zealand. You have your heart in your mouth with some of her runs and today was similar.โ
Williams grabbed a double when winning on In Flight in the last race, the group 2 Sapphire Stakes, for trainer Joe Pride.
