For the time poor:
How The Track Played
Lanes 1–5 were key overall with tempo also critical.
Moment Of The Day
Headwall stakes his claim for The Everest – Headwall (R8).
Tactics Questioned
Team riding? Chelmsford Stakes.
Steer Of The Day
James McDonald on Changingoftheguard (R4).
Flashing Lights (Follow)
Travolta (R4), Lady Shenandoah (R8), Willydoit (R9).
They Left It In The Bag
Savvy Hallie (R6), Private Eye (R9).
What You May Have Missed
Update on Amreekiyah + Clean Energy retired.
Social Media Sin Bin
Rory Flanagan – potting the ride from James McDonald in R8.
Forgive Runs
R6 – Tupakara (wide), R6 – Within The Law (wide), R8 – Lady Shenandoah (no luck), R10 – Point And Shoot (missed start badly).
| Race | Winner | Lane @ 800m | PIR @ 400m | Lane @ 400m | Lane @ 400m | Early Speed | Late Speed | Overall Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denman Star | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | Slow | Fast | Average |
| 2 | So Magnificent | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Even | Even | Poor |
| 3 | Monte Supreme | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | Even | Even | Average |
| 4 | Changingoftheguard | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Slow | Even | Above Average |
| 5 | Shohisha | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | Even | Even | Average |
| 6 | Apocalyptic | 5 | 1 | 6 | 5 | Fast | Even | Above Average |
| 7 | Lindermann | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Slow | Even | Elite |
| 8 | Headwall | 9 | 3 | 9 | 7 | Even | Even | Above Average |
| 9 | Pericles | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | Even | Fast | Elite |
| 10 | Well Timed | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | Fast | Slow | Average |
| Column | Explanation |
|---|---|
| PIR @ 800m | Position in running at the 800m (1 = leader; lower = closer to pace). |
| Lane @ 800m | Track lane the horse occupied at 800m (1 = inside rail; higher = wider). |
| PIR @ 400m | Position in running at the 400m. |
| Lane @ 400m | Track lane the horse occupied at 400m. |
| Early Speed | Benchmarks how fast the leader went to the 800m vs historical performance. |
| Late Speed | How fast the race came home (late sectionals) vs historical performance. |
| Overall Rating | Analyst rating considering speed shape, sectionals, track pattern, and what’s expected for the class. |
How the track played?
Once again the track played very fair, with tempo the key factor in deciding the majority of the races. It was a 50/50 split again with rails/off rails in transit throughout the day, maybe the more telling factor was the lanes in the straight.
Headwall (R8) was the only outlier, coming down lanes 6-7 in the straight. The other 9 races were dominated by horses getting to lanes 1-5 in the straight. Overall, you could be slightly forgiving of horses who had to close off from worse than midfield + closing off in lanes 7+ in the straight.
Moment Of The Day: Headwall Stakes His Claim for The Everest – Headwall (R8)
The progressive 6yo gelding Headwall has hit his straps over the past 12 months and again raised the bar on Saturday with an impressive first-up win, making it six victories from eleven starts at 1000m. The tempo was above average early, which allowed Zac Lloyd to ride patiently before unleashing his mount’s trademark turn of speed in the final 400m. The Matthew Smith-trained galloper’s main weapon is that explosive finish – could we see slot owners begin to feel the need for a horse who can come off the back of the likes of Private Harry and Ka Ying Rising?
Headwall holds off a flying Lady Shenandoah to win the Concorde!
Plenty to dissect out of that 🗻 pic.twitter.com/5BYKOVv1QP
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) September 6, 2025
The story of the race, however, was the luckless run of Lady Shenandoah, who with even breaks should have won. No fault of James McDonald, but the gaps simply didn’t appear in time for the mare to build through her gears. The 1000m trip and sprinting prep were the queries going in, but post-race it’s hard to see her missing The Everest on October 18th.
Tactics Questioned?
Heart-in-mouth stuff over the last 100m as Lindermann clung on to deny the fast-finishing Sir Delius. Despite drifting late in betting from $3.40 to $5.50, he was outstanding dropping back under 2000m for the first time. The $8 Melbourne Cup favourite looks in for a lovely prep.
The big talking point post-race was the ride of Adam Hyeronimus at the 1100m mark. Stablemate and fellow $8 Melbourne Cup favourite Sir Delius was left three wide the trip until Hyeronimus appeared to ease slightly aboard Vauban, opening the one-out, one-back position for Sir Delius to slot into. That move created a chain reaction through the field, with Adelaide River flushed out three wide as the tempo slackened.
It wasn’t just punters who noticed. Stewards have since opened an inquiry into the incident, as detailed in the post-meeting report (see below).
We will see more of this ‘team riding’ as these already mega stables get bigger – and that is a concern I know a lot of punters have.
Steer Of The Day – James McDonald on Changingoftheguard (R4)
James McDonald was at his brilliant best in Race 4 aboard Changingoftheguard. The 7yo was a late drifter ($3.20 out to $4.00), but McDonald took the race by the scruff of the neck, using race fitness and a tactical edge to turn the contest into a genuine staying test. That shift immediately put the majority of the field, including short-priced favourite Travolta, out of their comfort zone.
In the end, the momentum with 59kg, and margin McDonald established, proved too big a bridge for Zac Lloyd to close aboard Travolta.
CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD 💂🫡
What a win from the Irish import! He runs them into the ground and stakes his claim as a Cups prospect in the Tattersalls Club Cup 🏆@mcacajamez @Leesracing pic.twitter.com/I6chTeS2Sh
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) September 6, 2025
The Flashing Light
R4 – Travolta – Yes he started $1.65 so I might be stating the obvious, but if it wasn’t for a brilliant ride by James McDonald aboard Changingoftheguard and some greens late, Travolta would have made it four wins from six starts this prep, no doubt he will be hard to beat next time out.
R8 – Lady Shenandoah – Yes, she was the obvious, but in a race where the key question was whether she was truly a “1000m horse” or even a genuine “sprinter” – she gave punters, connections, and Chris Waller the answer post-race (fastest L200m of meeting). Yes, she can win an Everest.
R9 – Willydoit – The G1 NZ Derby winner caught the eye late first-up over an unsuitable 1400m. It was his first run in 22 weeks and his first start for the Maher camp since finishing 4th behind Aeliana in the G1 ATC Derby. His last 200m was outstanding (4th fastest of meeting), charging through the line, and he shapes as a betting prospect 3rd or 4th up over 2000m.
They Left It In The Bag
R7 – Ceolwulf: Despite drawing a positive gate, he again found himself buried near the rear, and his lack of tactical versatility is quickly becoming his kryptonite. At $2.00 into $1.70, punters expected better – but the jury is well and truly out on him now, especially at those short odds.
R6 – Savvy Hallie: One of the more intriguing betting moves of the day came for Savvy Hallie, crunched from $3.90 into $3.10 in what looked a wide-open edition of the Furious Stakes. The money was half right – she ran a bold race, but the fresh duo of Tupakara and Apocalyptic proved too strong late.
R9 – Private Eye: Quite easily the biggest firm of the meeting came in the Tramway Stakes with Private backed from $3.00 into $2.10 from 9am race morning. He had to work that little bit too hard in the early and middle stages of the race, allowing Pericles (who got the perfect run) to wear him down late.
What You May Have Missed?
Another key point of information punters may have missed was the steward report update on the Peter Snowden trained mare Amreekiyah (see below) – with the stable happy to continue on with her prep after a freshen, due to a degree of exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (bleeding from the lungs into the airways that occurs during intense exercise) detected post race.
Clean Energy Retired
The $2.6 million sister to Sunlight has run her last race following a plain recent trial at Hawkesbury. The Yulong-owned mare retires with three wins from six starts and over $280,000 in earnings. Attention now turns to her broodmare career, where her foals are sure to attract plenty of interest in the sales ring.
Social Media Sin Bin
Plenty of opinions were thrown around regarding James McDonald’s ride aboard Lady Shenandoah, but this week, sharp UK form analyst Rory Flanagan finds himself in the Social Media Sin Bin after labelling it a “shocker.”
Yes, she was a good thing beaten, but the reality is it was no fault of James’. The pre-race tactics, outlined by master trainer Chris Waller, were to have her settle where comfortable – especially first-up with bigger targets ahead. Simply put, the gaps didn’t open at the right time from the sticky inside draw.
JMac’s a freak but he’s given Lady Shenandoah a shocker there. Positions even one spot further forward and she wins. So much vacant space in the first 200m and he did nothing.
— Rory Flanagan (@Rory_Flanagan) September 6, 2025
