Caulfield back to its best
The track walk on Friday was about the first and last thing I got right at Caulfield on Saturday!
It has been a tough winter for the Caulfield surface, but Saturday was a significant step in the right direction. The rail was back in the true position for the first time since late May and, importantly, the inside was back in play after being largely inferior through winter.
It raced like a typical Caulfield track. Leaders with the required talent were rewarded, but there was no disadvantage being back in the field if you were good enough. Quality backmarkers such as Cosmic Crusader and Darkbone were able to make ground and win, while horses could take runs closer to the inside without fear of hitting inferior ground.
The track was probably closer to a Soft 5 as the day went on, too, and there are encouraging signs of some growth starting to come through in the surface.
Provided Melbourne’s weather plays its part, it should only continue to improve as we head into the biggest part of the racing year and Memsie Stakes Day in a fortnight.
Credit to Sam Bennetts and his track team. After a challenging winter, Caulfield raced exactly as you want a major metropolitan track to race on Saturday.
Egg on face as Crusader delivers again
Well, I got that one wrong.
Cosmic Crusader was one of the horses I was keen to oppose at Caulfield on Saturday and, as promised, there’s a little egg on the face after he charged home to win the P.B. Lawrence Stakes.
But that’s racing. I’d far rather have an opinion and sometimes be right, sometimes be wrong, than spend my time sitting on the fence. After all, that’s what this game is about.
Blake Shinn aboard Evaporate certainly made Cosmic Crusader earn it. He put some speed into the race and had the WA star spotting the leaders about eight lengths at the 600m, but ultimately Cosmic Crusader was simply too good.
And, yes, after questioning the decision to replace Daniel Stackhouse with Willie Pike during the week, Pike’s work early in the race deserves plenty of credit. From a potentially awkward draw, he made sure he got across and in front of a few horses, eventually finding a lovely position one off the fence. It was a ripper of a ride.
Cosmic Crusader will need to raise the bar again when he steps into Group 1 company in the Memsie Stakes, but he will also arrive there with a fitness edge over several key rivals. He’s now had two runs this campaign and won them both.
What a result it was for Pakenham trainer Andrea Leek, too.
A former jockey turned trainer, Leek did a long apprenticeship in racing before celebrating her first Stakes victory when Cosmic Crusader won the Bletchingly Stakes. Just a few weeks later, she has added a first Group 2 to the CV.
Now she and Cosmic Crusader head to the Memsie chasing an even bigger milestone: a first Group 1.
A learning day for Jabez as Lane hits top gear
I’ve written plenty about the rise of apprentice Jabez Johnstone in recent weeks, and rightly so. He’s been flying. But Saturday presented his stiffest test to date.
Johnstone had a terrific book of rides, but he was taking on the absolute cream of the Victorian riding ranks. Blake Shinn and Damian Lane have hit the ground running since returning, Ben Melham was back among the winners on Saturday, while Jamie Melham, Craig Williams, Ethan Brown and Mark Zahra were all in action.
I wouldn’t say Johnstone was found out, but there’s no doubt he will learn plenty from the day.
He was questioned by stewards after staying wide aboard the well-backed Educated in the opener when there appeared an opportunity to cross to the rail, a decision that left plenty of her backers bemused. With the benefit of hindsight, it was probably a mistake given the inside ground proved every bit as good as anywhere else.
Fundamental Nature overcomes Educated in a Ciaron Maher quinella in the opener at Caulfield 🥇🥈@cmaherracing pic.twitter.com/C7BjiHBqaq
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) August 15, 2026
One of Johnstone’s greatest qualities is his aggression, and you’d never want to take that away from him. But he probably went just beyond the tipping point aboard Amleto in race two, pushing the button a furlong earlier than necessary. It wouldn’t have made the difference between winning and losing, but it was another little lesson to bank.
After an incredible winter, Saturday was a rare blip for Johnstone. He’s a talented young rider and I’ve little doubt he’ll bounce back quickly.
Meanwhile, speaking of the big guns returning to town, Damian Lane has hit the ground running at top speed.
Lane completed the Vain-Quezette Stakes double on Saturday and has now ridden eight winners from just 20 rides since returning to the Melbourne riding ranks.
That’s some way to announce you’re back.
Sepals the second?
Cliff Brown took Sepals from a Sale maiden win in January last year, having been beaten at Yarra Valley the previous month, to a Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes by September. He might have another horse in a similar mould in Savoyard.
This bloke was a very good winner on debut at Pakenham back in January before running a narrow second in the hot Future Stars Series Final in February. He was then given a long break and produced one of the best seventh-place finishes you’ll see first-up in race one on Saturday.
That was only over 1100m, which will be well short of his best, but he’s clearly the horse you want to take home from the race. The Rupert Clarke will come up too soon for him, given he didn’t do as much in the autumn as stablemate Sepals did as a three-year-old last year, but there are certainly similarities between the two.
Expect this bloke to be going very close to winning second-up when he steps out towards 1400m.
WTAF? How do we get here?
Having two horses called Yuki and Yuuki racing in the same country should probably be avoided. Having them running at the same meeting, in successive races, is ridiculous.
That’s exactly what happened at Bendigo on Wednesday, with Yuki going around in Race 6 and Yuuki lining up in Race 7.
Imagine the chat between a couple of mates.
“What’s your best today?”
“Yuuki.”
“Beauty.”
Then it comes time to actually place the bet: “Hang on, which bloody Yuki?”
Surely we can save punters from this sort of nonsense. There are enough ways to back the wrong horse without having two of them separated by a single vowel.
And a few blackbookers from the bush:
Ballarat Synthetic Tuesday – In’kantosstar: Ethan Brown went to Ballarat for the one ride and it was a painless watch for those who took the shorts about this bloke, who is Jimmysstar’s full brother. He belted them, and ran quicker time than the two open 1200m races on then card.
Ballarat Synthetic Race 2 | In’kantosstar
Jimmysstar’s full brother gets the job done with Ethan Brown in the saddle! 🌟
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/ZIa4a02wC0 pic.twitter.com/G8rmGw62ub— Racing.com (@Racing) August 11, 2026
Moe Thursday race four – Fort Sumter: It all went awry from barrier rise when she was slow out on a day you wanted to be ‘up and in’. She had little luck from that point on and should have gone close to winning. Won’t be a maiden for long.
Geelong Friday race three – Think this race in general will be one to follow. The winner – Greenwich Boy – sat deep and won impressively. He can go on and win in town. Doubt Zoucity and Keen Observer are maidens for long, either.
Geelong Race 3 | Greenwich Boy
It’s a strong debut win from @cmaherracing‘s 3YO gelding who takes out the Inglis Xtra Bonus Race 🙌
🥇 Tipped by @brentzerafa
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/HEhdpozFmy pic.twitter.com/SDMa37XRGx— Racing.com (@Racing) August 14, 2026
