Eternal Warrior wasn’t the horse most punters, or even his owners, expected to be unleashing a sprint down the outside to win the Merson Cooper Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.
But the Extreme Warrior colt, an $80,000 Adelaide Magic Millions purchase trained by Lloyd Kennewell and ridden astutely by Zac Spain, delivered a sensational performance to win at 50/1 on debut.
And like any good racing story, Eternal Warrior’s Merson Cooper win comes with a quality betting yarn attached, one part-owner Tom Clark won’t forget in a hurry.
“I took a bookie on, he was the only bookie to offer 50/1, so I went ‘oh well’, and had $250 each way on him at fifties.”
For a horse whose chances were assessed modestly at best, it was a bold punt, but it certainly paid off.
WATCH: Tom Clark (right) and Jack Adam (left) celebrate Eternal Warrior’s debut win
“The bookie wasn’t too happy with us, I’ll give you the red-hot mail.”
“Adza [Jack Adam] filmed the whole thing on Snapchat and by the time they finished paying us, the Snapchat had ended and only got a quarter of it in.”
A collect so big it couldn’t fit in one snap.
Spain’s ride was as good as any, slotting in midfield from barrier thirteen and timing his run to perfection to nab the well-related Stretan Ruler on the line.
The 50-1 debutant wins it 🤯
Eternal Warrior wins the Merson Cooper Stakes in another thrilling finish at Caulfield!@lil_spaino96 @KennewellRacing @BlueBloodAus pic.twitter.com/nQRaU6zUos
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) November 29, 2025
“Barrier thirteen from thirteen, Zac did an unbelievable job from where he came from.”
“It’s good having a runner on a Saturday in town, it’s not something you can buy, the experience is second to none.”
Even within the ownership group, there were no strong expectations; they were happy to run well without winning.
“Personally, no, I didn’t think the horse had much of a chance. But speaking to another owner, Lloyd’s brother-in-law Glen, he goes, ‘look, he shouldn’t be 50s, maybe 15 or 20s.’”
With any sharp two-year-old at this time of year, the Magic Millions question is never far away, especially given Kennewell has targeted the race each of the past two years with Wolfgang and Invincible Women.
“He’s not going to go to the Magic Millions at this point, I don’t believe.”
Instead, a tilt at Victoria’s premier two-year-old contest beckons.
“He’s been nominated for the Blue Diamond, so he will run in that. And I believe he’s probably going to run in the Blue Diamond Prelude on the 7th.”
