![Autumn Glow and James McDonald leave their rivals behind in a record-breaking Winx Stakes victory at Randwick. [Bradley Photos]](https://betsy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2349171.jpg)
The dream clash racing needs to make happen
The two best milers in the world won 1400m Group 1 races on the weekend and in an ideal world they could meet over the Randwick mile in October.
Autumn Glow was dynamic, decimating the Winx Stakes field, a fourth top level win in 13 starts, while Godolphin’s Notable Speech won his sixth Group 1 in the newly minted City Of York Stakes at the Ebor Festival.
A Classic winner Notable Speech was immediately made a $3.25 favourite to defend his Breeders’ Cup Mile, but imagine the advantages for Godolphin if they re-routed the five-year-old to Sydney.
It would be the clash of hemispheres.
Given trainer Charlie Appleby’s response to the victory, Keeneland is the target.
“I spoke to a couple of guys from the Breeders’ Cup earlier today. What is good about today is he has showed his versatility on ground slightly softer than ideal,” Appleby said after the 2-3/4 length victory.
“Going to Keeneland you can have a question mark about whether the ground will be a bit more autumnal, so hopefully that has given us the confidence that we can head straight to the Breeders’ Cup now.”
Notable Speech is a son of Dubawi and will no doubt spend a season or two shuttling to Australia to show him off over here would be a bonus.
The best Europeans traditionally head to Breeders’ Cup because of incentives that Australia can’t match. The prizemoney is better here but you need to perform to get it.
We got the Australian clash we wanted, when a game Sheza Alibi chased Autumn Glow on Saturday, but to get one of Europe’s best would make the King Charles III Stakes even more exciting.
Godolphin is always up for a challenge and loves to promote racing, Notable Speech v Autumn Glow would do just that on many levels.
Grantham could lose Perth trainers title after Arsenic positive
Michael Grantham celebrated winning his first Perth trainers’ premiership last month by a single win over Grant and Alana Williams, but another positive swab to arsenic threatens to take it away.
The Grantham trained Western Miss tested positive to arsenic after winning at Belmont in July and he will face stewards’ inquiry into the irregularity on Wednesday.
Grantham had three arsenic positives back in 2024 when three horses were disqualified from wins, and the trainer was fined. At the time, he offered a reason that posts on his property led to the positives and undertook to remove them.
“Mr Grantham has an extensive number of arsenic-treated posts at his training establishment and there was unambiguous evidence that the horses in question ingested arsenic treated timber in their yard, shown by partially chewed posts,” the stewards report read at the time.
“Mr Grantham was in the process of installing electrified fencing to all yards.
“The stewards were satisfied that the reported levels of arsenic were consistent with the horses in question ingesting part of the treated posts.”
Lloyd and Lane just pipped in All-Star Jockey Challenge
Zac Lloyd and Damian Lane flew the Australian flag proudly in the World All-Star Jockey Challenge in Japan over the weekend.
They finished in the minor placings behind Japanese veteran Norihiro Yokoyama, who won the series for a third time, winning two of the four-race series.
Lloyd had led after day 1 in Sapporo riding two seconds and was run down when Yokoyama took the final race of the series.
“I didn’t ride a winner, so I don’t deserve to win, and the jockey [Yokoyama] next to me rode fantastically,” Lloyd said. “He rode two winners out of four races, so he’s a deserved winner.
“But finishing second on my first try makes me very happy.
“I’m extremely pleased to be here. It was a great race, and we fought hard against each other, so I’m extremely pleased with the result.
“I’ve watched as many races in Japan as I could over the past ten years, so it feels almost like second nature to be riding in Japan.
“It’s a massive honour and privilege, especially having only just turned 23. Hopefully, it’ll be the first of many times.”
Lane was the most consistent jockey in the series, riding three fourths and second in the final race of the series, where he was beaten a neck on a $47 longshot, a win would have seen him take the title.
Lane and Lloyd will return to Australia for the spring and are expected to be at the centre of the Group 1 action.
One for the punters
Idle Flyer was finding the line hard at the end of the Winx Stakes and will be hard to beat when she steps back to mares company in races like the Golden Pendant and the Invitation.
One from the stewards
Cherry Bomshell started favourite in the Silver Shadow Stakes but only loomed briefly before dropping out to run last. Stewards searched for a reason after the Group 2 and Annabel, and Rob Archibald’s stable provided a good one, telling them “that the filly was noted to be in season.” So the run has to be forgiven.
One for the bookies
It will happen again and again in coming weeks, but the over-reaction to King Of The Sea’s benchmark win on the weekend was quite remarkable. It is into a $6 Metropolitan favourite, and you will probably get better than that on raceday.
One for the futures
Calamari Ring was very good late in her return over 1000m and looks likely to step in trip this spring with the $51 pre-nomins in the Flight Stakes good value at the TAB.
