Day 2 of The Championships produced a stack of strong performances and a few runners that look set to make their mark deeper into the carnival and beyond. Dean Watling has sorted the key takeaways into his Buy, Hold and Sell categories, highlighting the horses to follow, the runs to forgive and the one runner he has concerns about coming out of Randwick.
Buy
Autumn King (Race 2)
Sneaky run here by the progressive son of The Autumn Sun. He got a long way back before savaging the line with the race-best last 200m. I loved his late strength, up to 1600m next start he’ll be a force.
Regal Award (Race 2)
Not the right race shape here but he’s gone super, sectionally. +2.1 (400–200m) and +2.3 (L200m). Peaks now third-up and will be winning.
Beskar hangs on in a thrilling edition of the Bisley Workwear South Pacific Classic!@FreedmanRacing @samueljfreedman train the gelding while @LaneDamian rates the son of Snitzel to perfection 👌 pic.twitter.com/hj4MZEUCiG
— Australian Turf Club (@aus_turf_club) April 11, 2026
She’s A Hustler (Race 8)
Some run this first-up. She trialled like she’d need the run fresh but proved me wrong. Ate up the solid tempo set by Jenni and smashed the line with the race-best L200m. Bring on Queensland.
IDLE FLYER gets her Group 1 in the Queen Of The Turf!@ZacLloydx timed his run to perfection on the @mcsmithracing mare in a strongly run Randwick mile to gun down Lady Shenandoah with Treasurethe Moment in third. @tabcomau pic.twitter.com/UJ256s0R6v
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) April 11, 2026
Hold
Autumn Glow (Race 9)
She got the 2000m, she just didn’t handle the +22.9L tempo to the 800m mark. Extremely game in defeat and was beaten by a horse who laps up 2400m+ and fast tempos. I hope it’s not the last time we see her at 2000m, after all she’s only a 4yo mare with more to come.
Caffe Florian (Race 6)
Huge run in the Arrowfield considering she pulled up 3/5 lame. No doubt she’ll be a G1 horse in the spring.
Grafterburners / Devil Night (Race 6)
Both were great in a high-rating Arrowfield Sprint. Both still have plenty to offer this prep, Queensland looks a perfect target.
Sell
Skyhook (Race 6)
Concerned where he is at. He’s had back-to-back nice enough runs in transit and hasn’t fired a shot. Gelding or retired to stud now?
