Caulfield back to its best as spring arrives
As I’ve done recently, I’ll start with the track, and I thought Caulfield played exceptionally well on Memsie Stakes Day.
Horses could win from anywhere with the right talent and, importantly, intent. More on that later.
I thought the absolute A-ground was probably lanes two, three and four, but the entire inside half was usable. Vince Accardi’s data backs that up. The lanes occupied by winners at the 200m mark were: 4, 12, 9, 3, 4, 2, 3, 1, 8 and 3, while their positions at the 800m were 3rd, 14th, 9th, 1st, 6th, 3rd, 4th, 1st, 6th and 1st.
That’s a terrific spread. Horses led and won, while Positively Dun came from last, looped the field and won out in the middle. Light winds made life easier on speed, but there was no disadvantage settling back if you were good enough and ridden accordingly.
The track was posted a Soft 7, but I thought it raced more like a Soft 6 from the outset and was comfortably into Soft 5 territory by the second half of the card, with the final furlong seemingly the firmest part.
Sam Bennetts and his team now have Caulfield in great order heading into spring. Having walked it regularly over the past few months, the progression has been obvious. With reasonable weather, we should enjoy consistent and fair racing over the coming months after a challenging winter.
Intent is everything: Nash gives his rivals a Memsie lesson
We’ve had some brilliant front-running jockeys during my time in racing. Jimmy ‘Pumper’ Cassidy, Darren Gauci and Brian York immediately spring to mind. Nash Rawiller sits comfortably in that company, and his ride aboard Beiwacht was another reminder why.
Coming off the ‘temperature’ that forced him out of the Run To The Rose last week, Beiwacht’s fitness was probably the one query. Rawiller made sure he was given every chance.
He worked between the 1200m and 1000m to establish control and from there was allowed to dictate at a relatively sedate tempo by Group 1 standards. His lead speed was similar to Home Rule over the same trip earlier in the day, despite the track having dried significantly.
Beiwacht’s sectionals from the 1000m were 11.36, 12.04, 11.72, 11.84, 11.44 and 11.70. Nash had the race exactly where he wanted it and gave those behind little chance to reel him in.
It was a front-running masterclass, but there was also an element of the opposition allowing the master to conduct the orchestra.
In hindsight, Beiwacht was clearly Johnny on the spot. It was his turn. He’s unbeaten at 1400m, owns the seven furlongs and there probably aren’t too many races better suited to him for the remainder of spring. Several of his rivals have loftier targets and longer trips ahead.
That difference in intent mattered. For some, Saturday was grand final day. For others, it felt like another barrier trial.
Cosmic Crusader wasn’t quick enough to muster and instead became the obligatory ‘eye-catcher’ from the back. His performance was enormous, but the race was over before he could get involved.
Craig Williams extracted just about everything possible from Mr Brightside first-up from a long break, while Birdman was terrific from the back, producing the second-fastest final 200m of the meeting. His destination may well be the Cox Plate.
But the Memsie belonged to Beiwacht and Rawiller. Horse, jockey, distance and intent all aligned.
Daylight robbery: Melham steals the last on Fancify
Given there was no disadvantage being on speed, and potentially an increasing advantage as the track dried, you have to wonder what some of the jockeys were doing in the last.
Jamie Melham committed daylight robbery aboard Fancify, going some 11.5 lengths below standard to the 800m mark, around 10 lengths slower than Beiwacht in the Memsie. The race was effectively over before the home bend.
Fancify goes all the way in an upset to finish the day at Caulfield!@jamieleemelham @cmaherracing pic.twitter.com/MpvVfFXaoQ
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) August 29, 2026
For much of the field, it amounted to little more than a barrier trial. This ain’t winter racing anymore. The big guns are back and the stakes are getting higher, but that wasn’t really a race.
Sass Appeal is another worth discussing. She set good tempos winning both the 1600m Kewney Stakes and her Seymour maiden last campaign, yet this preparation has gone 11 lengths and 12.5 lengths below standard to the 800m. That is walking speed.
They’re taking away one of her potential weapons. She got away with it first-up, and she just might not live up to the boom, but they need to put the one wood back in the bag and use her tactical speed.
Keep a close eye on Storm Leopard, too. His return was outstanding for a horse looking for 2000m and beyond, and he was given virtually no opportunity to get involved.
J-Mac’s day to forget
There’s little doubt James McDonald is the leading jockey in Australia. Probably the world. But Memsie Stakes Day 2026 won’t feature prominently on his highlights reel.
It’s uncanny how often J-Mac finds that perfect stalking position just off speed in Sydney, but things didn’t fall his way at Caulfield. He was posted deep aboard Enviable in the opener, Star Of India didn’t fire a shot and Confederation was three wide on speed, albeit from the chute where covering ground is less of a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, Autumn Boy is probably still looking for a run in the Memsie. Not that he would have got within cooee of stablemate Beiwacht, but perhaps it was the perfect pipe-opener for what could still be a fruitful campaign.
Soulcombe wasn’t expected to do much returning from nearly three years off, while aboard Craig in the last McDonald was one of several jockeys who had Jamie Melham run rings around them tactically.
No doubt J-Mac will bounce back quickly. And the fact he was in Melbourne, seemingly with Autumn Boy the primary reason for the trip, is probably a fair indication of just how big an opinion he has of the colt.
From Warracknabeal maiden defeat to The Everest: Oliveanotherday earns his shot
Oliveanotherday has earned his crack at The Everest.
Sure, he’d need to improve many lengths to trouble Ka Ying Rising, but he’s firmly on the rise and, on current form, it’s hard to argue there are 11 better sprinters in Australia.
He’d also bring a terrific story. From the beaches of Warrnambool and being beaten on debut at Warracknabeal to potentially lining up in Australia’s richest sprint.
Tom Dabernig is doing an outstanding job with his team and Oliveanotherday is quickly becoming the headline act.
To the slot holders out there looking for a runner that will acquit himself well, he deserves to be in the conversation.
Pound for pound, Bedggy is as good as any trainer in Australia
Gavin Bedggood is often training horses other stables have moved on. He rarely has high-priced yearlings coming through and doesn’t have the buying power of the Yulongs or Godolphins of the world.
Yet his results are remarkable. Frankly, it’s surprising more big owners aren’t turning to him.
Bedggood quinellaed the Heatherlie Stakes with two tried horses in Kingswood and Just Folk. He extracted a Group 1 win from Kingswood last campaign, smartly heading across the ditch, and will return to New Zealand this preparation with Just Folk for the Group 1 Howden Insurance Mile.
On a quality-of-horse versus return-on-investment basis, there would be few trainers in Australia doing a better job than Bedggy.
Heatherlie Stakes | Kingswood
Back in Australia, back a winner! 🇦🇺 Kingswood storms home to claim the Heatherlie 👑
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/HEhdpozFmy
CAULFIELD-ONLY STREAM: https://t.co/hDRlpit3DL pic.twitter.com/IkzQL6CLLw— Racing.com (@Racing) August 29, 2026
O’Brien warming up as spring arrives
The Danny O’Brien stable is hitting form at exactly the right time.
They’ve produced 11 winners from their past 42 runners, while plenty more are racing well. Davida, Litzdeel and Porter were all excellent on Saturday without winning.
When the O’Brien yard finds form, it tends to hold it for a sustained period. With spring upon us, back their horses with confidence in the coming weeks.
All dressed up with nowhere to go: Butternut Princess a tragedy beaten
It was far too early in the day to be watching such a trainwreck.
Blinkers on, Ben Melham aboard, third-up off two good runs and money piling in. The stars looked to have aligned for Butternut Princess.
She was cruising into the race around the home bend and simply needed clean air. It never came.
Butternut Princess went to the line virtually hard-held, leaving punters questioning not whether she should have won, but how far she should have won by.
That’s the downside of backing horses that settle back. They need luck and, on Saturday, Butternut Princess got absolutely none.
