Bacio aimed at Lightning
G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Bacio (USA) (Maclean’s Music {USA}) will be aimed at the G1 Lightning Stakes at Flemington.
“I tell you what, there’s nothing better than having the fastest horse in the world,” trainer Wesley Ward told racing.com.
“We’re heading to Australia, February 13th, for the (Black Caviar) Lightning.”
Maher’s favourite draws perfectly for Cup
Ciaron Maher will have seven runners in Tuesday’s G1 Melbourne Cup and the favourite Point Of Law (GB) (Frankel {GB}) has drawn perfectly in barrier nine.
“I don't think the draw really makes a whole lot of difference to their chances,” Maher told racenet.com.au.
Ciaron Maher | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“The favourite, Point Of Law, is obviously a very talented horse, Shockletz has got a huge chance I think at the weight. Middle Earth had the right preparation for it, you could keep going (through seven runners) but I think one of those three (are the best chances).
“I think Shockletz is one of our best chances – the race is a handicap race and she's certainly beaten the handicapper, 51kg. She had a beautiful preparation and I could only imagine how Laurence (Eales) and his team of owners would be feeling, winning it with the sire (Shocking) and then breeding one. They'd be delighted just to be in the race, I think she's got an extremely good chance.”
Gringotts set for Big Dance treble on Tuesday
Ciaron Maher-trained Group 1 winner Gringotts (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}) will attempt to win his third Big Dance at Randwick on Tuesday.
“He’s been really well placed but he’s a bit of a freak in the way he can carry weight and things like that, not many horses can do it,” jockey Nash Rawiller told racingnsw.com.au.
“I don’t know if you can say he’s going as well as ever, but he is going well. He’s just had no luck in his last couple. He was caught very wide last time and with the big weight he was made carry it the whole way, I thought he battled on really well. I think a bit of rain would really take him to a level he probably hasn’t reached this prep.”
Hot And High wins G3 Asian Beau Stakes
Dion Luciani-trained 4-year-old mare Hot And High (Too Darn Hot {GB}) stayed unbeaten in this campaign when winning Saturday’s night’s G3 Asian Beau Stakes at Ascot. Winner of the Listed RS Crawford Stakes when resuming, she has now won eight of her nine starts and over $560,000. Her only miss came when second in the Listed Raconteur Stakes back in the autumn last season.
Owned by Cape Fall Thoroughbreds, Hot And High is one of two winners for Snitzel mare High Conviction, who has 2-year-old filly Sarre Jewel (Zousain) and a filly foal by Traffic Warden still to race. High Conviction won three of her six starts.
Defiantly out of Melbourne Cup
Defiantly (Fr) (Kameko {USA}) has been officially ruled out of competing in the G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup after failing to pass a veterinary inspection, Racing Victoria announced on Saturday.
Trained by Joseph O'Brien, the 4-year-old gelding had been referred for an extra check on Saturday morning after losing a shoe and showing changes in his gait at Thursday's mandatory inspections.
A statement from Racing Victoria said, “In the opinion of the veterinarians, Defiantly remains unsuitable to accept for the Melbourne Cup and has been withdrawn from the race by order of the stewards acting on veterinary advice.”
Fellow O'Brien runner Kizlyar (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) has now drawn into the 24-horse field and will break from stall 20. Two other horses that required an additional veterinary inspection before being cleared to participate in the 'Race that Stops the Nation' passed being Harry Charlton's Wine Dark Sea (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) and Roger Varian's Enfjaar (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).
“We were delighted with his run in the Caulfield Cup and my team out there have been very happy with his form since the race. He seems to have really improved his condition in the last three to four days, and George Tregoning who has been preparing him since they reached Australia, is very pleased with the horse,” Varian told Great British Racing International.
“We are looking forward to competing in the Melbourne Cup next week and he should be there with a good chance. Australia was in our mind from early in the season, but this plan solidified itself after his Group win at Goodwood.
“He is owned by a partnership involving the Spence and Standish families since February. They have enjoyed a great year with him and have taken a lot of joy. Hopefully the journey is far from being over.”
Coffey racing to ride in the Cup
Jockey Harry Coffey has big odds to overcome to be fit to ride Shockletz (NZ) (Shocking) in Tuesday’s G1 Melbourne Cup. He fell from Pondalowie (Deep Field) in the G1 Empire Rose Stakes, and was taken to The Alfred hospital for scans on a suspected broken collarbone. Pondalowie was uninjured in the fall.
Harry Coffey | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
On Sunday, racing.com reported that Coffey underwent a procedure at Melbourne’s Epworth Hospital to assist in his recovery.
Mister Whiskers aimed at ATC Derby
Charlotte Littlefield-trained 3-year-old gelding Mister Whiskers (St Mark’s Basilica {Fr}) will run at Flemington on Tuesday ahead of a planned tilt at the autumn’s G1 Australian Derby.
“My gut feel was that this race on Tuesday is a better option at the longer distance and I want to teach him to be a horse that settles as I see Derby potential in him next preparation,” Littlefield told racingandsports.com.au.
“He performed well at his second race start and goes up in grade. Everyone was noticing that he just hung on to win that race, but it was a big effort and he wasn't conditioned to have that sustained long sprint.
“He could have been judged harshly on that run, but there is a lot more to come from him. If he can get some cover, we might see something different from him. I want him to be able to settle.”
Tuesday marks the 500th Highway
Winona Costin won the first Highway on Grand Proposal (Snitzel) for Queanbeyan trainer Neville Layt in 2015 and on Tuesday, the 500th Highway will run at Randwick. Trainer Matthew Dunn has prepared the most Highway winner at 52, with Bluish Hue (Flying Artie) on Saturday the latest.
The most successful jockey is Jason Collett with 33.5 wins riding Shutter Bug (Ready’s Image {USA}) in the only Highway dead heat in December 2015. The dead heat was with Kerrin McEvoy-ridden Pera Pera (Street Sense {USA}).
Pinnacle Prince (Hinchinbrook), in January 2021, is the shortest-priced winner at $1.55, while the honour of the longest-priced winner goes to Sir Freddie (Counterattack), who saluted at $81 in August 2024.
Palace Pier gets debutant winner
Palace Pier (GB) only shuttled for one season, and from the crop of 3-year-olds comes Sunday’s debutant-winning filly Annie’s Croft who won at Naracoorte for trainer Paul Preusker. Yarraman Park Stud sold her on Inglis Digital as a weanling for $1250 to Mark Dwyer.
She becomes the second winner for Aultbea (Lope De Vega {Ire}) who was a winner on the Gold Coast and is a half-sister to Listed-placed Will Be Amazed (Husson {Arg}).
Attendance up for Breeders’ Cup
All-sources, common-pool handle for the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course was US$167,930,278 (AU$239 million).
Handle on the 14 Breeders' Cup races over the two days was US$146,431,783 (AU$208 million), down 1.2% from 2025. On-track handle for the two days was US$18,322,068 (AU$26 million).
Saturday's attendance was 45,775. The two-day attendance of 81,604 was up from 65,232 in 2025 when the event was held at Del Mar.
Prat noses out Moore in Breeders’ Cup jockey title race
Flavien Prat, who won three Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland Race Course during the World Championships on October 30 and 31, was named the recipient of the 2026 Bill Shoemaker Award, given to the outstanding jockey of the event.
The annual Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who rides the most winners across the 14 Championship races. Ryan Moore also won three races on the weekend, but the award ultimately went to Prat with the tiebreaker being a 10-3-1 point system for second through fourth-place finishes.
Barzalona wins second Cravache d’Or
Mickael Barzalona, retained rider for the Aga Khan Studs, won his second Cravache d'Or on Saturday, October 31.
He first won the title in 2021. Barzalona won 176 races in 2026 out of 719 rides. Nine of those wins were at the highest level, including the Prix Ganay, the Prix Jacques le Marois and, most notably, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe aboard the Aga Khan Studs' Daryz (Sea The Stars), his second win in the race. Barzalona also was the regular pilot of 2025 G1 Japan Cup hero Calandagan (Gleneagles).
“This Cravache d'Or crowns an extraordinary season for me,” Barzalona said. “Winning the second Cravache d'Or of my career while securing nine Group 1 victories is a source of immense professional satisfaction.
“This year I was fortunate to be paired with two exceptional champions, Daryz and Calandagan, who excelled at the highest level and played a major role in these achievements. None of this would have been possible without the trust placed in me by the Aga Khan stable and trainer Francis-Henri Graffard. I would like to extend a special thank you to them, as well as to all the professionals who have supported me throughout this season.”
Bengal Tiger wins Group 3
Delivering a hammer blow to Andrew Balding's title ambitions, Aidan O'Brien trainee 2-year-old colt Bengal Tiger (No Nay Never) was back out seven days after making a stakes breakthrough at Doncaster and delved into deep reserves to continue his rapid rise in Saturday's rescheduled G3 Hurworth Bloodstock Horris Hill Stakes at Newmarket.
“I was surprised when she (Lex Victoria) loomed up, but he is the sort of horse, typical of Aidan O'Brien's, that always have a bit in reserve,” said Sean Levey.
“They love a battle, and they love a fight. He's a lovely horse, it's nice to see him go up through the trips and it looked like he wanted every yard of the seven [furlongs] today. He's just a lovely type, a scopey type, and a horse to look forward to next year. As an older horse, he might stretch out to a mile, and it would be nice to see him over seven in a Classic trial.”
