It was a win that required a bit more effort than her short odds might have implied, but Autumn Glow undeniably proved her queenly class by taking out the Champions Mile at Flemington.
Competing at the track for the first time and venturing out of Sydney for her initial run, any slightest hint that the change of environment might disrupt her was quickly dismissed.
Crossing the line 1¼ lengths ahead, Autumn Glow ($1.18) had to shake off a determined run from stablemate Lindermann ($16). She moved up to the gelding at the entrance to the straight, ultimately settling the nerves of trainer Chris Waller as they reached the finish of the Group 1 1600-metre feature.
“I was (nervous) because you don’t want a horse like Autumn Glow to disappoint,” Chris Waller commented. “There’s a massive crowd here today and it was good to see her go through her paces. She had to put up a fight. Lindermann, he dug deep and to come away that last 100 metres, it was special.”
Autumn Glow achieved a significant milestone, becoming the 23rd horse to secure victories in both the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1609m) and the Champions Mile within the same year. For Waller, this marked his fifth success in the race, with his initial win being with Albert The Fat in 2013.
Her career statistics now show 15 wins from 16 starts, earning upwards of $14.5 million in prize money. James McDonald has been the jockey for 11 of these triumphs.
“She was a little bit lost, at sea a bit, and even when we straightened and I gave her a click, she took about 50 metres to get going,” McDonald explained. “But once she opened the shoulders up, she was never going to get rolled. She’s just a brilliant specimen, a pleasure to ride, she’s just so, so special.”
The esteemed jockey agreed that the five-year-old mare is indeed Australia’s premier miler, and she needed all of that characteristic grit to succeed at Flemington.
“I think so,” McDonald stated. “Now that she’s had this run here, it’s very foreign to her, but you look up at the Flemington straight, the roses, the people, she knew she was somewhere different and she was a little slow to balance and quicken up, but she’s a champion.”
He added, “Champions make their own luck in this game and she just plants herself on speed and away she goes. She’s an absolute pleasure to ride. A jockey’s dream.”
Buckaroo ($14) claimed the third spot, ensuring the Waller stable completed a clean sweep of the top three placings.
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