Champions Stakes Review 2026: What The Jockeys Said

Birdman and Ben Melham turned the tables on Cosmic Crusader to win the Group 1 TAB Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington for Chris Waller, scoring by three-quarters of a length with Sir Delius half a length away third. Here’s what the jockeys said.

It is always important to hear what the jockeys say after the race, as you can forgive a horse’s bad run or even find a winner next start, so head to the post-race comments below.

OMNI MAN (Dylan Browne McMonagle) – 10th

No comment available.

VON HAUKE (Damian Lane) – 9th

Better. Just no match today.

LIGHT INFANTRY MAN (Mark Zahra) – 8th

Not up to it today.

LAND LEGEND (Ethan Brown) – 7th

Despite where he finished, he was honest.

ATTRITION (Jamie Mott) – 6th

Much better run today than in the Cox Plate from him. I think at this grade, probably 1800m might suit him. 2000 at this level sees him out.

TREASURETHE MOMENT (Daniel Stackhouse) – 5th

I thought she was great. The blinkers really helped her. If we drew an outside barrier and got a cart into it we’d have finished a bit closer but very happy today.

AELIANA (James McDonald) – 4th

She lobbed into a beautiful spot. Travelled light the winner all the way around until the pace quickened quite sharply from the 500 (metre mark). Hit a flat spot and rallied late.

SIR DELIUS (Craig Williams) – 3rd

Lovely to have him back. Gai and Adrian and the team have done a marvelous job with him. I’ve been part of his progression and we’re delighted how he was prepared today and how he came into today. It is disappointing he’s not winning, but we saw how good he is today in the fight and he’s still was a bit of a sitting target where he was today and he still was very gallant in defeat.

COSMIC CRUSADER (William Pike) – 2nd

He’s obviously had a bing campaign. He’s done very well but I think it is just great racing at the end of the day. Him and Birdman doing battle. Unfortunately he got the better of us today but still a good prep. Wish we had’ve got there.

BIRDMAN (Ben Melham) – 1st

He’s such an honest horse, but he can have a look around. In the Cox Plate, he burst through and thought he was the winner, but he couldn’t see the horses out wide with his winkers on. I just reckon that didn’t help us all. Today, the way the wind is, I was happy to concede a little more start with the tail wind down the back. Coming into the turn I was happy to get into the three-wide line which was getting some protection from the wind which was coming at us. I got on to the back of Cosmic Crusader and he did a bit of barging to get in there, old Pikey, and I was happy to smoke the pipe and get a drag up for as long as I could. He’s always the last horse off the bridle and he’s got a good turn of foot and a great will to win and he’s very well deserving of another Group 1 win.

He did have to fight. If I had my time again I would have waited another 100 metres and got dragged up for a little while longer, but anyway, he’s very genuine and a very good horse and when things go his way, he can show what he can do.

He’s got a very good turn of foot, my bloke, and I reckon I used it up too early in the Cox Plate, but I kind of had to, to sort of make some running for him. Today he was better, just parked up, travelled up underneath me, and very explosive the last 250 metres.

With conditions like today, you don’t know what’s going to happen with the rain and and the wind and I did have in the back of my mind that I was happy to be a bit more conservative and sort of drop him right out and just kid to him up the straight for as long as I could because, as I said, he’s always the last one off the bridle in these races and he’s got a very short, sharp turn of speed.

So the longer you can trail up behind a horse like Cosmic Crusader, he’s always going to take you places, it was only going to be to his advantage. So, very good win, very tough, honest horse. Getting good support from Ozzie Kheir, all his owners. So, good to repay them with a good winner.

He’s beat a pretty high class field of weight for age, the best weight for age horses over 2,000 metres here in Australia now. So he’s very good. You know, we’ve just got the distance right with him. I think 2000 is as far as he wants.

Chris has really found the key to him, the horse is in a happy place, and he’s ultra effective on his day.

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Read Our Champions Stakes Field Preview Here

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