Russell Balding Stakes Review 2026: What The Jockeys Said

Pericles and Dylan Gibbons took the inside run on the turn to win the $3 million Group 2 Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Randwick for Bjorn Baker, beating Headwall by three-quarters of a length with stablemate Caballus 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.

JOKERS GRIN (Zac Purton) – 15th

There was a bit happening early with runners holding the spots. And then the runners outside looking to go forward. He then got fired up and got running on me a bit. Then fell in a hole.

COAL CRUSHER (Andrew Adkins) – 14th

A little bit disappointing there. I wanted to put him on speed now and liven him up a bit. Just when we had that added pressure from Ninja, it sucked it out of him. The blinkers going back on might fire him back up a bit.

GENEROSITY (Siena Grima) – 13th

She landed in a good spot. Travelled well but they were a bit sharp for her.

SPICY MARTINI (Taylor Marshall) – 12th

Firmer track not ideal for her. Want to ride her more conservative. She got to the line solidly enough. She earned a well deserved break now.

YELLOW BRICK (Sam Clipperton) – 11th

Stuck on bravely. Just got too keen in the mid-stages.

THEBLADE (Tyler Schiller) – 10th

Thought has run well up in grade. The barrier didn’t help. He didn’t step and muster as quick as I would have hoped. Made up good ground late.

HEADLEY GRANGE (Zac Lloyd) – 9th

Tough run. Covered a lot of ground from the barrier. Just a messy race.

MARHOONA (Rachel King) – 8th

Super run. Brave as always. Probably the 1300m at Randwick saw her out.

JIMMYSSTAR (Ethan Brown) – 7th

Race shape against.

KING OF ROSEAU (Tom Sherry) – 6th

We had a nice run and he has run well.

GRAFTERBURNERS (Nash Rawiller) – 5th

He was fantastic. From 17 we got all the little things right. We got cover and a reasonable cart into it. If he draws 5 he is fighting the finish out instead he ran enormous but impossible to win.

NINJA (Tommy Berry) – 4th

Extremely proud of him. He has just gone enormous today. They shuffled up going to the first corner. I got caught wide so I let him use his stride a bit. That mid-race work has told the tale at the end.

CABALLUS (Tim Clark) – 3rd

He went terrific. Just the back end of 1300m saw him out but he controlled the speed and gave a good kick. Gallant in defeat.

HEADWALL (Chad Schofield) – 2nd

Very good run. Had a perfect trip. Got the gap at the right time. Cause they went slow, Pericles got a little bit of a head start, but he was very good.

PERICLES (Dylan Gibbons) – 1st

When horses fill you with that much confidence, it makes it a little bit easier. When we straightened up, if you are going back to the inside, you pinch the short cut. Only thing it left me with was a short sprint so I angled him back in behind.

When those sharp sprinters put the foot down, they put a margin on him. He’s a big boy and once he got stuck into his work, I could feel him just gaining confidence. Didn’t really want to be darting back to the inside but the way he was striding out, he’s an older horse in really good form.

It felt like when Timmy went to get a breather, the speed was poured on. It does make sense a little bit. The way my bloke let rip the last bit, it was tremendous. He is going great guns.

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