Autumn Glow made it 15 wins from 16 starts with a dominant Group 1 victory in the $3 million VRC Champions Mile at Flemington, leading home a Chris Waller trifecta as the $1.18 favourite.
Racing Australia’s interim results for Race 7 on Champions Day list Autumn Glow first for trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald, starting at $1.18 from barrier 2 with 57kg. The mare ran 1600m in 1:35.77 on a Good 4 track in the weight-for-age feature.
Waller’s Lindermann ($16, Damian Lane) finished second, 1.25 lengths away, with stablemate Buckaroo (GB) ($14, Ben Melham) third a further length back to complete a 1-2-3 for the Rosehill trainer. Anthony and Sam Freedman’s Tom Kitten ($12, Mark Zahra) was fourth, five lengths off the winner.
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Another Wil scratched; field thinned
Ciaron Maher’s Another Wil was a race-morning scratching from the Champions Mile, confirmed earlier by Racing Australia, leaving eight runners to contest the $3 million feature. Sepals ($21), Within The Law ($41), Pounding ($61) and El Soleado ($101) completed the finishing order behind the placegetters.
Herald Sun and The Australian both reported Autumn Glow making it 15 from 16 in the Champions Mile, while Racing.com framed the win as the Mile Queen in control. Punters’ result coverage also called Autumn Glow too good. Official interim starting prices and margins are from Racing Australia.
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Champions Day G1 wrap
The VRC Champions Mile was the second of three Group 1 features on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, after Point Barrow’s boilover in the Champions Sprint. The $3 million Champions Stakes (2000m) was still to be decided later on the Flemington card when Autumn Glow’s interim result was posted.
Official interim finishing order (Racing Australia): 1 Autumn Glow, 2 Lindermann, 3 Buckaroo (GB), 4 Tom Kitten, 5 Sepals, 6 Within The Law, 7 Pounding, 8 El Soleado. Scratched: Another Wil.
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