By Scott Bailey
Randwick serves up a proper Group 1 this weekend with the TAB Verry Elleeegant Stakes over the mile carrying a million dollars and bringing together an intriguing blend of proven weight for age performers, emerging stars and a couple with genuine spring narratives already attached.
Autumn Glow is the obvious focal point and there is no getting around how strong her profile reads. Nine starts for nine wins, a stable that knows how to place them, and James McDonald booked to do the steering from barrier three. At 57kg she is beautifully weighted against the older males and the map looks ideal. She can settle with cover or hold a spot closer if the tempo is moderate and when she has been asked to extend, she has simply put races away. The Apollo Stakes win last start at 1400 metres on a good track was another reminder that she is not just unbeaten, she has been doing it with authority and doing it against quality.
The interesting point for punters is that this is a mile again and she has already ticked that box, winning the Epsom at 1600 metres, and doing it in a way that suggested the extra trip was never going to be an issue. From a betting perspective the short price is built on the fact she does not need luck, and she does not need the race run to suit. She can win off different patterns and that is often the separator at weight for age level.
But the race is not just a procession and the name that adds genuine intrigue is Sir Delius. It is not often you see a horse with his background arriving in a Randwick Group 1 at this stage of the season with the kind of reputation he carried before injury interrupted the build-up. His record is outstanding and his form line has genuine depth. He has mixed it with high end company, he has won at Group 1 level over 1800 and 2000 metres, and he has proven he can be effective at Randwick, finishing a close second to Lindermann in the Chelmsford over this course and distance. Barrier six is perfectly workable and Craig Williams is the type of rider who will not panic if the favourite turns the screws early.
The key with Sir Delius is the mile. His best work has been through the middle distances and beyond and this shapes as a fitness and sharpness test as much as it is a pure class test. If he is ready to sprint at the end of 1600 metres against Autumn Glow, then we may be looking at a horse who can re-enter the spring conversation quickly. If he needs the run and wants further, then he still has the profile to be a major factor later as the distances step out.
Lindermann is the other runner who demands respect because he is the mile specialist in this line up and he has already shown he can run a high-level mile at Randwick. Nash Rawiller rides and barrier eight means he may have to do a touch more work early but his recent form around these horses reads well, including that narrow defeat to Fangirl where Ceolwulf was third and Sir Delius is familiar opposition from last spring. He is not the flashy headline act but if the favourite has an off day and the race becomes a genuinely run weight for age mile then Lindermann is the one who can be in the right spot and keep finding.
Ceolwulf adds another layer because his recent profile includes a Group 1 win at the mile and he is drawn to get a cosy run from barrier two with Chad Schofield. He comes off a plain run in the Apollo behind Autumn Glow and Aeliana, but his best is good enough and his record at 1600 metres is strong. If he is forward enough and closer in the run than last start, he is capable of being a genuine factor. Even after the drama of his recent run where there was blood found in the nostril and his autumn campaign was in a nervous wait until vets officially declared there no blood in the trachea, so it was external and not internal.
Aeliana is drawn the rails and that alone makes her interesting from a map perspective. She ran second to Autumn Glow in the Apollo and Zac Lloyd keeps the ride. From barrier one she should be economical and if the tempo is strong, she is the type who can travel into it. The challenge is that she meets the favourite again and needs to turn the tables at weight for age, but she is consistent and she does not do much wrong.
Most roads still lead back to Autumn Glow, and it is easy to see why the market has her pinned as the standout. The draw is kind, the weight is in her favour, and her turn of foot has been decisive. Sir Delius is the horse that creates the talking point and the one that gives the race a narrative beyond the favourite, while Lindermann and Ceolwulf bring the proven Randwick mile form that can keep everyone honest if there is any weakness to expose late.
