It was an exciting finish to the 144th edition of the Group 1 $3 million Caulfield Guineas (1600m) in Melbourne on Saturday with trainer Chris Waller collecting his third success with an upset from Private Life.
Private Life winning the 2024 Caulfield Guineas. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
The well-bred Written Tycoon colt enjoyed a surprise front-running ride from Damian Lane who found his position in the lead the early stages and led from barrier to box in the stallion-making classic.
“It’s obviously a race with great prestige,” Lane told Racing.com.
“I’ve been close a few times, so to win one is great. And just to repay a bit of faith in Chris Waller, Charlie Duckworth, and the ownership group is a big thrill.”
Private Life, improving on his fourth the start prior in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude, was at $13 making him the longest priced Caulfield Guineas winner for Waller whose other champions – Press Statement (2015) and The Autumn Sun (2018) – were both short favourites.
This year’s winner jumped from barrier five and showed plenty of grit holding off the brave runner-up Feroce ($51) who went around at any old odds for Ballarat horseman Dominic Sutton.
Last start Group 2 Stutt Stakes winner at The Valley, Evaporate ($17), was good again for Ben, Will & JD Hayes running third under a length beaten to complete the trifecta.
One of the big stories out of the Caulfield Guineas was the shock loss of the odds-on pick Broadsiding for Godolphin.
The James Cummings-trained Golden Rose champion first-up was after his fourth Group 1 success and third at a mile when heading down to Melbourne.
He was well back throughout but made-up late ground with James McDonald aboard to run 1.25 lengths fourth.
2024 Caulfield Guineas Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | PRIVATE LIFE | Chris Waller | Damian Lane | 5 | 57kg | $13 | |||
| 2 | 8 | FEROCE (NZ) | Dominic Sutton | Billy Egan | 0.15L | 2 | 57kg | $51 | ||
| 3 | 3 | EVAPORATE (NZ) | Ben, Will & JD Hayes | Michael Dee | 0.9L | 8 | 57kg | $17 | ||
| 4 | 1 | BROADSIDING | James Cummings | James McDonald | 1.25L | 9 | 57kg | $1.80F | ||
| 5 | 7 | PUBLIC ATTENTION (NZ) | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | Ethan Brown | 2.75L | 4 | 57kg | $21 | ||
| 6 | 4 | ANGEL CAPITAL | Clinton McDonald | Ben Melham | 3.75L | 7 | 57kg | $7 | ||
| 7 | 10 | VIANARRA | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Jamie Mott | 4.21L | 11 | 57kg | $201 | ||
| 8 | 9 | TROPICUS | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Mark Zahra | 4.31L | 1 | 57kg | $18 | ||
| 9 | 2 | RUE DE ROYALE (NZ) | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | John Allen | 5.81L | 6 | 57kg | $101 | ||
| 10 | 6 | WANARUAH | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Jye McNeil | 7.06L | 3 | 57kg | $21 | ||
| 11 | 5 | MAYFAIR | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Blake Shinn | 27.06L | 10 | 57kg | $8 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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