The stars, emerging talents and hidden gems set to light up the spring

The autumn carnival has shown that Australian racing is entering a golden age with a galaxy of stars showing their wares. Hopefully our stars will clash in the spring, although there is a world where that doesn’t happen.

Chris Roots finds the headliners - and a few hidden gems - that are ready to step up in the spring.

It took him a couple of runs to get to his peak, but in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, he proved himself the best horse in the country at 2000m. Like his Turnbull Stakes win in the spring, Sir Delius was able to maintain a relentless gallop and still have a change of gear in the straight. His autumn preparation was hamstrung by veterinary requirements, so we will get to see a better version with an uninterrupted campaign in the spring. He looks the Cox Plate winner and any other race at 2000m.

One defeat can’t take away what we saw in the autumn. She clearly had a couple of lengths on her rivals at a mile in the Verry Elleegant Stakes and George Ryder Stakes, and the form from the race stood up. Aeliana went on to win twice at Group 1 level, while Gringotts and Pericles were good with big weights in the Doncaster.  She probably wasn’t ready for the brutal nature of the Queen Elizabeth, but at mile she will remain untouchable in the spring.

The Everest runner-up didn’t step out of her own age group in the autumn and unsurprisingly remained unbeaten. She got her Group 1 in the Surround Stakes, where the soft track dulled her acceleration. But the turn of foot was there for all to see in the Arrowfield Sprint where she ran 1.08.00 for the 1200m with her final 600m in 33.06 seconds. She will need to do something similar to beat Ka Ying Rising in The Everest, but she is closer than you think.

The Rosehill Guineas winner had to play second fiddle to Sheza Alibi twice but is probably still three-year-old colt of the season. Without the star filly there in the Doncaster he would have won it by a couple of lengths. The question is, can he close the gap on her? He is only rated a 110 benchmark compared to Sheza Alibi’s 115 after the Doncaster. That makes the Epsom a good option for him. From there, he will have to take on a star with Autumn Glow waiting in the King Charles III Stakes, Sir Delius in the Cox Plate, or Sheza Alibi in the Golden Eagle. He can win any of those three races.

There has never been a modern-day Doncaster winner like Sheza Alibi, and the exciting thing is she’s only going to get better. She has an exhilarating turn of foot, and Peter Moody knows how to handle a star. The Golden Eagle is her target in the spring. Her style of getting back might play against her as she steps out against all comers. She could be the x-factor in the Golden age of Australian racing and we look forward to her clashes with the Autumns – Glow and Boy.

She found Autumn Glow too brilliant up to a mile, but once Aeliana got to her trip, she was a dual Group 1 winner in the Ranvet Stakes and Tancred Stakes. There is a toughness about her, which shone when Dubai Honour attacked her from the half mile in the Tancred Stakes, only for her to outstay him. Does Chris Waller set her on a Cups path this year? She would be asked to carry big weights, but she is clearly the best stayer in the country.

He ran in every leg of the two-year-old Triple Crown and arguably was in the top three runs in each race. Once he got back on a firm track in the Champagne Stakes he was able to show his quality. He is unbeaten on a good surface, including his Inglis Millenium win. He struggled on the soft tracks in the Golden Slipper (seventh) and Sires (third), where he was unable to get traction. He looks near the top of his generation, and the Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas will be winnable targets if he gets firm tracks.

This Godolphin filly was playing from behind, only getting into the Lindsay Park system in August last year. She debuted in the Blue Diamond Prelude and was only three lengths from Streisand and Chayan. She then won a Ballarat maiden and the Ottawa Stakes at Flemington before being Percy Sykes Stakes runner-up despite being three-wide without cover. She was one of the better fillies of the autumn. If she can get a mile, the Flight Stakes or Thousand Guineas are great options.

This Frankel colt is still a maiden, but at one point, he was second favourite for the Golden Slipper after being photo-finished by Sires winner Campione D’italia in the Skyline Stakes. As the big races extend in trip in the spring, he is going to be better suited. He has already shown he can match the best colts in work, so a Golden Rose or Caulfield Guineas could be his for the taking.

Of Chris Waller’s mighty group of mares, she was the one to miss out in the autumn. But consider she was within a couple of lengths of Joliestar and Autumn Glow without any luck before being run down by Idle Flyer in the Queen Of The Turf, it was hardly a fail. It might mean we get a price in the spring. She is likely to take the alternative route to Autumn Glow and expect her to bounce back in races like The Invitation and Empire Rose Stakes.

She took a big step up in class in the autumn and although she didn’t winning any of her four runs, she is one for the future. She could have won the Derby Munro Stakes with a clear passage as she looked for runs back to the inside. She ran fifth in the Arrowfield Sprint, pulling up three-in-five lame, but ahead of her were three Group 1 winners and Sunlight winner Grafterburners. She might be better at 1400m and a race like the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes could be good target as she will get in at the bottom of the weights.

She didn’t even run a placing during the autumn but each of her efforts in the Guy Walter Stakes, Coolmore Classic and Emancipation Stakes suggests she will eventually find a Group victory. She was only a couple of lengths from Idle Flyer in the Emancipation on the worst part of the track. She is going to get into the mares’ races on the limit in the spring and could be dangerous.

James McDonald found this bloke for a couple of wins at the beginning of his preparation before he stepped up in grade and was runner-up to Flying For Fun in Maurice McCarten Stakes. He wasn’t disgraced in the Star Kingdom Stakes or Hall Mark Stakes and there is a nice race in him in the spring. But he might have to wait for next year for a Group 1 sprinting handicap to get his ultimate reward.