October 7, 2025Autumn Glow shines in maiden Group 1 victory
Well, the wait is over. The wonderful Newhaven Park bred, raised and sold racemare Autumn Glow continued her unbeaten sequence at Randwick in the time honoured Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick and is now seven wins from seven starts following an almost inevitable victory at the highest level of competition.
Considered an elite talent from the very first time she stepped on to the track, Autumn Glow was at prohibitive odds for the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) this very same stage of the season 12 months ago but had to be scratched from the 3-year-old fillies on the eve the race.
Now a formidable 4-year-old racemare, Autumn Glow stepped right up to the mark in a Sydney thoroughbred racing feature which stands the test of time, winning under unfavourable handicap conditions after jumping from the extreme outside barrier.
Imperious in her lead-up races this time in work, just as she had been in all of her previous outings last season, Autumn Glow lived right up to expectations as the $1.75 favourite, coming through the assignment with a conclusive one-and-a-half length success under a confident Kerrin McEvoy ride.
Speaking after the win, trainer Chris Waller could have been speaking for virtually everyone associated with Autumn Glow when stating: “It means a lot to us, she’s a very talented horse. It’s all about Group 1 racing… So it was so important to get that box ticked; that was the biggest relief.”
Asked about his immediate plans for Autumn Glow, Waller replied: “We just don’t want to over-race her. It’s what I call a four-year-old filly, as I say. We won’t over-race her … we’ll see what they [owners Arrowfield Stud and Hermitage Thoroughbreds] all want to do; probably one more run. It’s likely either the Golden Eagle or the Empire Rose at Flemington.”
Newhaven Park has a long and distinguished history of breeding Australian gallopers which have excelled on the biggest days of domestic racing and Autumn Glow did us proud once again. She became the second Group 1 winner produced by Via Africa (SAf) following the 2021 Golden Rose Stakes (Gr.1) success of In The Congo who was similarly raised and sold by Newhaven Park.