Australian racing followers are accustomed to seeing jockey Damian Lane partner with international contenders in major Spring Carnival races, but he has shifted his allegiance for this Saturday’s Caulfield Cup.
The skilled jockey will partner with English stayer Wine Dark Sea in the 150th running of the Group 1 handicap, which boasts a $6 million prize pool this year.
Lane is aiming for his second Caulfield Cup victory, having previously won the 2400-metre handicap aboard the Japanese entire Mer De Glace in 2019.
That same year, he also claimed the Cox Plate with another Japanese visitor, Lys Gracieux, and has frequently teamed up with horses from Japan in the significant spring feature races.
This Saturday marks the first occasion he will ride a UK-trained galloper in the Caulfield Cup, and he expressed enthusiasm about partnering with the Harry Charlton-trained son of Ulysses.
“He’s very much probably what we’re used to seeing from the English horses in terms of he can get up on speed and he can sustain a good run from a long way out,” Lane stated. “That’s indicative of what we’ve seen in the English horses that come out here over the years and hopefully that’s the case with him.”
The Caulfield Cup represents Wine Dark Sea’s 11th career start. The Northern Hemisphere four-year-old is coming off a solid 1-1/2-length win in the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes (2671m) at Newbury on August 15, his most recent outing.
That victory was Wine Dark Sea’s debut in Stakes company and marked his third win from four starts in 2026.
Lane visited Werribee last Thursday to get his first feel of the gelding, who arrived in Australia late last month, and was pleased with his impression.
“First impressions were good,” Lane commented. “He’s a very sensible horse, he seems to have settled in well, he moved well, he finished the work off well and there was nothing really negative to report.”
Wine Dark Sea is currently positioned at $7 on the second line of Caulfield Cup betting, trailing only the dominant Turnbull Stakes winner Cosmic Crusader ($4.50), whose participation was confirmed last week.
“Cosmic Crusader was not very welcome news, I would prefer he’s not there,” Lane admitted. “But I did think the race lacked a little bit of depth this year and it would be a good chance for someone like a Wine Dark Sea.”
Lane also holds the first option on Wine Dark Sea for this year’s Melbourne Cup, though a final decision will be made following this weekend’s race.
Wine Dark Sea is assigned 54.5kg for the Caulfield Cup, with the final field set to be announced on Tuesday morning, and will carry 56kg in the Melbourne Cup.
This could potentially be Lane’s final Spring Carnival as a Melbourne-based jockey, as he progresses towards obtaining a license in Japan, where he has previously ridden on short-term contracts.
The Western Australian jockey announced last week that he successfully passed the initial stage of the licensing application process, with another exam scheduled for January.
“Riding in Japan on a more permanent basis has been an ambition of mine for some time,” Lane shared in a statement following the examination results. “While the chance of receiving a JRA licence is exciting, my immediate focus is on Australian racing and achieving the best possible results this spring carnival.”
Check out the latest Australian betting sites for the upcoming Caulfield Cup.
