Aeliana withdrawn from trials as spring contenders impress at Warwick Farm

By on 04/08/2026 at 10:31 am
Filled in: Horse Racing
Two jockeys ride a brown racehorse with number 9 on the turf at Rosehill Gardens, chasing the lead along the track.

Aeliana was en route to the barriers when a hind leg became briefly entangled in the stall mechanism.

Prudence prevailed, and the mare, a three-time Group 1 victor, was scratched from her scheduled 1000m heat.

Should Aeliana’s leg recover without issue, trainer Chris Waller has a contingency plan: the Rosehill barrier trials this Friday. This would serve as a final tune-up before her return to racing, with options including the Group 1 Winx Stakes at Royal Randwick on August 22 or the Group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield a week later.

In Aeliana’s absence, the opening heat at Warwick Farm saw Ciaron Maher’s promising colt Gringotts claim an impressive victory. He surged clear to win by over three lengths from Beiwacht and Campione D’Italia, with both runners-up kept under a steady hand.

Gringotts, a dual winner of the Big Dance-The Gong double and victor of the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes, clocked a swift 58.72 seconds for the 1000m, a strong indication of his readiness for the Winx Stakes.

Maher also celebrated success in the second Group and Listed trial, a 900m contest where Warnie finished strongly to defeat dual Group 1 winner Marhoona by a half-length. Knobelas secured third place, a similar margin adrift, in 53.95 seconds.

Marhoona, the 2025 Golden Slipper winner, initially led the heat but jockey Zac Lloyd kept her under wraps, suggesting she had more to offer.

Tempted, the highly-regarded Godolphin sprinter and last year’s Everest runner-up, commenced her preparation for the lucrative October 17 race by finishing fourth in the trial, just ahead of Another Wil. Jockey Chad Schofield kept the mare behind other runners, indicating her eagerness for faster paces in a promising return.

Lloyd then partnered another Golden Slipper victor, the impressive colt Guest House, in his initial barrier trial this preparation. The colt was ridden conservatively early, settling in the midfield pack on the inside.

Guest House, under the care of Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior, had not raced since his Slipper triumph in March. He appeared fresh in his trial, at one stage lifting his head when held for room, but moved smoothly from the turn to finish a close fourth.

Maher completed a clean sweep of the Group and Listed trials when Tornado Valley narrowly defeated his fast-finishing stablemate Jimmysstar by a long neck. Attica finished third, a half-length further back and just ahead of Guest House.

Tornado Valley completed the 900m in 52.93 seconds, with the final 600m in 34.18 seconds, a pace significantly quicker than the Warnie trial. This performance further highlighted the impressive closing run of Jimmysstar, who charged home from the rear of the field.

Ben Elam, overseeing the Sydney satellite stable for Price and Kent Junior, indicated that Guest House would participate in another barrier trial at Royal Randwick next week before his intended return in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens on August 29.

“Guest House will trial again on the Randwick course proper Friday week and then he has 15 days into the San Domenico,” Elam stated. “He has had plenty of time off since the Golden Slipper which was run on March 21 but we gave him an active spell where he had a couple of weeks in the paddock, came back into the stables and did some treadmill work and then went back out for a couple of weeks.”

“A lot of these colts and fillies if you leave them out for too long they can switch off and it is hard to get them to switch back on.

“But he looks really well and he will go to the San Domenico first-up and the roll onto the Run To The Rose and then the Golden Rose. “The Golden Roses is the first main target, that is all we are worried about for now, and once that is said and done we can work about the rest of his spring program.”.

Guest House is currently the $4.50 favourite in early TAB Fixed Odds for the Group 1 $1 million Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on September 26. Coolmore’s colt is also being considered for the Group 1 $20 million The TAB Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick on October 17.

You can find competitive racing odds for the upcoming feature races at Australian betting sites.

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