The Turnbull Stakes holds significant importance for the upcoming spring aspirations of several contenders.

Adding a layer of difficulty to this Group 1 2000m race, contested under set weights and penalties at Flemington, are the heavy track conditions.

As of Friday morning, the Flemington track was classified as a Heavy 9, following 52mm of rainfall, with further showers anticipated throughout Friday and into Saturday.

While this may hinder some runners, those favoured in the betting, including Sir Delius and Aeliana, have demonstrated their ability to perform well on rain-affected surfaces.

Sir Delius boasts an unblemished record in two previous starts on heavy tracks. Aeliana, on the other hand, finished strongly behind her former stablemate Via Sistina when resuming in the 2025 Winx Stakes, which was her sole experience on a heavy track.

Nevertheless, Aeliana possesses an excellent record on soft ground, having secured four victories from six starts, with an additional second placing.

Her most recent triumphs on soft tracks were in the Ranvet Stakes and Tancred Stakes at Rosehill earlier this year.

Trainer Chris Waller commented that after two starts this campaign, Aeliana was nearing her peak form, though further improvement was expected leading up to the Cox Plate (2000m) at Flemington on October 24.

He noted that Aeliana’s coat was finally beginning to show its best.

“She was much better the other day,” Waller stated. “She looked like she is ready to peak and hold her form. “I’m keen to run her here despite it being a set weights and penalties race because she gets three weeks to get ready for the Cox Plate.”

Aeliana will be accompanied by Caulfield Cup hopefuls Asterix and Ohope Wins, as well as last year’s Cox Plate runner-up, Buckaroo.

Soul Of Spain, another horse trained by Waller, has been withdrawn and will instead compete in The Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick.

“Asterix, he’s just going really well,” Waller commented. “He can get to the Caulfield Cup through this race while Buckaroo gets in with 55 (kilos) which is a good weight.”

Waller anticipates an improved performance from Ohope Wins with the increased distance, as her most recent race was the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) on September 12.

“First-up it was a 1700-metre handicap and was too short,” Waller remarked. “She’s never run over shorter than 2000 (metres) before, but she ran well the other day in the Makybe Diva.”

Considering the challenging conditions, the Turnbull Stakes presents a fascinating betting proposition on Australian betting sites.