The 2026 edition of the Caulfield Guineas has been run, with Bjorn Baker-trained Warwoven continuing his outstanding campaign with a dominant victory in the Group 1 feature at Caulfield.
Sent out as the $2.40 favourite, Warwoven proved too strong for Blind Raise ($3.10), scoring by 1¾ lengths, with Call Me Coach ($15) finishing a further 3¼ lengths away in third.
The victory added the Caulfield Guineas to Warwoven’s Golden Rose triumph, with jockey Rachel King again partnering the star colt to Group 1 success.
Below is what the winning stable representative, winning jockey and beaten riders had to say following the Group 1 feature.
Winning Trainer: Bjorn Baker (Luke Hilton speaking)
On the victory: “It is a bit emotional, actually. There was a bit more pressure today. There was more excitement in Sydney but there was a fair bit of pressure with him today.
“The race probably didn’t pan out what we thought. Incredible ride, Rache, Had her wits about her. She knew what she had under her and when she hadn’t moved on him on the corner I thought he must be travelling well.
“He’s an outstanding colt. Bjorn has said for a long time that he could be one of those special horses that don’t come around too often. He’s proving him right so far.”
Thoughts when Tron Bolt crossed from the outside gate: “It caught us a bit by surprise. He seemed to get into a lovely rhythm in the run and Rach gave him an incredible ride and he had to be tough late.
“Trent’s horse (Blind Raise), he really fought hard. Great win.”
To win after disappointment in Magic Millions: “As Bjorn said a couple of weeks ago, everyone was in a lot of hurt in January but we banded together. Credit to the owners, they were phenomenalthey understand that these things can happen and Bjorn has been able to pay them back now.
“Jim Clarke and the sales team have done a fantastic job. A first season sire (Sword Of State) and they bought a beautiful colt.”
On Rachel King: “It is very special. Over the past 24 hours she has copped a lot of instructions and running through the race play-by-play which she doesn’t appreciate because she is better off flying by the seat of her pants but she did well and it means a lot.
“I see how hard she works and the pu and downs she goes through, it is an amazing game and it can be very tough as well.”
Winning Jockey: Rachel King
On the horse and the win: “He leaves me speechless, this horse. He’s unbelievable.
“There were a few question marks today, we didn’t know how he’d handle going this way around and Caulfield’s not an easy track to come to first time Melbourne way, but he’s just got so much class and he was still arrogant again.
“I know a lot of people said, ‘how can he peak again?’, but I don’t think he has peaked. I think there’s still more there.
“I’ve certainly never sat on a horse like this and he’s pretty unbelievable.”
On trainer Bjorn Baker and bloodstock agent Jim Clarke: “They’re unbelievable. The whole team behind them. Right from the start, Jim from the sales and Bjorn’s team have done an amazing job.
“We thought it was sort of dreams over a little bit back at the start of the year, but they’ve done an amazing job to just be patient with him and let him have his time and it’s really paid off.”
Beaten Jockeys:
Blake Shinn (Blind Raise): “He forged it up but ran into a super colt. I thought it was a very good effort.”
Mark Zahra (Call Me Coach): “It was a huge effort. He didn’t have the speed early. I was happy to sit back early and relax and for him to hit the line like he did at his third start, he has a bright future ahead.”
Thomas Stockdale (Unit Five): “I envisaged my run being on the back of the speed and after stepping well he failed to respond to my urges early. We ended up in a horrible position and it made our run hard from there on in. I thought he stuck on well at the mile and I think the team will pull up stumps and reassess and prep him for later on.”
William Pike (Tornado Valley): “I was in two minds whether to go forward or back and he broke away clean, got in a lovely spot and I was really surprised that he found nothing off the bridle. He felt good in the lead up and I actually thought we would be in the money but he disappointed in the straight.”
Craig Williams (Tron Bolt): “From the outside barrier draw he was able to offset that with a brilliant start. He got into a lovely position, one out, one back throughout, but at all the turns I had to pull him around. He didn’t get around Caulfield today. It’s a high-pressure Group 1 mile here and that was his problem. Once he straightened up, credit to him, he stayed on nice and strong. They’ve got some nice options with him, but back in Melbourne, on a bigger flatter track, it would help him get around it.”
Jye McNeil (Diameter): “He was pretty solid. He didn’t show a lot of gate speed and we ended up a lot further back than anticipated. I thought he ran pretty good.”
James McDonald (Central Europe): “I was so pleased with him. He felt the winner at the top of the straight, but the winner and the second horse were just too good. Very proud of him.”
Ben Melham (Somethings Burnin’): “It was a creditable run. He ran as good as he can go. I think he’s a good horse, he lacks a bit of mental maturity. I think we’ll see the best of him in the autumn.”
Ethan Brown (Wolf Gap): “He was inconvenienced at the start. He never really recovered or felt right after that. He struggled to pick up off the bridle and I think he felt the track was too firm. If they tip him out and start again, he might be a fresh winner.”
Declan Bates (Seraphox): “He hasn’t quite finished off after working around them early. He’ll bounce back and be OK.”
