Australian Cup 2025 – What the jockeys said

Read what each of te jockeys said about their rides in the 2025 Australian Cup at Flemington.

Ethan Brown (Light Infantry Man) On the race: “It was sedate early but, as Jenni does, she picked it up a long way out. He was always going to relish it this bloke. 2000 metres was never a worry for him, but all the cards fell our way today.

“It’s a long straight that Flemington straight, but he really appreciates being ridden like that and I’m super rapt to get the job done today.”

Craig Williams (Deny Knowledge): “I can actually see how she beat (Mr) Brightside. She has got an unbelievable motor. The race didn’t go as we planned, but all-in-all we ended up getting a really nice run and to run second today, I thought was excellent. She was so credible, so tough and she really loved today’s surface.”

Jamie Melham (Zardozi): “Very, very good. She’s already looking for further. She was good but the winner was too sharp.”

Blake Shinn (Atishu): “She ran well. The 2000 (metres) is at the end of her distance. She was there to win at the 400 (metres) and I thought she was going to, just with the tempo and the 2000 metres, it found her out.”

Mark Zahra (Middle Earth): “He didn’t go too bad. He didn’t break the cleanest, but I was off the bridle a long way from home. He stuck on OK and he’s looking for 2400 (metres) now.

Billy Egan (Feroce): “I was happy with his effort. First time at 2000 metres and taking on seasoned weight-for-age horses being a three-year-old.”

Daniel Stackhouse (Young Werther): “I thought we would be aggressive and be right up there. He travelled well for the first half but when the pressure got put on, he couldn’t go with the second wave.”

John Allen (Attrition): “Disappointing. We did get caught behind a tiring Pride Of Jenni turning in, but he was a spent force at that stage.”

Craig Newitt (Pride Of Jenni): “A bit of a head-scratcher. She flew the gates, and I was happy with the first couple of furlongs, and she had travelled well, and we got to the 1200 (metres) and they were still there, and I let her slide a little bit, but she was well and truly beaten at the thousand which was very unlike her.”

Daniel Moor (Shaiyhar): “He was under pressure from the get-go. That strong pace at weight-for-age, put him out of play.”