Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2025 – What the jockeys said

Read what the jockeys made of their mounts after the Group 1 $5,000,000 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick.

James McDonald (Via Sistina): “Chris just trains her up beautifully every time, he did it for a Cox Plate, he’s done it for the Queen Elizabeth.

“You could poke holes in her performances coming into today because she hasn’t been winning by big margins, but that’s the type of horse she is now, she only does what she has to.

“She felt like she was going to rip away and then at the furlong she’s just doing enough.

“Very good horse. There was one little worrying moment, I thought the one I was following was going to kick for a gap and he just didn’t go for it and I ended up back off him, but she was superior, once I got those gaps, she sliced through and went bang.”

Tom Marquand (Dubai Honour): “He has run a huge race in defeat. Beaten by a good mare. Had a horrible run around. Whether it would have been enough to turn it around I don’t know.”

Ben Melham (Tom Kitten): “Thrilled with his run. He’s run right out of his skin. Been beaten a short margin by some superstars. Tremendous effort.”

Christophe Lemaire (Rousham Park): “Very good race. I was behind Dubai Honour but I couldn’t accelerate in the straight.”

Ethan Brown (Light Infantry Man): “On face value an end of prep run.”

Chad Schofield (Ceolwulf): “Thought he was brave. We got a bad draw from the outset. Had to go back and cover a lot of ground. Tried to cut the corner on the home turn.”

Tim Clark (Vauban): “Just found them a bit sharp for him coming back in trip. Especially on such good ground as well. He’s had a good prep.”

Tommy Berry (Buckaroo): “He got into a really nice rhythm. I thought I was the winner coming around the corner. Just second up, 2000m. He got bumped a couple of times down the straight. He does enjoy getting to the outside. Brisbane Winter carnival looks very well suited there.”

Nash Rawiller (Lindermann): “He was very gallant. Got a nice spot. Rolled at a genuine tempo. Just tried to use his break to his advantage. I thought he did us very proud.”

Tyler Schiller (Fawkner Park): “I thought he was in the right spot today. We had Via inside of us. My horse had a good run through. Just wasn’t sharp enough late when we needed him.”

Jamie Melham (Middle Earth): “He just needs further now.”

Damian Lane (Geoglyph): “Just hasn’t been himself in either of his two runs in Sydney. Unfortunately not at his best.”

Mark Zahra (Deny Knowledge): “She wasn’t herself today. Took a fair while to get to the front. And then when I asked there was nothing there a fair way out.”