The 2026 edition of the Rosehill Guineas has been run, with Chris Wallers’s star colt Rosehill Guineas proving too strong for rivals to claim the Group 1 race.
Below is what the winning trainer, winning jockey and beaten riders had to say following the Group 1 feature.
Winning Trainer: Chris Waller
Trainer/Jockey G1 Record & McDonald Record: “Yeah, pretty amazing – doing it on our home track. Yeah, we haven’t talked about it all week. I rang him last night, we spoke about the footy – he’s a mad roosters supporter, and I joked around a bit.”
“I said, ‘We’ll (Panthers) beat you tonight.’ Yeah, so that’s as far as our conversation went last night, and that’s the relationship we’ve got. It’s pretty simple. Don’t stress and we just do the best we can.”
Autumn Boy at 2000m: “Yeah, it is for sure. We wanted to try that. Great owners, The Ritchies. I think the most disappointing thing last preparation, when I mentioned that he may have a short racing career, because he’s such a wonderful colt.”
“They said, ‘Oh, we’re not in a rush to retire him, we want to keep them racing.’ So that’s great. And it’s good to see these colts race on and I’m sure he will. So yeah, we ticked the box for 2000 metres. His dad won it. He’s won it. And yeah, we’ll pick out some nice races in the spring for him.”
2/2 G1s on the card: “It’s a good start. It’s a good start. Just one at a time, that’s what we said at the start of the day and it’s worked out well so far.”
Winning Jockey: James McDonald
Breaking record: “It’s lovely, but it’s a testament to the horses that I ride because they are phenomenal. There’s no two ways about it, that I do ride the best horses and most favourites each race and I’m blessed to have that opportunity.”
“To get to a mark like this, it’s obviously special. Especially with how I look up to Damien Oliver.”
“When I was growing up as a ten-year-old kid, he was riding Melbourne Cup winners. One that comes to mind is Media Puzzle when he went through so much adversity and still had the vivacity to come out on top. He’s a phenomenal rider.”
“I’m just blessed with a great family and great support crew with Mark Guest and good family friends. John O’Shea, who is like a father figure to me. He got me over and he gave me so many chances even when I wasn’t riding well. Many trainers throughout Australia and New Zealand as well.”
Legacy: “I’m just humbled by the support. To be honest, I flicked social media off this week and just focused on my rides.”
“But Katelyn would mention, ‘someone said kind words about you’. That means so much. Whether I deserve it, it’s up to people’s opinion, who’s the greatest jockey to ever grace the turf. It doesn’t worry me.”
“As long as I’m in the conversation, I’m very proud of it, and if my girls in ten years’ time look up and say, ‘gee Dad, you’re pretty good’, that would mean more to me than whether someone thinks I’m the best or not.”
Received text on Saturday morning from Sir Steven Hansen: “I write on my piece of paper every race day, ‘See it. Feel it. Win it.’ And at the bottom of it, ‘Enjoy it’.”
“Like Sir Steve Hansen said, I got the text through and thought, that’s nice of him to text me. But I took something away.”
“He said, ‘Walk straight into it. Grab it with both hands and walk straight into it.’ I was thinking to myself, imagine him sitting down with the All Blacks, a fifteen squad of men, our greatest sport in New Zealand, and he’s saying, ‘Walk into it, embrace it’. I thought that was quite special because it took me back a little bit.”
Beaten Jockeys:
Craig Williams (Observer): “I tried to ride the perfect race on him. Probably third up in his preparation at ten furlongs, he probably possesses better staying ability rather than the change which probably caught him out and they sprinted better.”
Damian Lane (Deal Done Fast): “He ran honestly. Just wasn’t suited to the sit and sprint.”
Rachel King (Green Spaces): “He was enormous today. Will only be better when he gets over further as well.”
Zac Spain (Victorious Spirit): “That is probably the best he has begun. We wanted to ride him quiet. My stuff up. Should have just let him roll to the front. They went slow.”
Dylan Gibbons (Federalist): “Great to see him put himself into a spot. Just when they steadied up the tempo, that doesn’t play into his hands. Thought he finished it off very well.”
Zac Lloyd (One Step Closer): “Really good. Lovely Derby trial from him.”
Ben Melham (Bingi): “Just went too keen.”
