The 2026 edition of the Toorak Handicap has been run, with Chris Waller-trained Lady Shenandoah producing a brilliant performance to claim the Group 1 feature at Caulfield.
Sent out as the $5.50 equal favourite, Lady Shenandoah overcame a wide barrier and 58kg to defeat Changing Colours ($8) by a head, with Welcometotheshow ($16) a further short head away in third.
The victory was Lady Shenandoah’s fourth Group 1 success, with James McDonald producing a perfectly timed ride to guide the mare to her first win since the 2025 Coolmore Classic.
Below is what the winning trainer, winning jockey and beaten riders had to say following the Group 1 feature.
Winning Trainer: Chris Waller
On finally winning the Toorak Handicap: “It’s credit to a good horse and a good ride from James. That was one of the best you will ever see with the big weight and for a mare, that’s massive. And then the wide draw and to have a wall of horses in front of them turning for home. She’s a really good horse and I think that’s her fourth Group 1 and she’s done it in handicaps. Not many horses do that in handicaps after three Group 1’s.”
What made the decision to come here: “I spoke to our form man and he did a good job and said she was a genuine top three chance, and James. James said we can win it. We kept that pretty close to our chest, but with James coming down and Ben already riding Birdman as he had won a Group 1 on him, I thought I can’t just bring you down here for the Guineas as the Guineas, we didn’t think we could win it, but we could run top three, and with that, and James saying she can win, we decided to bring her down.”
On whether 1400m to a mile is her ideal distance: “I guess so. She was unlucky in The Everest last year. She has won the Flight Stakes, she has won the Coolmore. She is a very good horse.”
On the Empire Rose Stakes: “The key with her is we normally leave them down, but we took her home. She doesn’t do that well down here. We’ve got three weeks. I had her booked in to go to the farm tomorrow, so I’ll have a think whether to send her there or take her back home.
“She’s a very good horse and she has proven that today. It was a very good ride from James. He’s just a master and it is great to work with him week in, week out.
“That was really one of the all time greats, that ride. With 58-kilos for a mare, and awkward draw, there’s not an inch to spare and he saved every inch he could. Kept the momentum. It was the difference between winning and not.”
Thoughts 200m out: “It was tight, very tight. Changing Colours, I’m sorry for spoiling there party because they’ve done a great job with that horse to get it up to group one level, but she was good the last 100m.”
On his first Toorak Handicap win: “I’ll have to come down here more often.”
Winning Jockey: James McDonald
On the win: “Huge thrill. She hadn’t won for a while and I keep saying to everyone that it’s not that she doesn’t try, she’s got great tenacity, but she just hasn’t had much luck and she’s raced against the best horses in the land.
“For her to win like that, she aimed up a needle eye gap, she just burst through. An incredible performance, really.
“Great for the team to get her over the line and I think Chris and the team will be over the moon with that because everyone in the stable loves her. You can tell why, she’s just a beauty.
“Thank God I was on a mare with great tenacity because Zahra, it was tight for a bit and thank God, Zahra and whoever was on my outside saved enough room.”
Beaten Jockeys:
Luke Cartwright (Changing Colours): “She began honest, but end up in a lovely position in the three-wide line with cover. I just wanted to keep clear running for her and around the corner I just had to cover a bit too much ground that I would have liked. She showed a really good turn of foot, but unfortunately that horse ended up getting a run and got us on the line, but it was a really good run.”
Craig Newitt (Welcometotheshow): “He run his guts out. He gave me a beautiful ride, he lobbed into a good spot, I was winner the whole way down the straight it just took a superstar to run him down.”
Blake Shinn (Evaporate): “I had a nice run. He’s just racing a little bit flat at the moment.”
Mark Zahra (Warnie): “He ran a super race. didn’t have a heap of room in the straight, but finished off well.”
Billy Egan (Feroce): “It panned out really well from the wide gate, he had a beautiful run, the race presented for him at the top of the strait, but he just found a couple better than him today.”
Harry Coffey (Von Hauke): “He ran well as he always does. Missed the start, got back, rode for a bit of luck, the luck was sort of going to come and then when he was going to round it out he ran out of a bit of room. But he’s going well, he’s honest as always.”
Lachlan Neindorf (Regal Award): “I just thought he might have stopped a little bit too quick for our liking. He’s a bold-running horse, that’s what he is, and I knew I was in trouble with the 400 when Salty Pearl got to me and I stopped a bit quicker than what I would have liked. Maybe he’s not ready for the mile at this grade just yet.”
Daniel Stackhouse (Hellsing): “He’s probably been okay. Once he couldn’t get too close to the front we had to do it the hard way and just up in that class, it was probably a bit too sharp for him. But I thought he held his ground nice enough.”
Ethan Brown (Sabaj): “He was back and wide, but he just never travelled comfortably throughout the run. Whether he’s feeling that ground? I thought it was a pass mark, but he’s capable of better.”
Jye McNeil (Sun God): “Had a lovely position in running, felt like being competitive once we straightened, but he just got a little bit of wind out of his sail as the winner ducked through and he just didn’t finish off quite as good as he felt he was going to.”
William Pike (Panova): “She didn’t step well, never travelled in the run and then I tried to put her in the race but just couldn’t get her interested.”
Declan Bates (Too Darn Discreet): “She run really well. She worked home nicely from back and she should be ready for 2000 metres again now.”
Rachel King (Pondalowie): “Super run. She’s probably got a little bit inconvenienced at the top of the straight, but she’s hit the line really well.”
Craig Williams (Salty Pearl): “She flew out, I just had to work to get across the eventual third horse and then I just had to find myself a little bit closer, so I just found that doing that little bit of work early made me vulnerable in the last 200. If we got an easier time in the first part of the race, she’s clearly fighting the race out. Very brave performance.”
