2025/26 Season in Review: Stars, Stats and Standouts

THE HORSES

De Bergerac won at Flemington’s first meeting of the season and the Grahame Begg-trained gelding was a staple of sprint races for the remainder of the season.

The son of Zoustar had eight starts at Flemington, all on the famous straight course, which was one more than the next most regular visitors, Miss Aria and Celsius Star.

De Bergerac’s win on August 2 was one of three wins at Flemington in the past 12 months, which made him the equal most successful horse at Headquarters for the season, alongside Danny O’Brien-trained fillies Getta Good Feeling and Sass Appeal.

THE TOP-RATERS

The TAB Turnbull Stakes (2000m) is not the biggest race run at Flemington each season, but it can be labelled the best race for the 2025/26 racing year.

Timeform afforded Sir Delius a mark of 126 for his brilliant win over Antino, Via Sistina and Half Yours in the 2000-metre set-weights-and-penalties Group 1 event.

The imported son of Frankel pipped Pride Of Jenni for top honours, with the popular front-runner going to 125 in her dashing TAB Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) win on Derby Day.

Three horses put up a Timeform rating of 124 in victory; Tentyris in both of his Group 1 wins – the Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) and Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) – Ceolwulf in the VRC Champions Mile (1600m) and Mr Brightside in his historic third-straight Crown Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) win.

The highest-rating non-Group 1 win came in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m), in which War Machine earned a mark of 122 after spanking his rivals by two lengths under 60kg.

THE LONGSHOTS

Triple-figure-odds winners lob at Flemington more regularly than any other Melbourne racetrack, but the longest-priced winner in 2025/26 was a shorter quote than most years.

The biggest longshot to salute in the past 12 months was Valiant King, who won the Group 3 Lexus Bart Cummings (2500m) at $61 on TAB Turnbull Stakes Day.

The previous meeting produced the season’s only other winner at $51 or longer, Persian Spirit, who won an 1100-metre Benchmark 78 at $51 on September 13.

Three horses won at $41; Grinzinger Heart in the Group 2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), Naina and Ghetto Supastar, who also won a Flemington race at $31.

The biggest Group 1 upset came in the TAB Australian Cup, when Light Infantry Man out-bobbed Pride Of Jenni as a $21 chance.

THE FAVES

Punters’ picks won a third of the 15 Group 1 races run at Flemington for the season with two of the four who started odds-on getting the job done.

Via Sistina was the shortest-priced winner of a Group 1 race, claiming the TAB Champions Stakes (2000m) at $1.80, edging out Observer, who won the Australian Guineas at $1.85.

Via Sistina also started $1.80 in the Crown Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m), when third behind Mr Brightside, the same price as the season’s other odds-on Group 1 favourite Getta Good Feeling, who could manage only sixth in the Crown Oaks (2500m).

Observer and Via Sistina, along with Getta Good Feeling, who won the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes at $1.60, were among seven odds-on favourites to win at Flemington for the season, the shortest being Concord Connie, who was $1.35 when she won on May 16.

THE TRAINERS

No one will be surprised Ciaron Maher had the most Flemington runners for the season (196), or that the Lindsay Park training team of Ben, Will and JD Hayes had the second-most (152).

Those two stables were also the top two in terms of wins – 25 to 18 – with Danny O’Brien third on 11.

John Sadler had the best strike-rate of those with multiple runners going into the final meeting, but slipped to second despite good performances in defeat from longshots The Troubleshooter and Duntulm Lass.

That left Mick Shepherdson to claim top honours with two winners from five starters (40%).

Shepherdson’s wins were with Ghetto Supastar, which also made the Geelong trainer a clear winner of the return-on-investment category with loyal stable followers getting back $14.40 for every $1 wagered on each of his Flemington runners.

THE JOCKEYS

Neil Farley was aboard Ghetto Supastar for his two wins and was a clear winner of the leading jockey by ROI.

Those two wins were among just 11 rides for the season for Farley, who returned $6.55 for every $1 wagered on each Flemington ride.

Billy Egan ($1.90) was next best of those who had multiple winners, with Craig Newitt ($1.80) third.

Tasmanian apprentice Jabez Johnstone, who took the back-end of the season by storm after striking up an association with Ciaron Maher, was the jockey with the best strike-rate, posting six winners from 18 rides at 33 percent.

Craig Williams, who had the most rides at Flemington with 103, leapt to the top of the most wins leaderboard after his premiership-sealing double at the season-ending meeting, taking his tally to 13, one more than Luke Cartwright – who also rode a winner on Saturday – and Mark Zahra.

A measure of how dominant Zahra was early in the season is that he was leading the most winners category heading into the last meeting of the season, despite having not ridden a winner there since partnering Giga Kick to victory in the VRC Champions Sprint (1200m) on TAB Champions Stakes Day.