Attica shines brightest as three-year-olds continue to sparkle
Racenews
28 October, 2025
Attica, Ohope and Observer continued a superb season for Godolphin three-year-olds in Australia as they graduated to Graded Stakes honours in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday.
Beiwacht, Tentyris and Tempted had already demonstrated the strength of Godolphin’s Classic crop, while Attica headed into Randwick’s G1 Spring Champion Stakes on the back of an easy win at the course’s Listed Dulcify Stakes earlier in the month.
Attica stormed home to collar Shangri La Boy near the line and complete a remarkable rise through the ranks for the Lonhro colt, who only made his debut for Joe Pride at the start of September. He looks set for a break now before returning for more G1 targets in the spring.
Ohope was also stepping up in class on the back of a Listed victory and the Tapp-Craig Stakes winner had little trouble in taking the G2 Callander-Presnell on the same Randwick card as he comfortably saw off Rivellino.
The I Am Invincible colt has won three of his five starts since joining Michael Freedman and he too will be freshened up for the autumn.
Observer had been denied a clear run when taking third in the G1 Caulfield Guineas earlier in the month but had no traffic problems at Moonee Valley, with Mark Zahra heavily easing the colt close home for a cosy win in the G2 Drummond Golf Vase.
A third Stakes winner in Australia for his sire Ghaiyyath, the Ciaron Maher-trained colt is due to make a quick return to action for this weekend’s G1 VRC Derby, the curtain raiser of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
In the UK, Time To Turn rebounded from a disappointing G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere performance as he captured the G3 Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury on Saturday. Rising Power completed a hat-trick in a Doncaster nursery on Friday, while Study Of Words was another two-year-old colt to win as he took a Newmarket maiden by 15 lengths on Wednesday.
A trio of two-year-old fillies also got off the mark, with Ottoman Empress striking at Yarmouth, Flegrei scoring on her debut at Kyoto and Zaffa making a winning introduction at Presque Isle Downs.
The Breeders’ Cup dominates this week, and Godolphin runners will be out in force over the two-day meeting at Del Mar. Star three-year-old Sovereignty will be aiming to crown an outstanding year with victory in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, with Rebel’s Romance chasing an unprecedented third win in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Notable Speech and Cinderella’s Dream will be hoping to avenge narrow defeats from 12 months ago, with El Cordobes, Diamond Rain, Military Code and Infinite Sky also lining up in a strong royal blue squad.
