The Autumn Sun stormed home from the tail of the field to record a stunning victory in the 2018 Golden Rose Stakes at Rosehill Gardens this afternoon.

The Autumn Sun could not have been more impressive in the Golden Rose Stakes at Rosehill Gardens this afternoon. Photo by: Steve Hart

Kerrin McEvoy elected to settle The Autumn Sun at the tail of the field in the early stages of the Golden Rose Stakes and he still had a huge amount of ground to make-up when Zousain hit the front at the top of the straight.

Zousain looked like the winner at the 200 metre mark, but The Autumn Sun absolutely savaged the line in the concluding stages to claim his second Group 1 victory.

Trainer Chris Waller admitted after the race that he thought Zousain had the race won and he was simply blown away by the performance of The Autumn Sun.

“He’s a very good horse, as you saw,” Waller said.

“When the draw came out he was 11 of 11, so it wasn’t going to be easy but I’d rather him there because I know how good he is and for him to finish off over the top of a good field it was pretty special.

“I thought the stablemate (Zousain) was home, he looked every bit of his dad Zoustar surging to the front in the same race but I think he might have been beaten by a pretty special one.”

Waller is yet to make a firm decision on the path that The Autumn Sun will follow during his 2018 Spring Racing Carnival campaign, but he is now a dominant favourite in the 2018 Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas betting market.

Waller said that the Caulfield Guineas is an obvious target for The Autumn Sun and he revealed that connections are keen to target the Victoria Derby with the two-time Group 1 winner.

 “He is a Derby horse and the owners are hellbent on winning a Derby, so that obviously comes first and foremost,” Waller said.

“His value however has fortunately skyrocketed again today.

He’ll have a price tag now and maybe he can tick the box of winning a Derby as well.

“I’ll be pushing not to rush him to the spring Derby because it’s so quick, it’s a long way for a young horse.

“So we’ll see who gets a good say, the owner or the trainer.”

Zousain lost no admirers with his strong effort in second place, while Graff produced another consistent performance to finish third.