The Group 1 wins continued for record-breaking jockey James McDonald who guided Chris Waller‘s class mare Aeliana to successive elite level victories in as many weeks when getting up narrowly for the punters in the 2026 Tancred Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.

Just seven days on from her Ranvet Stakes victory, the talented four-year-old daughter of Castelvecchio handled the quick back-up to deny last year’s champion, UK raider Dubai Honour, victory in the Group 1 $1.5 million Tancred Stakes (2400m).

“It’s hard to beat a (William) Haggas horse when they’re being set for a race as Mr. Haggas does,” Waller admitted to Sky Thoroughbred Central post-win.

“He shows us what training’s all about when he comes down here. We knew we had to be on top of our game.”

The first galloper since Avilius (2019) to complete the Ranvet / Tancred Stakes double, Aeliana relished the step back up to 2400m – a distance she demolished the boys over as a filly in last year’s Australian Derby.

“Just trusting your gut instinct more than anything,” Waller said of the call to back-up Aeliana.

“Her winning the Derby was a big plus, so she’s won over the distance (2400m), so you’re not having to tick boxes.

“The only box we had to tick was the seven day backup.

“She’s eaten well, it’s been well publicised that she wasn’t a mature horse in the spring and she’s come back a different horse now.”

Rival hoop Tom Marquand had the William Haggas-trained European and defending champ Dubai Honour out to a big lead as the field turned for home looking to go all-the-way and go back-to-back in the 2400m feature.

J-Mac meanwhile had Aeliana settled second, stalking and ready to strike home the straight.

“I had to be pretty patient on her because I learned a bit on her the other day,” McDonald said.

“I wanted to learn from what I felt the other day. I thought even though it wasn’t ideal letting them get so far in front I had confidence that the mare would pick up.

“Once she balances up, and then she’ll find.

“Last time Nash (Rawiller on Lindermann) rode a terrific race and had me a little bit disorganised and I didn’t want that to happen today.

“Lucky we were on a superior horse and credit to the runner-up (Dubai Honour), he gave us one hell of a fright.”

Dubai Honour swung with a four-length lead before McDonald got busy on the odds-on favourite with Aeliana moving up to begin her charge.

As the front-runner began to drift under pressure and tier, the eventual winner went to the inside still three lengths off Dubai Honour inside the final 100m.

“About the 300, I could feel her really building underneath me,” McDonald added.

“I just felt if I went earlier and chased her I would’ve been just out of my comfort zone.

“It was a chance I was willing to take and I’m glad it paid off.”

In a finish for the ages, Aeliana showed true grit wearing down the visitor, knuckling down to lunge and grab victory right on the line as Vauban got up for a clear third in another strong performance by the Waterhouse/Bott import.

”Full credit to Aeliana, she’s a proper horse,” Waller said of the now triple Group 1 winner.

“She puts herself in the race, never let Dubai Honour get out of our sights.

“He threw the task at the 600 metre mark, probably a little bit earlier than what we liked but James (McDonald) just cuddled her and fortunately she was just strong to the line, and we just got there in time.”

Waller said the team would consider another autumn run on April 11 taking on the stable’s unbeaten queen Autumn Glow in the Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) back in trip at Randwick on Day 2 of The Championships.

“She’s had two solid runs; we’ll see how the Queen Elizabeth fits in,” he said.

“She’ll be here for another two years so that’s a lot of races to still look forward to.”

Autumn Glow heads all-in 2026 Queen Elizabeth Stakes betting at a prohibitive quote of $1.40 while Aeliana has firmed in from $7 to $4.

2026 Queen Elizabeth Stakes Odds

2026 Tancred Stakes Results

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