The Caulfield Guineas is regarded as one of Australia’s most prestigious races for three-year-olds - a Classic that invariably defines a generation of colts. A new generation gets its chance on Saturday.
If the best bloodlines are a deciding factor in the Caulfield Guineas, Chris Waller will chase a fourth win in the prestigious race from a better position than most trainers.
Waller has two chances in a race that has consequences for the Australian breeding industry like few others.
They are Wodeton and Autumn Boy. Just as Waller has trouble separating the colts, there is also nothing between the pair with the bookmakers.
Finding a point of difference might come down to genetics.
While Wodeton’s bona fides as a son of Wootton Bassett can’t be challenged, on breeding, Autumn Boy is as well-equipped as any Guineas contender of the modern era to run well at Caulfield on Saturday.
It’s a factor that ensures Waller is ignoring the formguide to pin his faith in a pedigree page that is rich in Caulfield Guineas history.
“He was defeated last start in the Golden Rose, but we’re not reading too much into that,” Waller told Melbourne’s media after Caulfield trackwork this week.
“I just didn't think the race was run to suit, and the mile will help.
“His dad won the Caulfield Guineas, I don't know, (it) probably doesn't mean much (to other people), but it does for us. It gives us a bit of confidence.”
Autumn Boy is a son of Waller’s 2018 Guineas winner The Autumn Sun, and recency bias probably explains why the champion trainer didn’t offer a deeper analysis.
The reality is that The Autumn Sun’s influence is only part of the story, where one of Arrowfield Stud’s current headline residents is overshadowed by one of its historically most important.
There hasn’t been an Australian sire of so much significance in the 21st century as Redoute’s Choice, the sire of The Autumn Sun.
And there’s a strong argument that Redoute’s Choice’s memorable Guineas win helped shape the breeding industry in the same manner as his sire Danehill did in the 1990s.
In the aftermath of Redoute’s Choice's Guineas triumph in 1999, Arrowfield supremo John Messara parted with $5 million to secure a 50 per cent stake in the colt.
The deal ensured the racetrack career of Redoute’s Choice would be a fleeting one, but for Arrowfield it became a gamble that delivered a windfall.
In Messara’s words, Redoute’s Choice was “the horse who changed everything”.
Redoute’s Choice has sired more than 1200 winners with 39 individual Group 1-winning horses among more than 180 of his progeny who have been successful at stakes level.
The Caulfield Guineas honour roll is a tribute to his legacy as a stallion and a sire of sires.
God’s Own also emulated his father in 2005, as did his grandson Mighty Boss in 2017 and great grandson Griff in 2023.
As a damsire and great grandsire, Redoute’s Choice’s influence also runs deep with Super Seth (2019), Anamoe (2021) and Private Life (2024) contributing to a lineage that has created a dynasty.
Challenged by spring Group 1s such as the Golden Rose and the Coolmore Stud Stakes as races that can fast-track a colt to stud, the Guineas has kept its relevance as a Group 1 contest that can define post-race careers, thanks to the exploits of Redoute’s Choice and his contemporaries.
The alumni of Caulfield Guineas runners who have found their way to stud and have subsequently been highly commercial stallions have been extraordinary.
Testa Rossa and Commands, who filled the minor placings behind Redoute’s Choice, enjoyed successful stud careers while the fifth-placed Pins rose to champion sire status in New Zealand.
Other winners such as Show A Heart, Lonhro, Starspangledbanner, All Too Hard, Super Seth, The Autumn Sun and Ole Kirk, the leading first-season sire in 2024/2025, have continued that tradition.
And then there are the generational stallions such as Exceed And Excel (sixth in 2003) and Fastnet Rock (eighth in 2004), who were given their chance while the 2002 runner-up Bel Esprit is remembered as the sire of unbeaten champion Black Caviar.
Nevertheless, it is Redoute’s Choice who stands tallest and the one most likely to have an impact on the result of this year’s Guineas.
Besides a connection to Autumn Boy, Redoute’s Choice also figures in the pedigree of Vinrock, Navy Pilot, Hillier and one of the emergencies, Regal Award.
A sense of occasion isn’t lost on Waller with all three of his Guineas winners going to stud.
“The Caulfield Guineas is a stallion-making race. It's a great opportunity,” he said.
