Waller and Melham sweep Caulfield Group 1s with Birdman and Angel Capital
Birdman strengthened his Cox Plate credentials in the Underwood Stakes before Angel Capital ended a run of top-level near misses in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.
Chris Waller and Ben Melham swept Saturday’s Group 1 races at Caulfield, combining with Birdman in the Underwood Stakes before Angel Capital secured his first Group 1 win in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.
Birdman ($6) defeated $2.25 favourite Cosmic Crusader by 1¾ lengths in the Underwood Stakes. Attrition, at $101, finished another 2¼ lengths away in third.
Angel Capital ($5) then won the 1400-metre Sir Rupert Clarke, beating defending champion Sepals by three-quarters of a length. Early leader Regal Award held third, a long neck behind Sepals.
Birdman settled near the rear while stablemate Lindermann led, with Cosmic Crusader enjoying a comfortable run closer to the speed. William Pike brought Cosmic Crusader into the race approaching the home turn, but Melham tracked the favourite before taking Birdman wider. The Irish-bred gelding reached the lead near the 200-metre mark and drew clear.
“Chris just gets the timing right perfectly when it comes to placing these horses, knowing when to put the acid on them,” foreman Darren Beadman said. “He ran in a nice lead-up race in the Memsie, into this.”
Birdman, an imported son of Free Eagle, had resumed over an unsuitable 1400 metres in the Memsie Stakes and was kept up to the mark with a trial before returning to his preferred distance range. The victory was his second at Group 1 level after the Doomben Cup over 2000 metres earlier this year.
Melham said Birdman had travelled strongly and won with something in reserve.
“We had a beautiful trail, we just come off a little bit before the corner when the sprint come on and I gave him a squeeze just to pick him up,” Melham said. “He picked him up quickly, he got there too soon and it’s not his go that he had a good look around, won with a bit in hand so I think he’s a good 2000-metre horse.”
The Underwood win put the Cox Plate, which will be run at Flemington this year, among Birdman’s spring options.
Angel Capital entered the Sir Rupert Clarke at his ninth Group 1 start, having placed in three of his previous attempts. He had also finished fourth behind Sepals in the 2025 edition after finding clear running only late.
From barrier seven, Melham settled the five-year-old midfield as Regal Award established a strong tempo. Angel Capital was brought to the outside in the straight and ran down Sepals in 1:21.29.
“He’s been deserving of the Group 1 win for so many runs,” Beadman said. “The way this track panned out today with a good, strong speed up front, Ben has the utmost faith in the horse and he rode him to perfection.”
Melham had ridden Angel Capital in two of his Group 1 placings and said the horse’s ability had never been in doubt.
“He’s not an easy horse to ride, but when things go his way, you’ve seen what he can do,” he said. “He deserves it.”
Bred by David Peacock, Angel Capital is by Harry Angel out of the Teofilo mare Bahamas. He was sold by Mill Park Stud for $400,000 at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale and later purchased privately by Yulong.
The result made Angel Capital Harry Angel’s fourth Group 1 winner. It also took his record to six wins from 18 starts and prize money of more than $2.8 million.
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