When Greatness Came in Pairs - Five Historic Caulfield Guineas Days

Kristen Manning

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Last updated: Thu 08 Oct 2026 05:36

Kristen Manning 2 hours ago

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Five historic Caulfield Guineas Days when two outstanding champions shared the spotlight
Racing legends including Luskin Star, Kingston Town, Mahogany, Lonhro and Northerly feature
Relive ten memorable victories across five remarkable meetings from 1977 to 2001

Darren Gauci salutes the crowd aboard Lonhro after the champion colt's victory in the 2001 Caulfield Guineas. (Getty)

And here we are again, approaching the very heart of the Melbourne Spring Carnival, with Saturday's Caulfield meeting the first of our biggest race days.

1977 - Luskin Star & Family Of Man
1982 - Grosvenor & Kingston Town
1993 - Mahogany & Naturalism
1995 - Our Maizcay & Danewin
2001 - Lonhro & Northerly

Caulfield Guineas Day celebrates a Classic dating all the way back to 1881, a race with an honour roll of champions including Heroic, Ajax, Hydrogen, Tulloch, Vain, Surround and Anamoe.

While each of those horses recorded victories that have stuck in the minds of racing fans, there are another five winners who were special for a different reason.

They won the Caulfield Guineas on days when another historic feature, the Caulfield Stakes, was also claimed by an outstanding horse.

We take a look at five of Caulfield's most memorable race days...

1977 - Luskin Star & Family Of Man

The previous season's standout two-year-old, the Max Lees-trained Luskin Star was making his Melbourne debut when he arrived at Caulfield on Saturday, October 8, 1977.

With Roy Higgins aboard, the dashing chestnut was sent out favourite, duly saluting in such impressive style that his rider was able to declare that "he would hold his own against the best three-year-olds I have ridden."

While the winning margin of 1¼ lengths was not a massive one, Higgins noted that there was more in the tank... "he was slowing down noticeably 100m out – he was pricking his ears and looking around."

Second to Surround in the previous year's Caulfield Guineas, Family Of Man also had Roy Higgins aboard when he contested that day's Caulfield Stakes, making it a rather special afternoon for the legendary jockey.

Confident throughout the running of the 2000m weight-for-age feature, Higgins told the press that "everything was put on for me! The race developed into a beautiful pattern soon after the start... I got a perfect trail and he went to the line strongly for me."

The two heroes of that day met at their next starts, Family Of Man adding the W.S. Cox Plate to his impressive record while Luskin Star failed to see out the 2040m.

He bounced back, winning three of his last four starts, including The Galaxy at his finale.

Family Of Man, meanwhile, raced on until late 1980, winning another eight races, including three consecutive Group 1 contests during the spring of 1978.

1982 - Grosvenor & Kingston Town

The handsome Grosvenor, with Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper placings behind Rancher and Marscay, was bred to shine at three. And that he did, with the Caulfield Guineas becoming the first leg of a Classic double.

The race had been billed as a match between three exciting young horses – Grosvenor, Veloso and Cossack Prince – and the trio did not let spectators down, producing a thrilling contest.

As Veloso secured a rails run, Grosvenor and Cossack Prince were making their runs from further back.

On different parts of the track, Veloso and Grosvenor engaged in a duel over the final stages, the latter prevailing late to salute by a long neck.

"He was shuffled back through the field early and I had to get a clear passage," his rider Mick Dittman said on the day. "But when he saw daylight he flashed to the line."

Three starts later, Grosvenor took out the VRC Derby, having tackled the older horses in two majors in between.

He was unplaced in the Caulfield Cup won by Gurner's Lane before briefly hitting the lead in the W.S. Cox Plate, only to be nabbed close to home by the great Kingston Town, who was winning the third of his Cox Plates.

It was the second time the legendary galloper had used the Caulfield Stakes as a lead-in to Moonee Valley glory, and the ease of his win as a 7/4-on favourite had Peter Cook looking forward to a third crack at the big one.

"Didn't he make that look easy?" he said. "There was plenty left in the tank, he had only a working gallop."

Trainer Tommy Smith was equally as cocky, declaring that "he will win the W.S Cox Plate."

1993 - Mahogany & Naturalism

The Freedman brothers have enjoyed some pretty good days on the track, and October 9, 1993, was certainly one of the biggest, with two of the stable's best producing stellar performances.

Having already proven himself high-class with a couple of Group 1 wins during the Queensland winter carnival as a two-year-old, Mahogany drew barrier one in the Caulfield Guineas and was sent out favourite with Greg Hall aboard.

Trained at Lee Freedman's Flemington base, Mahogany was taking on Port Watch, who was prepared at Caulfield, where Richard Freedman was the overseer.

The brothers had a friendly $10 bet over who would win, and hopefully they also had something on the quinella!

It was, of course, Mahogany who proved victorious, and he would go on to establish himself as one of the most versatile racehorses in Australian history.

He won the VRC Derby, the Australian Guineas and the AJC Derby, as well as two editions of the much shorter Lightning Stakes... also pushing Octagonal in the W.S. Cox Plate.

Stablemate Naturalism nearly completed the same Derby double, finishing second at Flemington before winning at Randwick later in the season.

He went on to prove himself a weight-for-age star, taking out the Memsie Stakes, the Feehan Stakes and the Turnbull Stakes at consecutive outings that spring before so famously being brought down as favourite in the W.S. Cox Plate.

Subsequently heading to Tokyo, where he finished a brave second in the Japan Cup, Naturalism was still in form the following spring, and the Caulfield Stakes would prove to be his final victory.

And what a great race it was – the brothers The Phantom and The Phantom Chance looking ready to create fraternal history, only for Naturalism to take a run between them.

"I love this horse!" Lee Freedman declared.

1995 - Our Maizcay & Danewin

There was a sense of excitement at Caulfield on October 14, 1995, with racegoers anticipating something special from the very fast New Zealander Our Maizcay.

The odds-on favourite was stepping up to a strong mile on the back of outstanding form over shorter trips.

It had been some spring for the Grant Searle-trained colt. He had five starts before heading to Caulfield and, as a short-priced favourite each time, had won them all... the San Domenico Stakes, the Up & Coming Stakes, the Roman Consul Stakes, the Ascot Vale Stakes and the Vic Health (Sir Rupert Clarke) Stakes.

Never looking in any doubt at the mile, Our Maizcay went to the lead, dashed clear into the straight and raced away to record his 13th success from 17 starts.

And he left some rather nice ones in his wake... Flying Spur and Strategic were amongst the unplaced runners, while flashing home for third was Octagonal, who at his next start would outbob Mahogany in the W.S. Cox Plate.

Unable to see out the 2040m in that same race, Our Maizcay would have just one more start, finishing unplaced before heading to stud.

He always looked a tad podgy on race day, and when asked what he was like as a yearling, Grant Searle replied, "just like he is now – fat!"

A NZ$7,000 yearling, Our Maizcay was a great bargain story, and the other big winner that day wasn't too expensive either... despite his regal breeding, Danewin was secured at the Sanctuary Cove yearling sale for just $21,000.

A Danehill grandson of Eight Carat, Danewin – who went on to a successful stud career despite fertility issues – was already an established Group 1 horse when he contested the Caulfield Stakes as a 7/4 favourite.

The Spring Champion Stakes, the Rosehill Guineas and the Doomben Cup were already on his CV, and he would add the Mackinnon Stakes after Caulfield. There was also no doubt that he was unlucky not to win other major races.

His Caulfield Stakes victory was a dominant one, with trainer Bobby Thomsen in awe of his charge...

"Gee he flattens, look at how he gets down low as he gets to the line. Good horses do that."

Both Danewin and Our Maizcay were descendants of legendary mares born just two years apart... Mumtaz Mahal and Selene.

2001 - Lonhro & Northerly

Hailing from the same sire line and the same family as Grosvenor, Lonhro had history on his side heading into the Caulfield Guineas, though he was at handy odds of 7/1, with stablemate Viscount (from the same family as Danewin and Octagonal) the favourite.

Having won his previous four starts in Sydney with Rod Quinn aboard, Lonhro had a new partner at Caulfield, with Darren Gauci taking the ride.

Gauci was excited to have a mount in the big race, although he wasn't overly confident about what the black horse had shown him.

"I only rode him a couple of times in track work and he didn't really give me a great feel, I wasn't sure if he was going alright or not!"

Carrying the second set of Ingham silks – black with a cerise cap – Lonhro jumped a little too well from a wide gate and had to be restrained to find some cover.

"I am not having a lot of luck," Darren recalled... "we were a long way back but we were staying out of trouble."

It was with 700m to go that Darren realised he was aboard the Caulfield Guineas winner.

"I knew we were going to win – it was like he was just waiting for me to tell him when to go, like he was saying 'when you are ready I will go straight past them.'"

And that is just what Lonhro did, with racecaller Greg Miles catching on early.

"Lonhro's coming with a big run down the outside... Occie's little boy has taken the lead and pulls away to win the Guineas."

"I felt like I was back on Super Impose!" Gauci said.

"To see a son of Octagonal win the Caulfield Guineas, it doesn't get any better than this," said an understandably emotional John Hawkes.

Lonhro's association with the Caulfield Stakes would continue, with the emerging champion going on to win the next two editions of the weight-for-age feature.

As if seeing an emerging champion wasn't exciting enough, racegoers that day were also treated to the feats of an established champion – the fighting tiger Northerly.

Odds-on in the Caulfield Stakes en route to the first of his two W.S. Cox Plate victories, the Western Australian galloper had won the Feehan Stakes and the Underwood Stakes in the lead-up.

Taking his usual front-running role, Northerly comfortably held off a late challenge from Shogun Lodge, while the third horse home further enhanced the form... at her next two starts, Ethereal would win the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

"That was Northerly at his best," said trainer Fred Kersley, adding that "he went to the line with something in hand."

"It was a pretty soft win," Damien Oliver added.

And it was by no means the end of Northerly's winning days, with his subsequent victories including the Underwood Stakes, the Caulfield Cup, the W.S. Cox Plate and the Australian Cup.