X-factor stayer Half Yours cemented Caulfield Cup favourite expectations on Saturday with a brilliant performance in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.

Melbourne Cup favourite Sir Delius won the Flemington feature – a proven bellwether for spring carnival success — from Cox Plate aspirants Antino and Via Sistina before a 15,000-strong crowd.

 

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Half Yours finished fourth behind the weight-for-age superstars, ahead of Aeliana and Deakin.

The Turnbull last year featured the subsequent winners of all three spring majors.

Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Half Yours firmed $4 into $3.50 for the Caulfield Cup and vindicated a decision to run the untapped five-year-old Group 3 winner against Australia’s best on the big stage.

Calvin McEvoy beamed about the result, along with jockey Jamie Melham.

“He’ll certainly be shortening up in the market from that and deservedly so,” McEvoy said.

“He’s dropping weight (56kg Saturday down to 52.5kg in Caulfield Cup), the mile-and-a-half (2400m) is exactly what he needs now.

“My only query today, it wasn’t class of the horse, I know he’s a good horse, it was whether … he was looking for the mile-and-a-half.

“You know what, he probably was, but we couldn’t be happier that … another great run on a Good 3, Jamie said he felt amazing, he’s a fit, happy, healthy horse.

“So roll on two weeks.”

READ: What the jockeys’ said after the Turnbull Stakes

Half Yours has a host of Chris Waller-trained stayers to ward off potentially in the Caulfield Cup, with unplaced Turnbull runners Land Legend ($11), Moira ($34) and River Of Stars ($51) headed there.

Buckaroo ($7) could strengthen the Waller hand with another strong performance on Saturday in the Group 1 Might And Power Stakes (2000m) while Metropolitan runners in Sydney last Saturday – More Felons ($101) and Birdman ($15) – will also come under consideration.

Aeliana ($6) remains in the Caulfield Cup entries.

“Leave it up to Chris,” assistant trainer Charlie Duckworth said.

“Aeliana’s paid up in both (Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate), I guess you got to let the dust settle and work out exactly what you do.

“Moira, Land Legend and River Of Stars … all three would go to the Caulfield Cup I’d imagine.”

Duckworth said Via Sistina could rebound in the Cox Plate after her third place in the Turnbull.

“She just simply needs a solidly run race and she’ll be right there, ‘don’t panic’, is what we were told (by James McDonald),” Duckworth said.

“She obviously gets around The Valley particularly well as well, it is a big tick.”

TAKE NOTE, THE REAL DEAL. SIR DELIUS ⭐

An outstanding win against an outstanding field! The Melbourne Cup favourite wins the Turnbull, and he might be Cox Plate favourite before too long 💛🏆 pic.twitter.com/A3BjvEBEUR

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 4, 2025

Via Sistina is a $2.80 favourite for the Cox Plate from Turnbull winner Sir Delius ($3.50).

Turnbull runner-up Antino, trained by Tony Gollan, and Aeliana hold on the third line of Cox Plate betting at $6 from Treasurethe Moment ($7).

“I’m happy with him, good run, he obviously had to do it a bit tougher being caught deep,” Gollan said.

“It looked like we were going to get a good run on the back of the winner and it got in and we didn’t.

“We covered a lot more territory, the race didn’t have the amount of pressure we hoped for … we really run well in races with good pressure in them.

“His effort was good, third-up today, fourth-up, which is when he hits his peak, in three weeks. We’re on track.”

Meanwhile, Valiant King firmed $101 to $15 for the Melbourne Cup after winning the golden ticket Bart Cummings (2520m).

Favourite Gilded Water, owned by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, gripped on for third after leading by up to seven lengths in the run.