Nepotism stars in 2025 Champagne Stakes win

In one of the season’s most exciting finishes, Nepotism announced himself as a star in the making with a breathtaking win in the Champagne Stakes at Randwick.

The two-year-old colt, trained by the renowned Hawkes family, showed explosive acceleration to go from last to first, securing his maiden Group 1 success in just his third race start. It follows his recent victory in the Group 3 Baillieu (1400m).

Ridden by Tyler Schiller, the $3.90 favourite powered past his rivals to narrowly beat Within The Law ($4.80) by a head, while Tupakara ($16) finished a close third.

Nepotism boasts a rich pedigree—he’s a son of Doncaster Mile winner Brutal and out of Brigite, a close relative of the legendary Black Caviar and Group 1 star All Too Hard.

Michael Hawkes, full of admiration for the colt’s finishing burst, admitted to having doubts mid-race.

“He’s just a proper horse,” he said.

“When he was out the back, they were running along and I was just thinking, ‘wow, are they going hard enough?’”

“The only thing I said to Tyler was, ‘you’re going to have to slice and dice and try to come up through them.’ He came around the corner and I thought, ‘is he going to get there?’”

“But he’s just blistering. He’s got an exceptional turn of foot. Last to first, unbelievable.”

Having debuted in the Todman Stakes in March, Nepotism has quickly made up ground on more experienced peers and now stands as a promising stallion prospect.

“His win in the Baillieu was just outstanding,” Hawkes added.

“I just love making colts. It’s just one thing we just love doing.”

The Hawkes stable is now celebrating a trio of Group 1 victories this autumn, having earlier struck gold with Devil Night in the Blue Diamond Stakes and Briasa in the TJ Smith Stakes.

Schiller, who handled the pressure with poise, credited strategic riding and the horse’s determination.

“Michael said don’t loop them because he can’t win if you do from the 600m,” he recalled.

“So I was waiting to cut the corner but Federalist was going nowhere in front of us.”

“It was an incredible win. I felt like he peaked at the 100m but he just had that tenacity to win.”