Birdman soars in 2025 Kingston Town Stakes

Persistence finally paid off for Birdman ($5.50), with the Chris Waller-trained import breaking his Australian duck in determined fashion at Randwick.

Given the run of the race by Kerrin McEvoy from the inside barrier, the five-year-old angled clear of the rail at the top of the straight, reeled in early leader Full Count Felicia, and fought off Adelaide River ($19) to score narrowly. Stablemate Etna Rosso ($51) finished a distant third.

It was Birdman’s ninth local start and Waller said it was the performance he had been waiting for. “It is (overdue) from a punter’s perspective. From our perspective he’s just steadily been working towards something. He needed to start doing it,” Waller said. “He got to a more suitable distance today, had a lovely draw, a nice run in transit and a good confident ride. Logically, he’s heading the right way towards Cups, that’s what he was bought for a year out.”

McEvoy believes Birdman has more to offer once he gets onto rain-affected going. “Ideally I think a little bit more juice in the ground suits him better as well,” he said. “He definitely floated when he got there and thought his job was done, but he rallied when he saw the other horse coming. If he can stay further the Metropolitan will be perfect for him.”

Following the win, Birdman firmed to $4 favouritism for the Metropolitan on October 4, while also sitting at $11 for the Caulfield Cup and $26 for the Melbourne Cup.