Kym Davison, the trainer from Albury, has savored his maiden city triumph on a premier occasion of the Sydney autumn carnival in 2026, accomplishing it almost accidentally.
Davison intended for his up-and-coming three-year-old Autumn Break to participate in the $1 million Country Championships Final (1400m), though the horse was excluded from the field.
He acted as a standby instead, and obligated to stay in Sydney for any possible withdrawals, Davison elected to pay the entry fee for the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) as a fallback option.
“First city winner, so not a bad one to crack the ice with,” Davison said.
“I was hoping to be in the next race, but great consolation.
“I saw this race and said, ‘well, we’re going up there anyway, so we’ll go and have a throw at the stumps’.”
Autumn Break ($8) duly obliged, prevailing by a nose over Kilman ($31) prepared by Chris Waller, who controlled the race until the final stride, as Matias ($6.50) trailed by a short head for third.
The result offered solace in a distressing phase for the Davison household, with Kym’s brother succumbing to his illness just a week prior.
“It’s been a hard week. We lost my brother a week ago,” he said.
“He had been unwell for a while. But you’ve got to pick yourself up.”
Davison, managing eight horses in his Albury stable, will now spell Autumn Break with intentions of targeting The Kosciuszko (1200m) early in his next campaign in October.
“The Kosciuszko, he’d go alright in that,” he said.
“His first start was over 1200, and he should have won that Highway (Handicap) here, that was 1200 first-up, so we’ll try to push onto that if we can.”
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