Nolen reigns supreme for second Goodwood
Jockey Luke Nolen won his second Goodwood of his career after Desert Lightning won the 2026 Sportsbet Goodwood (1200m) in a photo finish at Morphettville on Saturday.
Fourteen years after he won the race with Black Caviar, Nolen settled midfield on Desert Lightning and tracked Watchme Win, then went for home that saw the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained gelding edged out race favourite Extragalactic.
Connections of Extragalactic thought they had won the $1 million Group 1, but Desert Lightning won the bob on the line, denying trainer Trent Edmonds and jockey Luke Cartwright a maiden Group 1 win.
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Co-trainer Katherine Coleman celebrates her first Goodwood success with Desert Lightning. Picture: Makoto Kaneko
Nolen said he wasn’t sure if he had won, but was excited to see his number come up on the Morphettville big screen.
“I wasn’t sure on the line, but that drone kept following me around everywhere so I thought, ‘I must be a bloody chance’,” Nolen said.
Nolen was confident he could snare a second Sportsbet Goodwood win with the son of Pride Of Dubai, who had been performing well on the training track.
The win saw Moody capture a third Group 1 win in the Sportsbet Goodwood, after wins with Black Caviar (2012) and Flamberge (2015), while it was a first Goodwood win for co-trainer Katherine Coleman.
Extragalactic was outstanding to finish second. Hawkes-trained galloper Grand Larceny filled out the placings, running a narrow third ahead of New York Lustre.
