Conditions dictated by Sydney’s forecast will shape whether Ceolwulf stands a chance of upstaging champion mare Autumn Glow in the Verry Elleegant Stakes at Randwick, per trainer Joseph Pride.

Solidly backed at $1.30 to claim a 10th successive win Saturday, Autumn Glow’s favouritism is endorsed by Pride.

Pride qualifies his view by noting potential from heavy predicted rain, granting Ceolwulf upset potential on a substantially rain-affected surface.

“I’m not even thinking about winning chances because honestly, if that mare shows up with what she did the other day, you’re probably not going to beat her at this stage of the preparation for us, with no blinkers and so early on,” Pride said.

“His best chance of running really well would be if the track is wet, so I’ve got my eye on that.

“That’s probably what punters want to hear from me, ‘is there a chance your horse could win? Well yes, but it would have to be wet, I would think’.”

Running at Randwick provides Pride with solace for Ceolwulf.

An absence marked last year’s Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m) due to misfortune, while a fortnight ago post-Apollo Stakes (1400m) nostril blood raised ban fears of three months.

Post-race scoping disproved internal issues, pinpointing a nose vessel break for Ceolwulf.

Approval came from stewards for continuation, Pride affirming seamless training.

“As soon as I scoped him, I felt like he was entitled to be here, but going back to two weeks ago when I saw him post-race, it is a massive relief,” Pride said.

“He didn’t miss a walk. He missed nothing.”

Holder of three Group 1 Randwick mile successes, Ceolwulf thrives later in preps, so Pride eyes strong contention Saturday.

“Hopefully the first four or five and I’ll be happy. That will be box ticked going forward and I’ll know that he is on track. But I’m very happy with him.”

Rain would suit Liverpool City Cup (1300m) entrants Coal Crusher and Cool Jakey from Pride’s barn, both rain lovers, with Gatsby’s primed for the finale.

“I’m very happy with that horse,” he said of Gatsby’s.

“He’s had a real change in his attitude and he’s going well. He has put in three good, honest runs for me, and he’ll go really well on Saturday.”

Discover racing betting markets ahead of the Verry Elleegant Stakes.

One of AEW’s top stars and champions, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, was scheduled to appear at a Canadian independent show. However, The Wolf of Wrestling has seemingly been withdrawn from the event, and the company hosting it has issued a statement on the matter.

MJF has had a target on his back ever since he reclaimed the All Elite Wrestling Men’s World Championship last year at Worlds End. He mounted his first successful defense of the belt in the company against Bandido at Dynamite: Maximum Carnage last month. Although he suffered an upset loss to Brody King in an Eliminator earlier in February, he retained the belt against the former Hounds of Hell member at AEW Grand Slam Australia 2026.

Friedman has also put his “Triple B” on the line on the independent circuit, successfully defending it against Alec Price at Limitless Rumble 2026, and against Zilla Fatu at HOG No Turning Back a week ago. The self-proclaimed generational talent was scheduled to appear at Mystery Wrestling 23, a show organized by Canadian promotion Mystery Wrestling set for March 26 at the Midway Music Hall in Edmonton. The company has now announced on Instagram, however, that Friedman will not be able to show up at the event due to a scheduling issue.

“Due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict, MJF will no longer be appearing at Mystery Wrestling 23 on Thursday, March 26 at Midway Music Hall in Edmonton. Any fans interested in a refund may redeem them from their original point of purchase. We apologize for any inconvenience.” – said the announcement.

MJF will also be defending his strap on AEW’s upcoming pay-per-view next month.

Stipulation for MJF’s Revolution 2026 AEW title defense has been set

This week on Wednesday Night Dynamite, MJF and Adam Page met face to face to decide on the stipulation for their AEW Men’s World Title match at Revolution 2026. While The Cowboy opted for his signature match type, Texas Death, Friedman selected a one-sided No Disqualification stip which would allow him to use no-DQ privileges against his opponent, but not the other way around.

A coin toss was held to settle which stipulation would be made official for the pay-per-view, and MJF seemingly won said toss. However, when Page demanded that the coin be examined to rule out unfair tactics, it was revealed to be a double-sided one. Friedman was penalized by Tony Khan for this attempted deception, as it was then decided that his Revolution bout against The Hangman will be a Texas Death Match.

Notably, if The Devil manages to beat Page next month, the so-called “Main Character” of AEW will never challenge for the World Title again, as per his own words.