Monday, 6th July 2026
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Global Breeding, Racing and Sales News

  • Jewel in the Crown Could Sparkle in January

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    According to a report by punters.com.au, a summer return to the Gold Coast is being mapped out for Toorak Jewel, with owner Mike Crooks confident the brilliant Queensland filly can force her way into the $3 million Magic Millions Sunlight over 1100 metres in January after making a pleasing recovery from the setback that ended her juvenile campaign. The Paul Shailer-trained daughter of Tassort created an immediate impression when she won the $500,000 Magic Millions The Debut over 1000 metres at the Gold Coast in January, turning a modest $36,000 Book 2 purchase into one of the stories of the Magic Millions carnival. Ridden by James McDonald, she led throughout and had 1.44 lengths to spare over the Chris Waller-trained Lady Moscato, a $1.05 million yearling, with Dolly Boom third, stopping the clock at 56.31 seconds in a performance that confirmed the substance behind her impressive trial work. Plans to test her at higher level were subsequently shelved when she pulled up lame after an exhibition gallop at Eagle Farm in February, prompting connections to bypass any autumn ambitions and give her the time she needed rather than pressing on with a filly they believe has a proper future. That decision now appears to have been vindicated, with Toorak Jewel back in work and being prepared with the lucrative Magic Millions sprint in mind. For Crooks, best known through his Mishani racing and breeding operation, the filly represents a sharp change of gear from the usual home-bred QTIS-heavy model, having been sourced from the Raheen Stud draft at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. The purchase has already paid for itself many times over, and the next challenge is securing a Sunlight slot in a race that is likely to attract a high-quality sprinting field. Shailer's handling of the filly has been deliberately patient, with the Gold Coast trainer having resisted the temptation to chase too much too soon after her debut win. Toorak Jewel's raw speed has never been in doubt, but her future will depend on whether she can return sound, furnish with the benefit of a break and translate that early dash into the more demanding pressure of a rich three-year-old sprint. By Tassort out of Toorak Rose, she has already done more than enough to ensure she will be watched closely when she steps out again, and if the early brilliance remains intact, the Sunlight gives connections the perfect stage to find out whether their bargain buy can become something more than a Magic Millions fairytale.

  • National Online Breeding Stock Sale Underway

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    New Zealand breeders and bloodstock investors have been given a late-season opportunity to strengthen their broodmare bands, with bidding now underway for the 2026 National Online Breeding Stock Sale on Gavelhouse Plus. Conducted through New Zealand Bloodstock's online platform, the sale brings together a 92-lot catalogue featuring proven broodmares, maiden mares and well-related breeding prospects from leading vendors across the country, giving buyers the chance to secure mares ahead of the new breeding season without the need to attend a physical auction. The catalogue carries a broad mix of commercial appeal and long-term pedigree value, with mares offered in foal to a wide range of proven and emerging sires. Established stallions represented include Ace High, Almanzor, Ardrossan, Circus Maximus, Hello Youmzain, Noverre, Ocean Park, Per Incanto, Profondo, Shamexpress, Shocking, Super Seth, Sweynesse, Sword Of State, U S Navy Flag and Wrote, while the newer stallion ranks are also well covered through mares in foal to Chaldean, Mr Mozart, Hilal, Paddington, Little Brose and Auguste Rodin. The late Savabeel, whose influence on the New Zealand breeding industry remains immense, is another notable thread through the catalogue. Milan Park will offer two mares in foal to the 10-time champion New Zealand sire, Real Divine and Vitani, while seven daughters of Savabeel are also listed, adding depth for buyers seeking access to one of the country's most enduring and respected sirelines. Among the younger broodmare prospects likely to attract attention are two black-type performers from Stephen Marsh's Cambridge stable. Group Three performer Merchant Queen, by Merchant Navy, has been catalogued as Lot 50, while Ortega, a Listed-placed daughter of Reliable Man, will be offered as Lot 57. Their inclusion gives the sale a race-record dimension as well as pedigree appeal, with both mares bringing performance credentials that should make them appealing to breeders looking for relatively fresh prospects with residual upside. The online format again gives the sale a wide reach, particularly for those assessing mares by cover, family and future mating options from afar. Bidding closes from 6pm NZT on Wednesday 8 July, with buyers required to register on Gavelhouse Plus in advance to gain approval before participating. With spring mating plans now beginning to sharpen, the catalogue offers a timely chance to buy into established families, proven production lines and emerging broodmare potential.

    Circus Maximus

    Circus Maximus has made a great start at stud (pic: Coolmore Stud)

  • Golden Prospect's Stud Retirement Now Confirmed

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    One of Europe's most compelling young stallion prospects has moved into the next phase of his career, with Juddmonte confirming that Field Of Gold has been retired from racing and will stand under its banner in 2027 alongside his sire Kingman. According to bloodhorse.com, the decision brings an early end to the career of the European champion three-year-old miler, but not because of any long-term doubt over his future soundness. Field Of Gold is expected to make a full recovery from the bacterial lung infection that ruled him out of intended Gr1 targets including the Lockinge Stakes and Queen Anne Stakes, but he will not be ready to return to top-level racing this season, prompting Juddmonte to draw a line under his racing days and prepare him for stud. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the grey son of Kingman first advertised his quality as a juvenile with a three-and-a-quarter-length Newmarket maiden win before producing a sharp display in the Gr3 Solario Stakes. His three-year-old season then confirmed the depth of the talent, beginning with a decisive Gr3 Craven Stakes success and continuing through a luckless second in the 2000 Guineas before he emulated Kingman by going one better in the Gr1 Irish 2000 Guineas. The defining performance came at Royal Ascot in the Gr1 St James's Palace Stakes, where his turn of foot and balance marked him as the outstanding miler of his generation and left Classic winners Ruling Court and Henri Matisse behind him. John Gosden paid tribute to both his physical quality and his racecourse weapons, saying: "Field Of Gold combined speed, looks and class in bountiful measure. He possessed incredible acceleration and a superb action which he demonstrated in the St James's Palace Stakes. A very powerful and well-balanced colt with a great temperament". That combination is precisely why his retirement matters commercially. Field Of Gold offers breeders a Juddmonte homebred profile built around elite miling speed, Classic form, a Royal Ascot Gr1, physical appeal and direct access to Kingman at the next generational remove. For Juddmonte, which has shaped modern European breeding through stallions such as Frankel and Kingman, he gives the operation another high-class homebred to carry the line forward. His racing career may have ended sooner than first planned, but as a dual Gr1-winning champion by one of the most influential stallions in Europe, Field Of Gold enters the 2027 stallion market with rare depth to his résumé and the kind of commercial clarity breeders understand immediately.

  • HKJC Taps into World Cup Fever Zeitgeist

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    Happy Valley will become one of world sport's more unusual football stages on Wednesday night when the Hong Kong Jockey Club presents Eight to Glory, presented by Lenovo, a special race designed to mirror the eight nations left standing in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals. Staged on 8 July, the contest will bring together eight thoroughbreds and jockeys in a field built around the tournament's final-eight theme, with riders set to carry silks inspired by the national jerseys of the quarter-finalists rather than the registered colours of the horses' owners. The concept lands neatly between the completion of the Round of 16 and the start of the quarter-finals, giving Hong Kong a midweek sporting bridge between racing and football at one of Asia's most atmospheric venues. France and Morocco have already secured their places in the last eight, while the remaining quarter-finalists will be determined by the final Round of 16 matches, including the Spain-Portugal, USA-Belgium, Brazil-Norway, Mexico-England, Argentina-Egypt and Switzerland-Colombia paths. HKJC executive director, sports business, Casper Stylsvig said the idea was to bring together two sports shaped by passion and national pride, describing Eight to Glory as "not just another race" and an attempt to create something the sporting world had not previously seen during football's biggest event. The race also carries a commercial and experiential edge through the Club's partnership with Lenovo, the Official Technology Partner of FIFA World Cup 2026, with Happy Valley to host a Lenovo Experience Booth featuring an AI-powered football zone linked to the company's tournament technology. While the staging is deliberately theatrical, the contest is not merely an exhibition. It is an official race within the Happy Valley programme, with betting available and the result counting towards jockey and trainer records, giving the football-themed novelty a genuine racing backbone. A charity element adds further weight, with the Club to make donations on behalf of the eight participating owners to organisations nominated by those owners. The initiative follows a wider Racing with Football series at Happy Valley, which has already drawn global sporting attention and turned the track into a World Cup-flavoured destination through the tournament period. Whether Eight to Glory produces a winning omen for one of the quarter-final nations or simply a vivid midweek spectacle, the Club has found a distinctive way to fuse horse racing's theatre with football's global pull.

  • Calandagan Reminds All and Sundry Who is King

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    The world's highest-rated racehorse restored order at Saint-Cloud in France on Sunday, with Calandagan producing the kind of hard-edged performance that champions are often required to summon when brilliance alone is not enough. Returning to the scene of his breakthrough at the top level, the Aga Khan Studs homebred secured a second Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the sixth Group 1 win of a career that has taken him from gifted nearly-horse to the benchmark older performer on the planet. Francis-Henri Graffard's five-year-old had arrived with a point to prove after a rare reverse in the Coronation Cup at Epsom, where very soft ground and an unhappy passage left him well below the standard that carried him to the Longines World's Best Racehorse title for 2025. Back on home soil and on more suitable terrain, Calandagan was again ridden with confidence by Mickael Barzalona, who allowed the race to unfold in front of him as Lambourn set a searching tempo. Still with ground to make up at the top of the straight, the son of Gleneagles was asked to close into a contest that had become a proper test rather than a procession, and he answered by grinding his way through the closing stages to prevail after a sustained battle. Cualificar returned to something much closer to his best in second, while Calandagan's stablemate Sunly ran on strongly for third in a race France Galop described as one of the most compelling European 2400-metre contests of the season. The victory also added another layer to the remarkable modern story of the Aga Khan colours, giving them a seventh win in the race, and reinforced Calandagan's status as a horse whose reputation is built as much on durability and range as on acceleration. Last year's Saint-Cloud win launched a sequence that carried him through the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Champion Stakes and Japan Cup, before a Dubai Sheema Classic success this season extended his global reach. His Epsom defeat had created a flicker of doubt, but Saint-Cloud showed that the flame had not dimmed. As a gelding, Calandagan remains locked out of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, but he is now expected to defend his King George crown at Ascot, where the champion will again be asked to prove that his place at the top of the world rankings is not a title inherited from last season, but one still being earned.

  • Jones Preparing for Her Anticipated Comeback

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    Queensland's riding ranks are set for another change of complexion in coming weeks, with history-making jockey Angela Jones on the road back from injury while Olivia Webb prepares to step away from the saddle for a new chapter. Jones, one of the state's most important modern riding stories and a jockey who has already carved out a place in the record books, has been sidelined since suffering a broken collarbone in a Doomben trial fall that cost her a significant portion of the Queensland winter carnival. According to racenet.com.au, the timing was brutal for a rider who had become such a regular force in Brisbane and beyond, but the latest outlook is far more encouraging, with Jones reportedly on track to return in about six weeks. That would give her the chance to rebuild fitness and timing ahead of the new season's deeper assignments, while also restoring another proven senior option to the local jockeys' room. Jones' absence has underlined how quickly a jockey's rhythm can be halted in a sport where form, opportunity and confidence often move together, but her record suggests she has the temperament to resume with purpose once medically cleared. Her rise has been one of the standout Queensland stories of recent seasons, built on opportunity, work ethic and an ability to make the most of strong support, and her comeback will be followed closely by trainers, owners and punters alike. While Jones works towards a return, Webb is preparing to move in the opposite direction, with the apprentice set to hang up her boots as she turns towards a career switch. Webb's time in the saddle has included the added demands of returning to race riding after becoming a mother, a comeback that brought its own milestones and showed the resilience needed to survive in one of racing's most unforgiving professions. Her decision adds a reflective note to a period in which female riders have continued to play an increasingly central role in Queensland racing, not as a novelty or talking point, but as weekly, winning participants in the sport's main arenas. The two strands of the story sit neatly beside each other: one rider plotting the careful steps back from a serious injury, another preparing to close one professional door and walk through another. For Jones, the next target is recovery, fitness and the familiar pressure of race day; for Webb, it is the beginning of a different path after a career that demanded courage, sacrifice and persistence. Racing rarely pauses for anyone, but it does occasionally offer these markers of change, and Queensland's riding landscape will look a little different when both transitions have played out.

  • Next Bellatrix Star Chapter Ready for Publication

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    A careful fresh start rather than a grand statement is the immediate aim for Bellatrix Star, with Mark Walker taking a measured view as the talented Te Akau mare prepares to resume in Saturday's A$200,000 Gr3 Sir John Monash Stakes over 1100 metres at Caulfield. The daughter of Star Witness has been absent since finishing last in the Listed Doveton Stakes over the same trip last November, an outing that itself came after more than a year away following her unplaced run in the Gr1 Champions Sprint at Flemington. That stop-start pattern has denied her the chance to build on the promise she showed as a high-class sprinting filly, particularly after chasing home Switzerland in the Gr1 Coolmore Stud Stakes and winning the Gr2 Schillaci Stakes against older horses at the start before that. Walker has never lost faith in her ability, but her path has been anything but straightforward. "We've had a lot of problems with her and she's been off the scene for a long time," he said. "She had an accident coming home from the swimming pool, she fractured her neck when a loose horse ran past and she reared up and fell over. We got her over that, then she had her first start back and she chipped a fetlock and had to go for fetlock surgery. That's just racing, you take the good with the bad. She's still very lightly-raced, so if she ran well on Saturday, hopefully we get things back on track." Bellatrix Star has won five of her 12 starts, with her other major success coming in the Gr2 Eclipse Stakes in New Zealand, and her limited race record remains part of the reason connections believe there may still be more to come as she rises five. Her preparation has been deliberately steady, with two trials and two jumpouts used to bring her along, the latest of those coming at Cranbourne last Monday when she scored by two lengths over Midnight Devil and Pinstriped. Craig Williams partnered her in that workout and will retain the ride on Saturday, having also been aboard for her Schillaci victory. "It was encouraging that Craig rode her in the jumpout and he's riding her raceday, so that gives us a bit of a push," Walker said. Raced by John Galvin's Fortuna Racing, Bellatrix Star was a Karaka Book 1 purchase from Phoenix Park, secured for $80,000 by Fortuna Racing in partnership with David Ellis, and her Monash return will show whether patience, rehabilitation and a familiar rider can help revive a career that still feels unfinished.

    Bellatrix Star

    Bellatrix Star will hasten slowly (pic: Mark Gatt)

  • Hard Yakka Defines Resilient NSW Hoop

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    Few riders better embody the grind and reach of country racing than Mikayla Weir, whose weeks on the road read less like a jockey's diary than an endurance test conducted across half of New South Wales. The 32-year-old may not always command the loudest headlines, but her record, resilience and work ethic have given her a standing built on substance, with 664 winners, 1541 placings and victories at 45 NSW racetracks already on the board. According to racingnsw.com.au, a recent snapshot of her schedule told the story clearly enough, with Weir taking 108 rides, including eight Scone trials, between 11 May and 16 June for 12 winners and 22 placings, while moving from Quirindi to Bathurst, Scone, Parkes, Port Macquarie, Inverell, Newcastle, Gunnedah, Rosehill, Warren, Moree, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Muswellbrook, Tamworth and back to Bathurst. Just reading that is tiring. The distances are punishing, but Weir has long accepted them as part of the job, and she prefers to do much of the travelling alone. "I don't mind the travelling, and I prefer to drive by myself," she said. "It can get difficult trying to arrange sharing lifts with others, when I might have an early ride then have to wait around. I'd rather finish and then take off; the peace and quiet is good." Raised at Oak Flats before horses became a serious part of her life through pony club and polo crosse, Weir has built a career that includes a 2021 Racing NSW Rising Star Series win, five winners in a day at Quirindi in 2023 and four at Moree in 2019. Her first winner came aboard Lester's Home at Kempsey in 2015, while Nic's Vendetta provided her first city success at Warwick Farm in 2017 and later won again for her at Randwick, a result she remembers for its emotional pull as much as the milestone. Toughness has been required along the way, not least when she rode on for weeks with what was eventually found to be a fractured fibula, a decision that cost her six months on the sidelines. Away from race riding, barrel racing gives Weir another outlet and another arena for her horsemanship, with the jockey having competed in the rodeo discipline for about 15 years. "I believe riding in races and also barrel racing give me a fantastic balance," she said, explaining that success in one sphere can help offset the frustrations of the other. With Lord Remlap and Oakfield Alaska among the current horses she rates highly, Weir continues to prove that country racing rewards not only talent, but stamina, appetite and a willingness to keep moving.

  • Helsinge Dynasty Continues to Produce Jewels

    Tuesday, 7th July 2026
    Another branch of the Black Caviar (ex Helsinge) dynasty announced itself in striking fashion at Bendigo on Saturday when two-year-old filly Panchenko made a winning debut that carried more than just pedigree interest, with the Team Hawkes-trained youngster putting five lengths on her rivals in the Cathcart Smash Repairs Maiden Plate over 1000m. By Street Boss and out of Oscietra, the first foal of the unbeaten champion Black Caviar, Panchenko went to the races with two Flemington trials behind her, including a win, and under Beau Mertens she made immediate use of that education, reports racing.com. Quickly into stride, she crossed to sit outside the leader while travelling strongly in heavy conditions, and once Mertens asked her to stretch inside the final 200m the race was over in a matter of strides. The margin was decisive, the manner of the win even more so, and while any member of this family is always going to be watched with a degree of romantic expectation, Panchenko gave the impression there was substance beneath the surname rather than merely sentiment. Bred and retained by the Black Caviar ownership group, she continues an encouraging run for Oscietra, who has now produced four winners from as many foals to race. Panchenko is also the first filly from Oscietra, with her three earlier winners all being geldings, adding another layer of importance to a family that continues to attract enormous public fascination following the death of Black Caviar last year. The great mare, who retired unbeaten after 25 starts and collected 15 Gr1 victories, has always cast a long shadow over her descendants, but Panchenko's debut suggested she may be capable of creating her own space within that legacy. Her emergence also came in the same week that another granddaughter of Black Caviar, Ready Forcocktails, broke through stylishly at Randwick for the Hawkes stable, giving the family a timely double on either side of the state divide. For now, Panchenko has only won a Bendigo maiden, but she did it with professionalism, speed and the kind of natural authority that ensures her next steps will be followed closely. Oscietra also has a yearling colt by Anamoe in the pipeline, while she missed in 2024 and is now in foal to Coolmore's Caulfield Guineas-winning son of Written Tycoon, Private Life, leaving one of Australian racing's most cherished families with fresh chapters still to unfold.

    Black Caviar

    Black Caviar's relations are popping up everywhere (pic: Mark Gatt)
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2025 BTR Stud Stallions

BTP STUD STALLIONS

Sire
A Lot Established
Acrobat Established
Al Maher Established
Alabama Express Established
All American Established
All Too Hard Established
Alpine Eagle Established
Alpine Edge 3rd Season
Anamoe 1st crop 2YOs
Anders Established
Artie Schiller Established
Awesome Rock Established
Barbados Established
Barbaric Established
Best Of Bordeaux Established
Better Than Ready Established
Bivouac Established
Brave Smash Established
Brazen Beau Established
Bruckner 1st crop 2YOs
Bull Point Established
Bullbars Established
Cape Of Good Hope 1st crop 2YOs
Capitalist Established
Captivant Established
Castelvecchio Established
City Of Troy Established
Cliff's Edge Established
Cool Aza Beel Established
D'argento Established
Danerich Established
Dash For Cash Established
De Gaulle Established
Delaware Established
Denman Established
Dirty Work Established
Dissident Established
Don Corleone 3rd Season
Doubtland Established
Dubious Established
Dundeel Established
Encryption Established
Exceedance Established
Exosphere Established
Extreme Choice Established
Farnan Established
Flying Artie Established
Foxwedge Established
Frankel My Dear Established
Gingerbread Man Established
Gold Standard Established
Graff Established
Grunt Established
Hallowed Crown Established
Harry Angel Established
Hawaii Five Oh 3rd Season
Headwater Established
Hellbent Established
Hitotsu 1st crop 2YOs
Home Affairs Established
I Am Immortal Established
I Am Invincible Established
Ilovethiscity Established
Invader Established
Jacquinot 1st crop 2YOs
Ka Ying Master 1st crop 2YOs
Kermadec Established
King Colorado 3rd Season
King's Legacy Established
Lead Artist 1st Season
Lofty Strike 3rd Season
Lord Of The Sky Established
Love Conquers All Established
Manhattan Rain Established
Maschino Established
Master Of Design Established
Maurice Established
Merchant Navy Established
Mo'unga 3rd Season
Murtajill Established
My Admiration Established
Needs Further Established
Nicconi Established
Nostradamus Established
Officiating 3rd Season
Ole Kirk Established
Pariah Established
Pierata Established
Pierro Established
Pinatubo Established
Playing God Established
Portland Sky Established
Power Established
Pride Of Dubai Established
Private Life Established
Puissance de Lune Established
Rebel Dane Established
Rich Enuff Established
Rommel Established
Rubick Established
Russian Camelot Established
Russian Revolution Established
Safeguard Established
Sandbar Established
Sessions Established
Shaft Established
Shalaa Established
Shamoline Warrior Established
Shamus Award Established
Shinzo Established
Shooting To Win Established
Sidestep Established
Sizzling Established
Skilled Established
Smart Missile Established
Snitzel Established
So Secret Established
So You Think Established
Soul Patch Established
Southport Tycoon 2nd Season
Spirit Of Boom Established
Squamosa Established
St Mark's Basilica Established
Star Turn Established
Star Witness Established
Street Boss Established
Super One Established
Supido Established
Swear Established
Sweet Ride 3rd Season
Switzerland Established
The Autumn Sun Established
The Brothers War Established
Time To Reign Established
Too Darn Hot Established
Toorak Toff Established
Top Echelon Established
Toronado Established
Trapeze Artist Established
Tropicus 1st Season
Turffontein Established
Unite And Conquer Established
Universal Ruler Established
Vancouver Established
Vandeek Established
Victor Ludorum Established
Von Costa De Hero Established
Wandjina Established
Winning Rupert Established
Wooded Established
Wootton Bassett Established
Worthy Cause Established
Written By Established
Written Tycoon Established
Xtravagant Established
Your Song Established
Zousain Established
Zoustar Established