A major spring assignment now awaits one of Sydney's most progressive sprinters after Ninja became the first horse confirmed for the 2026 TAB Everest, giving trainer Michael Freedman his first runner in the $20 million feature and providing another high-profile showcase for Vinery's Gr1 Golden Slipper-winning stallion Farnan. The four-year-old secured his place after part-owner Fairway Thoroughbreds acquired an Everest slot following Ninja's impressive return in the Gr2 Missile Stakes at Randwick last month, a performance which reinforced the view that he belongs among the country's emerging sprinting talent, according to vinery.com.au. By Farnan, himself a Golden Slipper winner, Ninja has rapidly assembled an accomplished record of five victories from seven starts, with his only finish outside the first three coming during a career that has already produced wins in the Gr3 Vo Rogue Plate, Gr2 Hobartville Stakes and Gr2 Missile Stakes. The son of Farnan will now be asked to take another considerable step when he lines up against the world's highest-rated sprinter Ka Ying Rising at Randwick next month, although MyRacehorse managing director Ben Willis suggested connections were embracing the scale of the challenge rather than avoiding it. "If Joe Frazier never pulled a punch against Muhammad Ali, no one would remember him," Willis said. The Everest opportunity also strengthens a long-standing association between Freedman and owner-breeder John Camilleri, whose Fairway Thoroughbreds operation retained an interest in Ninja after breeding him. Freedman recalled that Camilleri had committed to remaining involved with the horse even before he went through the sale ring, reflecting both confidence in the colt and an enduring relationship with the stable. "John has been a client of the stable for a long time, a friend and bred the horse," Freedman said. "I remember still to this day talking to him about it before he went in the ring and John said, 'Well, if you do end up with him, I am going to stay in him.'" Ninja's return this preparation has given the stable further cause for optimism, with Freedman delighted by both his condition and the manner of his Missile Stakes victory. "He has certainly returned this preparation in fantastic order. His win in the Missile Stakes demonstrated that and now that he has the first slot allocated to The Everest, we are looking forward to plotting the path towards the big day where we feel he will be at his peak." For Vinery, the developing career of Ninja also gives Farnan a timely advertisement through one of his most accomplished racing sons, but the more immediate test will come at Randwick, where the emerging sprinter must translate his considerable promise into elite company against the strongest opposition he has yet encountered.
Injury Cruels Further Ambitions for Al Riffa
Thursday, 10th September 2026
Plans for another international campaign have come to an end for Al Riffa, with the globetrotting six-year-old retired after veterinary examinations revealed that a suspensory injury had deteriorated beyond the point where a return to racing could reasonably be contemplated. The Joseph O'Brien-trained son of Wootton Bassett had been expected to return to Australia for a second attempt at the Melbourne Cup before what was initially described as a "minor setback after a long season" forced connections to shelve those plans last month, according to racenet.com.au. At that stage there remained hope that rehabilitation could eventually restore the three-time Gr1 winner to competition, but further scans this week produced a far less encouraging prognosis. Australian Bloodstock's Jamie Lovett confirmed the decision to owners after consultation between O'Brien's veterinary team and Australian Bloodstock veterinarian Rob McGuinness. "Unfortunately, it's not good news," Lovett said. "Sarah, Joseph O'Brien's vet, has scanned him again in consultation with our vet Rob McGuinness and unfortunately the suspensory has actually come away." With Al Riffa now a mature, powerfully built entire, Lovett explained that the prospects of successfully rehabilitating him for racing were considered poor. "From a rehab perspective, given his age and he's quite a big masculine heavy horse, the prognosis is poor, to rehab him from a racing perspective." Connections therefore elected to protect the horse's long-term welfare and future stud value rather than embark upon an uncertain recovery programme, with Lovett adding that the injury would not compromise his prospects as a stallion. Al Riffa leaves racing with three victories at the highest level and a record shaped by performances across several of the world's major racing jurisdictions. His first Gr1 success came at two in the 2022 National Stakes at the Curragh, establishing him among Europe's leading juveniles, while he later added the 2024 Gr1 Grosser Preis von Berlin. Victory in the Curragh Cup in July 2025 preceded his multi-million-dollar acquisition by Australian Bloodstock and set him on a Melbourne Cup campaign that gathered considerable substance when he produced arguably the defining performance of his career, winning the Gr1 Irish St Leger by more than four lengths. Carrying 59kg at Flemington, he was strongly supported before finishing seventh in the Melbourne Cup and subsequently travelled to Hong Kong, where he ran fourth in the Gr1 Hong Kong Vase. Four further starts during 2026, all at Gr1 or Gr2 level, yielded two placings before injury intervened. Lovett described him as "an outstandingly performed horse" with the pedigree, physique and race record to make an appealing stallion prospect, ensuring that while his racing career has ended earlier than connections hoped, another significant chapter now awaits him at stud.
Abounding on the Straight and Narrow
Thursday, 10th September 2026
A fresh challenge awaits Abounding at Flemington on Saturday, with trainer Rob Heathcote leaning towards testing the accomplished mare down the famous straight course in the Gr2 Bobbie Lewis Quality rather than stretching her to 1400m in the Gr2 Let's Elope Stakes. The six-year-old had originally been due to resume in last weekend's Gr3 Chautauqua Stakes at Sandown, but connections withdrew her because of the deteriorating wet conditions, a decision that proved well founded when the meeting was later disrupted after the Gr1 Moir Stakes. That change of plans has opened the door to a first experience of straight-track racing for the Gr2 winner and Gr1 placegetter, reports punters.com.au, and Heathcote concedes there is an element of uncertainty about how she will handle the distinctive Flemington test. "I don't know if straight-track racing will suit her, but we will find out," Heathcote said. "I can only imagine they will go pretty keen, there will be a big field." His preferred scenario is for Abounding to obtain cover before being produced late, with the trainer adding, "She has just got to find cover and unleash at the 300m mark." The task is hardly straightforward against a deep sprinting field, and bookmakers have reflected the unknown factor by installing her as a $26 chance, while the Tom Dabernig-trained Oliveanotherday, an emerging sprinter with The Everest aspirations, heads the market at $1.70. Heathcote accepts that Abounding's lack of experience up the straight contributes to her price, although he remains confident she can acquit herself well, saying: "It's a tough race, she will be big odds just for the fact she has never been up the straight. But she will be competitive." Abounding showed her quality during the Queensland winter carnival when winning the Gr3 BRC Sprint at Doomben, before below-par efforts in the Stradbroke Handicap and Tatt's Tiara at Eagle Farm, a circuit Heathcote felt did not play to her strengths. The stable is also looking ahead with Rothfire after the seasoned sprinter finished eighth behind My Gladiola in the Gr1 Moir Stakes. The multiple Group 1 winner, who produced one of the shocks of the winter when landing the Gr1 Doomben 10,000 at $61, was always likely to find the 1000m tempo sharp, but Heathcote was satisfied with the performance and pleased with his recovery. "Rothy has pulled up great, the old boy," he said. "I was satisfied with his run, we beat Giga Kick home and that horse is a star." With the Moir behind him, Rothfire is now set to press on towards the Manikato Stakes as Heathcote continues to map out another campaign for one of his most durable performers.
Kheir Secures Phar Lap Silks
Thursday, 10th September 2026
A tangible piece of Australian racing history has passed into the hands of prominent owner Ozzie Kheir after he paid $70,000 for a set of silks worn by Jim Pike aboard Phar Lap, with the Melbourne Cup-winning owner immediately declaring that the colours belong on public display rather than hidden within a private collection. The framed red jacket with green-hooped sleeves and accompanying black cap went under the hammer through Leonard Joel and date from 1931, when Pike wore them aboard Australia’s most famous racehorse during the period Phar Lap raced for the partnership of American owner David Davis and trainer Harry Telford. Kheir, whose own racing interests have included Melbourne Cup heroine Verry Elleegant, Caulfield Cup winner Incentivise and numerous other elite performers, described acquiring the silks as an extraordinary privilege and sees himself more as their custodian than conventional owner, reports racenet.com.au. Rather than placing them in his own racing memorabilia collection, Kheir intends to find a suitable public home where racing followers — and particularly younger generations — can see an object directly connected to a horse whose fame transcended the sport. Pike rode Phar Lap to victory nine times while wearing those colours, most notably in the 1931 Cox Plate, during what proved to be the champion’s final Australian campaign. Phar Lap had carried a different set of colours earlier in his career — a red jacket with black-and-white hooped sleeves and red cap — when Telford remained both trainer and lessee, before the switch following changes to his ownership arrangements. The 1931 season included Phar Lap’s attempt to win a second Melbourne Cup after his overwhelming triumph the previous year, but burdened with 68kg he finished eighth, an extraordinary impost that reflected the extent to which handicappers were attempting to contain him. It proved his final Australian appearance. Phar Lap subsequently travelled overseas and produced one of the defining performances of his career when winning the Agua Caliente Handicap in Mexico in March 1932 before dying suddenly in California the following month. Kheir’s acquisition carries an appealing symmetry given his own connection to Melbourne Cup history. He shared in Verry Elleegant’s memorable 2021 victory, when she defeated another horse in which he held an interest, Incentivise, producing the rare distinction of owning interests in the Cup quinella. Yet even for one of contemporary Australian racing’s most successful owners, Phar Lap occupies another realm entirely. Kheir has recalled that the champion was virtually the only racehorse whose story he knew growing up, making the opportunity to preserve and publicly share Pike’s silks personally significant as well as historically important. At $70,000, he has purchased considerably more than racing memorabilia: he has acquired a physical connection to the horse who remains, almost a century later, Australian racing’s most enduring cultural icon.
Fangirl Prepares for Potential Motherhood
Thursday, 10th September 2026
A distinguished racing career has drawn to a close following Fangirl's third placing in Saturday's Gr2 Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick, with connections electing to retire the eight-year-old after 42 starts, 12 wins, 14 placings and approximately $11 million in prize money. The daughter of Sebring spent the vast majority of her career competing in elite company, contesting 35 Group and Listed races, including 27 at Gr1 level, and retires as a nine-time Stakes winner with four Gr1 victories to her name, according to racing.com. Those top-level successes came in the 2022 Vinery Stud Stakes, the 2023 King Charles III Stakes and Winx Stakes, and the 2025 Queen Of The Turf Stakes, while the calibre of horses she defeated across those races included Zaaki, Mr Brightside, Think It Over, Light Infantry Man, Stefi Magnetica and Atishu. Her only Melbourne black-type success arrived in the 2021 Gr3 Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington, where she produced a three-length win under James McDonald, who became one of the mare's most important riding partners throughout her career. McDonald partnered Fangirl on 18 occasions and rode her to eight victories, helping establish the mare as a regular presence among Australia's best weight-for-age and middle-distance performers. Owner Debbie Kepitis said the decision carried some sadness but reflected the view that Fangirl was no longer quite at the level she had previously reached. "It's a little bit sad, but she did us so proud," Kepitis said. "We could keep her going, but she's just not at her peak." She added that the mare had earned the opportunity to be retired and begin the next phase of her life, saying: "She deserves to go to the paddock, and if we're lucky enough for her to have a baby, it would be lovely. We'll see what happens." Fangirl's appeal as a broodmare is strengthened by both race record and pedigree. Bred and raced by Kepitis, she is out of the Listed-winning Encosta De Lago mare Little Surfer Girl, who in turn is a daughter of triple Gr1 winner Special Harmony, giving Fangirl an already accomplished female family to complement her own elite racetrack record. Kepitis indicated that Darley's nine-time Gr1 winner Anamoe is the likely first mating, presenting the prospect of one of the most decorated mares of her generation being paired with one of Australia's most accomplished young stallions. After five seasons competing at the highest level and repeatedly measuring herself against elite opposition, Fangirl retires with a record that firmly establishes her among the outstanding Australian mares of her era.
Elite class mare Fangirl (pic: Steve Hart)
Racing Farewells Payne Patriarch
Thursday, 10th September 2026
Australian racing has lost the patriarch of one of its most remarkable families following the death of Paddy Payne Sr at the age of 90, closing a life story defined by horsemanship, extraordinary resilience and the raising of a dynasty that has left an indelible mark on the sport. Originally from New Zealand, Payne established himself as a successful trainer before relocating to Ballarat during the early 1980s after selling Gr1-winning colt Paddy Boy to international owner Robert Sangster for $300,000, having purchased the horse for only $1300. Paddy Boy won the 1980 Gr1 Ellerslie Sires’ Produce Stakes under Payne’s care before subsequently adding the Gr1 AJC Derby and Sydney Cup after changing hands, but his trainer’s most enduring legacy would ultimately be his family. Payne and wife Mary had 10 children, many of whom became deeply involved in racing, including Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne and Patrick Payne Jr, whose distinguished riding career yielded 19 Gr1 victories before he became a successful trainer. Family members confirmed Payne Sr died peacefully in his sleep at home on Tuesday morning, fulfilling his wish to spend his final days there, reports thewest.com.au. His life had included profound personal tragedy. Mary was killed in a motor accident in 1986, leaving Payne to raise their large young family largely alone, while he later endured the deaths of daughters Brigid and Bernadette and infant son Michael. Against that background, the achievements of the Payne siblings became one of Australian racing’s most compelling family narratives. Michelle’s historic victory aboard Prince Of Penzance in the 2015 Melbourne Cup made her the first female jockey to win the race and brought unprecedented public attention to a family already respected throughout racing, while Patrick Jr’s elite successes in the saddle included Northerly’s 2002 Cox Plate. Payne Sr remained actively involved in training well into advanced age and shared another significant family moment with Michelle when Miner’s Miss finished third at $101 in the 2018 Gr1 VRC Oaks. Remarkably, he trained his final winner in 2024 and saddled his last runner only earlier this year, ensuring racing remained central to his life almost until its conclusion. Yet statistics alone scarcely capture his influence. Payne represented an older school of horsemanship built around patience, practicality and intimate knowledge of the thoroughbred, while the careers subsequently forged by his children demonstrated how deeply those values were transmitted. His story encompassed migration, triumph, devastating loss and persistence, but its most enduring image may be that of a father who, after being suddenly widowed with a household of children, somehow held a family together and watched it become one of the most celebrated names in Australian racing.
Triple Crown Faces Further Shake-Up
Thursday, 10th September 2026
The USA racing’s Triple Crown could undergo one of the most significant structural changes in its modern history after New York Racing Association president and chief executive Dave O’Rourke revealed that both the order and distance of the three Classics may come under review ahead of the 2027 season. The debate has intensified following the Maryland Jockey Club’s decision to move next year’s Gr1 Preakness Stakes back by a week and a day to Sunday, May 23, creating a 22-day gap from the Gr1 Kentucky Derby but leaving just 13 days before the Gr1 Belmont Stakes at its rebuilt Belmont Park home on June 5. That configuration preserves the Triple Crown’s overall five-week span but poses an obvious difficulty for any horse attempting the sweep, with a Derby-Preakness winner potentially required to tackle 2400 metres at Belmont less than two weeks after racing at Pimlico. O’Rourke told bloodhorse.com that NYRA would have preferred Maryland to retain its traditional date and acknowledged that the new schedule is “not ideal”, particularly given modern training practices and the medication withdrawal requirements confronting horses attempting such a rapid turnaround. One alternative now potentially on the table would represent a dramatic break with convention: making the Belmont the second leg of the Triple Crown and moving the Preakness to the finale. O’Rourke also confirmed that the traditional 2400-metre Belmont distance will be discussed during the northern winter, questioning how relevant such a searching trip remains to contemporary breeding and racing while noting that the race has been successfully conducted over 2000 metres at Saratoga during Belmont Park’s reconstruction. The wider issue is complicated by NYRA and Churchill Downs jointly launching a new six-race three-year-old series for 2027 that begins with the Kentucky Derby and Belmont before continuing through the Gr2 Matt Winn Stakes, Gr2 Jim Dandy Stakes, Gr1 Travers Stakes and a yet-to-be-determined September race at Churchill Downs. The Preakness is conspicuously absent from that competition, which will carry a US$5 million bonus pool, highlighting growing differences between the organisations controlling America’s three Classics. O’Rourke nevertheless insists dialogue with Maryland will continue and says any future arrangement will be pursued jointly with Churchill Downs. The challenge is balancing tradition against the realities of modern racehorse management: the Triple Crown derives much of its mystique from demanding three Classic performances in five weeks, yet Derby winners increasingly bypass the Preakness, as Golden Tempo did this year before returning to win the Belmont. After decades in which the Triple Crown’s architecture appeared virtually untouchable, 2027 may therefore become the year American racing decides which elements are essential to its identity — and which can be modernised without diminishing it.
The Belmont Stakes could become the second Triple Crown leg (pic: wikipedia)
Frankel Filly Adds Lustre to October Book 1
Thursday, 10th September 2026
An already exceptional Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 catalogue has gained another potentially headline-making offering with a Frankel filly from one of Europe's most accomplished contemporary families added as a wildcard for the October 6–8 auction at Newmarket. Catalogued as Lot 196A and consigned by Ed Player's Whatton Manor Stud, the chestnut is out of the high-class Shamardal mare Queen Power, winner of the Gr2 Middleton Stakes at York and twice placed in the Gr2 Dahlia Stakes as well as finishing fourth in the Gr1 Nassau Stakes during a distinguished career for Sir Michael Stoute. The filly's appeal extends well beyond the immediate achievements of her parents, however, with bloodhorse.com highlighting a pedigree saturated with champions and elite performers at precisely the time Europe's leading buyers prepare to compete for the best-bred yearlings available. Queen Power is a sister to dual Gr2 winner and multiple Gr1-placed Puissance De Lune and closely related to Gr1 Prix d'Ispahan winner Zabeel Prince, while she is also a half-sister to the dams of champions Field Of Gold and Rizeena. Field Of Gold emerged as Europe's champion three-year-old miler after victories including the Gr1 Irish 2000 Guineas and Gr1 St James's Palace Stakes and is scheduled to join Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud roster in 2027, while Rizeena was champion at two and won both the Gr1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and Gr1 Coronation Stakes. Queen Power herself was no stranger to Book 1, having sold for 500,000 guineas as a yearling before going on to justify that valuation on the racecourse. Her latest daughter now combines that formidable female line with Frankel, whose status as one of the defining stallions of the modern era ensures she will enter Park Paddocks carrying considerable commercial expectations. Whatton Manor's Edward Player described the youngster as an exceptionally good-looking filly from one of the most contemporary families in the Stud Book and believes her combination of racing and residual breeding value will appeal equally to owners and breeders. The wildcard addition strengthens a catalogue already containing progeny by virtually every major European sire, with Frankel represented among an elite group headed numerically by Wootton Bassett, Sea The Stars, Lope De Vega and Night Of Thunder. For prospective buyers, however, Lot 196A possesses a particularly compelling combination: by an extraordinary stallion, out of a Group-winning Shamardal mare and descending from a family repeatedly capable of producing champions. In a sale defined by pedigree, she has arrived late but is unlikely to pass unnoticed.
Najidi Storm Creates Unwanted Betting History
Thursday, 10th September 2026
Odd-Spot: One of British racing’s most extraordinary betting upsets unfolded at Goodwood when Juddmonte’s beautifully bred Najidi Storm was beaten at prohibitive odds of 1-33, becoming the shortest-priced losing favourite in British racing history. The Harry Charlton-trained colt appeared to face little more than a formality in the three-runner 2000-metre novice stakes after making a promising winning debut at Kempton, but soft ground and the determination of 10-1 chance Wreck It Ronnie combined to produce a result almost inconceivable in the pre-race market. Najidi Storm travelled prominently under Lewis Edmunds but was unable to dispose of his apparently vastly inferior rival, with Wreck It Ronnie responding gamely for Kieren Fox and drawing 1.25-lengths clear at the finish. The pair nevertheless finished an astonishing 76 lengths ahead of third-placed Dream Of Albion, emphasising both the testing nature of conditions and how dramatically the contest separated into two distinct races, reports racingpost.com. The defeat was particularly remarkable given Najidi Storm’s pedigree. By Frankel and out of the Daylami mare Scuffle, he is a brother to unbeaten Gr1 St Leger winner Logician and belongs to one of Juddmonte’s most accomplished families, pedigree credentials that contributed to expectations that he would comfortably confirm the promise of his debut. Wreck It Ronnie arrived with considerably less obvious recommendation, having been beaten by more than 22 lengths in each of his two previous starts at Kempton, but he relished the slower surface and showed considerably greater resolution when challenged. Najidi Storm’s starting price rewrote the record books, eclipsing Doom, who was beaten at 1-25 at Ripon in 2023, although historical records also show Royal Forest losing at the same 1-25 quote at Ascot in 1948. Odds-on reverses of this magnitude are exceptionally rare but provide an enduring reminder that apparent certainty remains an illusion in racing, irrespective of pedigree, reputation or market confidence. The sport’s history contains several celebrated examples, including the great Bayardo and Grand National winner Jerry M among those defeated at 1-20, while Hong Kong superstar Golden Sixty suffered an even more remarkable numerical reversal internationally when beaten at 1-100 in the 2022 Gr1 Stewards’ Cup. Najidi Storm’s defeat will inevitably be remembered less for what it ultimately says about his ability than for the extraordinary price at which punters were prepared to support him. His breeding and debut victory ensure there remains considerable scope for redemption, but for one afternoon at Goodwood the supposedly impossible happened: a Frankel colt from one of Juddmonte’s finest families entered racing history for precisely the reason nobody expected.
Blueblood Belle Cheval Retired to Breeding Barn
Thursday, 10th September 2026
Stunningly-bred Group 1-winning mare Belle Cheval has been retired from racing after a respiratory problem emerged following her return at Caulfield last Saturday, bringing a premature conclusion to a brief but highly accomplished career that included elite-level success on both sides of the Tasman. The Savabeel mare finished last when resuming in the Gr3 Courtza Stakes over 1200m and subsequent veterinary assessment revealed the issue, prompting trainer Mark Walker and owner-breeder David Archer to place her long-term welfare ahead of any attempt to prolong her racing career. Belle Cheval retires having quickly established herself among the better fillies of her generation, progressing from a debut placing at Taupo last October to win her second start at Ellerslie before finishing behind Well Written and Lollapalooza in the Gr1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas at Riccarton. She returned in outstanding fashion during the summer, winning the Gr3 Almanzor Trophy over 1200m at Ellerslie on Karaka Millions night under Craig Williams before adding the Gr3 Uncle Remus Stakes over 1400m. Those performances secured her a position representing The King's Men syndicate in the $4 million NZB Kiwi, where she produced another high-class performance to finish within a short head of the previously unbeaten Well Written. An Australian campaign followed and delivered the defining success of her career when Belle Cheval captured the Gr1 Vinery Stud Stakes over 2000m, confirming both her versatility and her capacity to compete against the best of her age group. Walker described her as a filly of considerable natural talent who continued to improve as she matured, while Archer told racingnews.co.nz that the decision to retire such a valuable and much-loved mare was ultimately straightforward once the demands associated with attempting to restore her racing career were considered. Belle Cheval's pedigree provides another compelling reason to protect her future. She is out of Keepa Cheval, a half-sister to Archer's 10-time Group 1 winner Mufhasa, and is herself a half-sister to three-time Group 1 winner Bostonian, while another half-sister, Vitesse, produced Group 1 winner Kovalica. Archer intends Belle Cheval to remain in Australia for her first mating, with several leading studs already expressing interest, before she eventually returns to New Zealand. The disappointment of losing a mare expected to race for several more seasons is obvious, but Belle Cheval departs with an elite victory, multiple stakes wins and a pedigree that gives her every opportunity to become just as influential in the breeding barn as she has been on the racetrack.
Injury has forced Belle Cheval into retirement (pic: Kenton Wright Race Images)
