A stakes double at Flemington provided another productive afternoon for Vinery graduates when Lara Antipova and Losesomewinmore struck on the same card, with the latter adding further black-type lustre to the record of Vinery stallion All Too Hard through his victory in the Gr2 Bobbie Lewis Quality 1200m. The Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained Losesomewinmore proved too strong for his rivals down the straight under Craig Williams, defeating the well-supported Oliveanotherday and continuing a rewarding association with Flemington, where he had previously claimed the Listed Straight Six 1200m in May. Bred by Gerry Harvey, the six-year-old son of All Too Hard was sold by Baramul Stud for $80,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and has developed into a durable and increasingly accomplished sprinter, with his latest success taking his earnings beyond $650,000. Richard Jolly admitted the gelding’s earlier performances had created some uncertainty about whether he was simply a Flemington straight-track specialist, but his subsequent racing had demonstrated greater versatility and encouraged the stable to continue raising the bar. Losesomewinmore is from the More Than Ready mare Raischek, a three-time winner whose family has produced several black-type performers, while his Bobbie Lewis victory supplied another significant result for All Too Hard, whose progeny have repeatedly demonstrated their capacity to improve with maturity. Earlier on the Flemington programme, fellow Vinery graduate Lara Antipova earned valuable black type when successful in the Listed Michael Moroney Stakes 1700m for Mark Walker and Te Akau Racing. The four-year-old mare was purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis for $100,000 from Vinery’s draft at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and has now returned considerably more than her purchase price. Walker was delighted with the performance and credited a patient ride with helping the mare conserve sufficient energy to finish strongly, while indicating that further opportunities during the spring could now be explored. Lara Antipova is by Russian Revolution from the Casino Prince mare Gypsy Countess, giving Vinery another direct connection to the afternoon’s stakes success through a graduate of its yearling programme. Together, the victories provided an unusual double advertisement for the Hunter Valley operation: one through a horse sold from its draft and the other through a graduate by one of its established stallions, with both horses continuing to enhance their respective records at black-type level.
Lara Antipova showed her true form at Flemington (pic: Mark Gatt)
Moody Maps Three Roads to Golden Eagle
Tuesday, 15th September 2026
Fresh from Sheza Alibi's dominant third Group 1 victory in the Makybe Diva Stakes, Peter Moody is resisting any temptation to over-race his stable star as he considers three possible routes into the $10 million Gr1 Golden Eagle (1500m) at Randwick on October 31. The four-year-old's commanding Flemington success confirmed that her defeat by Autumn Glow in the Gr1 Winx Stakes had done nothing to diminish her standing among Australia's elite, and Moody and training partner Katherine Coleman now have the luxury of deciding whether she requires another lead-up, two further runs or can be kept comparatively fresh for her principal spring target. A rematch with Autumn Glow in the Gr1 King Charles III Stakes at Randwick on October 17 appears increasingly unlikely, largely because Moody is reluctant to send Sheza Alibi to Sydney twice within a fortnight and does not favour leaving her away from the stable between runs. That opens the possibility of another Melbourne appearance, with the Gr1 Toorak Handicap over 1600 metres at Caulfield on October 10 among the races capable of fitting the programme, while the option of proceeding directly towards the Golden Eagle with minimal racing also remains available. Moody had previously maintained Cox Plate flexibility and even paid acceptance fees to preserve that avenue, but the mare's emphatic Makybe Diva performance over 1600 metres has reinforced the logic of remaining around the mile before dropping back slightly for the Golden Eagle. Sheza Alibi has now won eight of 12 starts, six at black-type level, and her three Group 1 victories have arrived in the Randwick Guineas, Doncaster Mile and Makybe Diva Stakes, lifting the $10,000 Inglis Digital weanling's earnings beyond $4.3 million. The appeal of keeping her fresh is strengthened by Moody's long-held view that her preparation should be built backwards from the Golden Eagle rather than dictated by opportunities simply because they exist. Autumn Glow remains the obvious measuring stick following their Winx Stakes clash, but Moody has indicated there is little appetite to manufacture an immediate rematch if doing so compromises Sheza Alibi's primary objective. The Champions Mile at Flemington on November 7 could yet offer another opportunity for the two exceptional mares to meet after the Golden Eagle, but for now Sheza Alibi's immediate programme remains deliberately fluid, with Moody prepared to allow her recovery and condition to determine which of the available routes she follows, according to racenet.com.au.
Lloyd Lands Epsom Ride on Well Written
Tuesday, 15th September 2026
A first Australian assignment for one of New Zealand’s most exciting mares will bring together two young stars at Randwick, with Zac Lloyd booked to ride Well Written in the $1.5 million Gr1 Epsom Handicap 1600m on October 3. The Golden Slipper-winning jockey will replace Matthew Cartwright aboard Stephen Marsh’s unbeaten four-year-old, with connections opting for a leading Sydney-based rider as the daughter of Written Tycoon begins a campaign ultimately aimed at the $10 million Gr1 Golden Eagle 1500m on October 31, reports racenet.com.au. Cartwright has enjoyed a flawless association with Well Written, partnering her in each of her seven victories, including the Gr1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas 1600m and her impressive first-up success in the Gr1 Proisir Plate 1400m, but the decision to engage Lloyd ensures local knowledge for her Australian debut. Well Written has been allocated 55 kilograms in the Epsom, a significant impost for a mare yet to race outside New Zealand but one reflective of a record that has rapidly elevated her into elite company. Her unbeaten sequence has combined tactical versatility with a powerful turn of foot, while the manner in which she resumed in the Proisir confirmed that she had returned from her break every bit as effective as she had been during her three-year-old campaign. The Epsom will provide a very different examination, with Randwick’s pressure, a large field and the demands of a major handicap requiring her to translate New Zealand dominance onto one of Australian racing’s most competitive stages. Lloyd, however, has already established himself among Sydney’s leading riders and brings considerable big-race experience despite his age, including a Golden Slipper victory. The booking also allows Marsh to maintain continuity through the Australian portion of Well Written’s spring rather than relying on a visiting rider unfamiliar with local race patterns. The mare’s Epsom performance will inevitably shape how she is viewed heading towards the Golden Eagle, where the four-year-old set will compete for one of the richest prizes on the Australian calendar. For now, her perfect seven-from-seven record remains intact, but Randwick will present the sternest test of her career and provide the first genuine indication of whether her New Zealand superiority can be reproduced against Australia’s established milers.
Well Written remains unbeaten (pic: Kenton Wright Races Images)
Queensland Expands Magic Millions Pathway
Tuesday, 15th September 2026
The pathway towards the $3 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic will be strengthened substantially during the 2026/27 Summer Racing Carnival in Queensland, with seven juvenile races worth at least $150,000 each providing connections with more opportunities to accumulate prizemoney and secure qualification for the Gold Coast showpiece. The complete Summer Carnival calendar will be released in coming weeks, according to racingqueensland.com.au. A total of $1.3 million will be offered across the programme, which begins at the Sunshine Coast on November 21 with a new set-weights 1000-metre contest carrying $150,000. That race has been positioned as an early stepping stone to the $200,000 Phelan Ready Plate at Doomben two weeks later, while The Debut returns at the Gold Coast's Silks Under The Stars meeting on December 18 with $200,000 available exclusively to Magic Millions-eligible juveniles. The traditional Gr3 BJ McLachlan Stakes, worth $300,000, will again be staged at Eagle Farm on Boxing Day before a revamped 1200-metre juvenile handicap at the same venue the following Saturday carries $150,000, an increase of $45,000. The Gold Nugget and Gold Pearl, each worth $150,000, then retain their established positions on the twilight Magic Millions Gold Raceday on January 9, completing a structured progression towards the Classic. Racing Queensland Chair Matt McGrath said the enhanced programme was designed to give local and interstate owners and trainers a clear and rewarding reason to campaign emerging two-year-olds in Queensland throughout the summer rather than arriving immediately before the major meeting. Brisbane Racing Club chief executive Karl deKroo pointed to Storm Boy and Coolangatta as recent examples of interstate-trained juveniles who successfully used Queensland lead-ups before winning the Magic Millions Classic, and believes the increased prizemoney can attract deeper fields to Doomben and Eagle Farm. Sunshine Coast Turf Club chief executive John Miller also welcomed the addition of the new $150,000 juvenile race to Mooloolaba Cup Day, noting that attendance at the corresponding meeting increased by 42 per cent last year and that improvements to race quality form part of the club's broader development. The initiative reflects an increasingly deliberate attempt to turn the Queensland summer into a genuine juvenile series rather than a collection of isolated lead-ups, giving connections repeated opportunities to earn both prizemoney and a position in the Magic Millions order of entry.
Persian Wonder Earns Spring Champion Chance
Tuesday, 15th September 2026
In-form trainer David Payne is prepared to test Persian Wonder beyond what his pedigree might suggest after the progressive three-year-old produced a powerful finish to win the Gr3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m) at Rosehill. Sent out at a generous price after finishing fifth behind Plagiarism in the Gr3 Up And Coming Stakes, the son of Hello Youmzain settled worse than midfield under Ashley Morgan before working through the centre of the field and proving strongest late, defeating Stormy Marco by around half a length with Tenenbaum third and favourite Genesis Runner closing into fourth. The performance convinced Payne to proceed to the Gr3 Gloaming Stakes, after which the Gr1 Spring Champion Stakes over 2000 metres will become the obvious target if Persian Wonder demonstrates that he can stretch beyond his speed-oriented pedigree. Payne readily acknowledged the question mark, noting that the gelding is not bred as a traditional middle-distance horse, but importantly every rider who has partnered him has conveyed the same impression — that additional distance should suit. Morgan has been particularly bullish, having previously identified the Ming Dynasty, Gloaming and Spring Champion as the logical progression and asking to retain the ride. Persian Wonder is by Cambridge Stud's Group 1-winning sprinter Hello Youmzain from Steer By The Stars, a daughter of Pivotal, and was purchased by Payne Racing for $160,000 from Cambridge Stud's draft at the 2025 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. His development has been gradual rather than spectacular, with Payne describing him as an extremely laid-back horse who has taken time to understand his racing, but the trainer believes the gelding is now beginning to put the pieces together. That patience has been rewarded with two wins from his latest four starts, including his Canterbury maiden victory in July, while his earlier juvenile campaign contained placings at Group 3 level in the Pago Pago and Baillieu. Payne has ample experience preparing horses for the Spring Champion, having won the race with Ace High in 2017 and Montefilia in 2020, and Persian Wonder now gives him another credible candidate. The gelding also adds further depth to an impressive three-year-old team headed by Furious Stakes winner Bangkok Hottie and unbeaten Oaks prospect Proxima Dea. Whether Persian Wonder ultimately sees out 2000 metres remains unanswered, but his manner of finishing over 1400 metres suggested the experiment is well worth making, according to punters.com.au.
Arrowfield Quintet Fires in Group Races
Tuesday, 15th September 2026
Another productive Saturday for Arrowfield graduates was spearheaded at Rosehill by a familiar stakes performer, with Skyhook opening his spring campaign in commanding fashion to secure the $300,000 Gr2 Theo Marks Stakes 1300m and record the fourth Group victory of his career. The four-year-old Written Tycoon entire settled sweetly for Kerrin McEvoy before producing the acceleration required to account for his rivals, while fellow Arrowfield graduate Verona Rose completed a strong result by finishing third. McEvoy emerged convinced there was further improvement ahead for Skyhook, saying: "I think he's in for his best preparation yet. He feels bigger and developed. Behind the gates, he was walking around like he owned the place." The jockey was equally encouraged by the entire's pre-race trials and the manner in which he travelled before finishing strongly, describing the Theo Marks as an ideal starting point for his campaign. Purchased for $575,000 by trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou from Arrowfield's draft at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Skyhook is out of the Redoute's Choice mare Madame Pauline and has now won five of 14 starts, remarkably with every victory coming at stakes level, while four further placings have helped lift his earnings beyond $1 million. He is nominated for both the $1.5 million Gr1 Epsom Handicap and $10 million Gr1 Golden Eagle, giving connections considerable flexibility as his preparation develops. Madame Pauline is a speedy three-quarter sister to Group winner Anders and stakes winners Ostraka and Caffe Florian, and her continuing Arrowfield family includes a two-year-old Dundeel colt and an August-born colt by Castelvecchio, while Skyhook's unraced Shalaa half-sister Marinette is also being retained for breeding. Written Tycoon's 2021 crop has supplied 107 winners from 133 starters, including four Group 1 winners headed by Arrowfield-bred Private Life, among 14 stakes winners and 25 stakes performers. Skyhook was not Arrowfield's only graduate to advertise spring prospects at Rosehill, with $40,000 Inglis Classic purchase Verona Rose taking her earnings to $755,000 through her Theo Marks third, while Snitzel colts St Gotthard and Tenenbaum finished second in the Gr1 Run To The Rose 1200m and third in the Gr3 Ming Dynasty Quality 1400m respectively. Last season's Group 1-winning Snitzel mare Lazzura added another placing when third in the Gr2 Sheraco Stakes 1200m, completing a five-strong collection of Group performances that underlined the depth of Arrowfield's representation as the major spring prizes approach.
Shockletz Books Melbourne Cup Berth
Tuesday, 15th September 2026
A long-range Melbourne Cup plan took a decisive step forward at Flemington when Shockletz produced a career-best performance to win the Gr3 Archer Stakes (2500m), securing exemption from the ballot for the race that made her sire famous, according to racing.com. The Ciaron Maher-trained daughter of Shocking was heavily supported into $2.90 favouritism and justified that confidence under Harry Coffey, settling behind a slowly run contest in which Chief Little Rock was allowed to establish a lead approaching 20 lengths before the home turn. Once the field began to close, Shockletz travelled strongly into contention and asserted her superiority in the straight, drawing clear to defeat Think Giant by 2¼ lengths, with Jennivamoose finishing strongly into third. It was the mare’s first victory since a Benchmark 78 over the same 2500-metre trip at Pakenham last December, but Maher believes the addition of blinkers was instrumental in producing the improvement. He revealed that Shockletz had switched off late at Caulfield at her previous start and considered winkers before ultimately following the example of her sire Shocking, who famously raced in blinkers when winning the 2009 Melbourne Cup. “They can dare to dream now,” Maher said after Saturday’s victory, confident the mare would have no difficulty stretching to 3200 metres. Shocking’s own Cup triumph gives the story an obvious symmetry, while Shockletz’s racing style and constitution have reminded Maher of High Emocean, the stable’s third-placegetter in the 2022 Melbourne Cup. He described Shockletz as clean-winded and a mare who does not require excessive work, suggesting her Cup preparation will be managed carefully and she is likely to race on the fresher side. The Caulfield and Melbourne Cups remain central spring objectives for the powerful Maher stable, which has assembled considerable staying depth, but Shockletz has now achieved something many contenders never manage by removing the uncertainty of the Melbourne Cup ballot. Saturday’s success transformed her from an improving staying mare into a guaranteed Cup runner and, with her pedigree, racing pattern and apparent capacity to relax over ground, the dream of emulating her sire at Flemington has become considerably more tangible. Nearco Frod, meanwhile, finished last and was found to have blood in one nostril, prompting trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy to spell the stayer.
Osborne Makes British Classic History
Tuesday, 15th September 2026
British racing crossed a historic threshold at Doncaster when Saffie Osborne became the first woman to ride the winner of a British Classic, according to theguardian.com. partnering Highwayman to a decisive victory in the 250th running of the Gr1 St Leger. The 24-year-old had not even been booked for the race at the beginning of the week, but her late opportunity aboard Joseph O’Brien’s rapidly improving three-year-old culminated in a landmark success as the 11-1 chance defeated stablemate Enceladus by 2½ lengths, with Amelia Earhart third. Highwayman had progressed significantly through the season and arrived at Doncaster following consecutive victories, yet Osborne’s appointment owed much to circumstance after O’Brien’s retained rider Dylan Browne McMonagle was sidelined. Osborne nevertheless rode with striking confidence, allowing Highwayman to travel more prominently than she had originally expected before committing when the colt continued to move strongly deep into the race. The result completed a one-two for O’Brien and delivered Osborne her first Group 1 victory in the most historically resonant setting imaginable — the world’s oldest Classic, first run in 1776, celebrating its 250th edition. Her achievement carries significance far beyond a single afternoon. Female riders have been permitted to compete professionally on the Flat in Britain only since 1972, and although riders including Alex Greaves, Hayley Turner and Hollie Doyle have broken barriers at Group 1 level, no woman had previously won one of Britain’s five Classics. Osborne’s path has itself been anything but straightforward. The daughter of trainer and former National Hunt jockey Jamie Osborne and equine artist Katie O’Sullivan, she spent time learning under Aidan O’Brien and later Gai Waterhouse in Australia before beginning her apprenticeship in 2020. A serious fall at Windsor that year left her with concussion, broken ribs, a broken arm and a punctured lung, but she returned to finish runner-up in the apprentice championship and later established herself through three consecutive Racing League jockey titles, Group-race victories, a Chester Cup success and international wins in Dubai and Qatar. Her first Classic ride came in the 2000 Guineas, while subsequent appearances in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes broadened an increasingly international résumé. At Doncaster, however, Osborne moved into an entirely different category, describing the achievement as life-changing after crossing the line aboard Highwayman. In a race steeped in 250 years of tradition, the lasting image was unmistakably modern: a young woman becoming the first of her gender to win a British Classic.
Immortal Bliss Firms for Golden Saddle
Tuesday, 15th September 2026
A commanding Belmont trial has confirmed Immortal Bliss as the horse to beat in Kalgoorlie’s $1 million Golden Saddle 1200m, with the five-year-old returning from a short break in exactly the manner trainer Dan Morton wanted ahead of the October 3 slot race. Allowed to settle through the early stages of Monday’s 1000-metre heat under Lucy Fiore, the I Am Immortal gelding tracked three wide with cover before moving wider approaching the 450 metres and cruising alongside Cessation at the 200, according to thewest.com.au. Fiore barely asked for an effort as Immortal Bliss edged clear, ultimately defeating his rivals by 1.5-lengths despite late challenges from Keep Reading and Madame Magic. Morton had deliberately given the eight-time winner several weeks away at his property near Pinjarra following a productive winter campaign and was satisfied the gelding had returned in the right order. “He had a couple of weeks down at our property, just south of Pinjarra in Meelon,” Morton said, adding that the horse would be kept fresh for Kalgoorlie. TABtouch, who secured Immortal Bliss for their Golden Saddle slot, have installed him as the $3 favourite ahead of Cessation at $4.60 and Lord Shiva at $8. The market position is backed by an increasingly persuasive sprinting record, with Immortal Bliss having captured both the Listed Beaufine Stakes 1000m and Listed Belmont Newmarket 1200m through the winter before being given his reset. Morton explained that continuing without a break would have stretched the preparation too far, and the trial suggested the timing has worked in the gelding’s favour. The Golden Saddle is unlikely to be his final major assignment of the year, with connections holding longer-term ambitions for the Ascot carnival and Immortal Bliss currently rated a $21 chance for the Gr1 Winterbottom Stakes 1200m on November 28. Morton will also campaign King Of Light at Ascot after abandoning plans to send the four-year-old to Sydney for the Golden Eagle, preferring to remain in Perth after being less than completely satisfied with him following his Idyllic Prince Stakes victory. King Of Light is already assured of a Railway Stakes start and remains prominent in markets for both that race and the Northerly Stakes, giving Morton considerable depth for the summer features. Immortal Bliss, however, presently owns the immediate spotlight after a trial that reinforced his standing as Golden Saddle favourite.
