Thursday, 11th June 2026
All enquiries - Gary Knowles 0406 599 773

Global Breeding, Racing and Sales News

  • Evergreen Galloper Smokin' Over the Jumps

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    Smokin' Romans will try to reignite his flat career at Sandown on Saturday after a jumping experiment that the Ciaron Maher stable hopes has sharpened the former Group 1 winner for his second-up run in the Q22 Handicap. The rising 10YO, winner of the 2022 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington, has been winless since taking out the Warrnambool Cup over 2350m in May last year and resumes his campaign with something to prove after a long run of outs. He was unplaced first-up in the Warrnambool Cup and now drops back to 1800m at Sandown, having recently finished second in a hurdle school at Traralgon as part of a plan to bring back some enthusiasm. His best result in the interim was a second over 2000m at Caulfield last August, but eight unplaced runs around that effort have left connections looking for a way to freshen his mind as much as his legs. Jack Turnbull, the National Assistant Trainer for Ciaron Maher Racing, said Smokin' Romans had shown natural ability over obstacles and that the stable would be keen to pursue that path if it had a free hand, although the ownership group still has to decide whether the gelding actually races over jumps. Turnbull said the aim for now was to get him back on the front foot and rediscover the spark that carried him through his best seasons. Steven Pateman rode him in the Traralgon school and the feedback was encouraging enough for the stable to consider another trial before making a more serious decision, but Turnbull acknowledged there were complications given the horse's standing as a decorated Group 1 winner. Smokin' Romans' Turnbull Stakes victory remains the highlight of a career that also includes the Warrnambool Cup, and there is still enough old quality there to make the stable reluctant to give up on him as a flat performer. Saturday's race should help determine how much enthusiasm remains for that route. At his peak, Smokin' Romans was a tough, genuine middle-distance and staying horse capable of sustaining pressure against high-class opposition, but time has inevitably narrowed the margins for a horse approaching double figures. The jumping work may yet prove no more than a training tool, though it has at least offered a different way to stimulate him after a testing period. If he can show improvement at Sandown, connections will have a reason to persist on the flat; if not, the school at Traralgon may come to look less like an experiment and more like the first step towards a late-career reinvention.

    Smokin' Romans could rediscover winning form (pic: Mark Gatt)

  • Baker Doing Everything Within the Gr1 Law

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    Elite Sydney trainer Bjorn Baker may not yet have had a Group 1 runner at the 2026 Queensland winter carnival, but that could change quickly if promising 3YO filly Within The Law can use Saturday's Gunsynd Classic at Eagle Farm as a springboard to bigger assignments. The Stradbroke Handicap-winning conditioner, who has recently been in the United Kingdom to prepare Overpass for his Royal Ascot tilt, has been hoping to qualify the daughter of Lucky Vega for the $3 million Stradbroke Handicap, believing she would have made her presence felt had she secured a start. Within The Law was narrowly denied that opportunity when she finished third behind Regal Award and Stefi Magnetica in the Hawkesbury Guineas, a race that carried a ballot-free entry into the Stradbroke for the winner. Regal Award accepted that golden ticket and will line up in Saturday's Group 1 as a $7 chance, while Within The Law has been redirected to the Gr3 Gunsynd Classic over 1600m, where she will meet a number of other 3YOs still trying to force their way into late-winter features. The filly has already built a strong body of work, with five Group 1 appearances on her record, including the 2025 Golden Slipper, when she dislodged her jockey and failed to finish. Baker's assistant trainer Luke Hilton said the stable had been keen to get her into the Stradbroke and felt her latest performance against older horses was full of merit, but he added that connections now hoped some consolation could arrive on Saturday. The result at Eagle Farm may shape her immediate program, with the Tattersall's Tiara over 1400m on June 24 a possible target if she runs well. Within The Law is currently an $11 chance in Tiara betting on TAB fixed odds, while the Winx Guineas has also been mentioned as an option. Hilton said the team had been disappointed not to win the Hawkesbury race and gain a Stradbroke berth, but there was still confidence in the filly, whose run behind older horses only reinforced the stable's opinion of her. Saturday's race is therefore more than a fallback assignment. It gives Within The Law a chance to confirm she remains on an upward path, stretch back out to 1600m, and keep alive the possibility of ending her campaign in elite company. For Baker, who knows what it takes to win Queensland's biggest handicaps and is still operating on the international stage with Overpass, Within The Law represents a different kind of winter hope: a talented young filly still trying to turn promise and strong form lines into a defining result.

  • Game On for Japan Cup Rematch at Ascot

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    Calandagan is set for another high-profile clash with Masquerade Ball after the Japanese 4YO was confirmed for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on July 25. Their rematch follows a memorable Japan Cup duel at Tokyo last November, when Calandagan got the better of Masquerade Ball by a head in a result that helped secure his titles as Cartier Horse of the Year and Longines World's Best Racehorse. Calandagan has continued to add depth to that standing this year, winning the Dubai Sheema Classic in March for his fifth Group 1 success, though he was beaten 4.5l into fourth behind an outstanding Jan Brueghel in the Coronation Cup at Epsom on June 6. Masquerade Ball, meanwhile, has also done his share to strengthen the form since Tokyo. He captured the Tenno Sho in the autumn and was then beaten just a head when runner-up to Hong Kong star Romantic Warrior in the Gr1 QEII Cup at Sha Tin in April. Those performances have encouraged connections to look beyond Japan, with the Ascot showpiece now selected as the right international target. Trainer Takahisa Tezuka said discussions about an overseas campaign began after the Tenno Sho, when he felt Masquerade Ball had shown he could be competitive on the world stage. He said Shadai Race Horse had been keen to send the horse to the King George, describing the race as a prestigious older-horse contest in the UK and one that provided both an excellent opportunity and a sensible alternative to racing in Japan during the hottest part of the season. Tezuka is also looking forward to the experience of running at Ascot for the first time, saying he was excited and honoured to have a runner at the royal track. For Masquerade Ball, the assignment brings both a fresh challenge and a familiar measuring stick. Calandagan has already shown he can absorb pressure at the highest level, while the Japanese runner's narrow defeats behind two international heavyweights suggest he belongs in the same conversation. The King George has long served as a summer crossroads for elite middle-distance horses, and this year's edition now carries an added strand of intrigue through a rivalry that began in Tokyo and will be renewed on British turf. Masquerade Ball still has to prove he can reproduce his best form away from Asia, but the decision to travel signals confidence from connections that his performances have earned him the chance. For Calandagan, it is another opportunity to confirm the authority he established so narrowly in the Japan Cup.

  • Dodging Jenni Bullet a Smart Play for Osmond

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    Armidale trainer Stirling Osland has no appetite for a clash with Pride Of Jenni, preferring to keep honest stayer So You Are to the more suitable assignment at Rosehill on Saturday as he chases a first stakes success. According to racingnsw.com.au, the stable had the option of tackling the Caloundra Cup with the 4YO, but Osland has instead chosen a 2000m Benchmark 88 in Sydney, convinced it gives the gelding a better platform after two strong efforts at Group 3 level last month. So You Are was narrowly beaten in the Premier's Cup Prelude over 1800m at Eagle Farm before finishing fourth, beaten 3.8l, in the Premier's Cup over 2400m at Doomben, form Osland believes is good enough to be highly competitive back in grade. He said the horse had been holding his own against some of the better stayers in work and that the drop in class, combined with 54.5kg, gave him a genuine chance to break through at stakes level in the near future. The key, Osland said, was helping So You Are settle, with his natural tendency to work too strongly early in races taking away some of his finishing power. That trait was evident at the start of his latest run, when he drew wide and was made to work, but the trainer believes maturity is starting to bring him along. He also has an eye beyond Saturday, noting the gelding has a half-sister in the stable and that every step forward from So You Are adds useful depth to the family. Osland has not ruled out the Grafton Cup over 2350m if the gelding continues to hold form, though the 10-day turnaround from the Caloundra Cup made that route less appealing. The stable will also be represented at Rosehill by Concoction, a lightly raced son of Lonhro who lines up in a 1400m TAB Highway as a $41 chance. Concoction won at Armidale in March, then failed in mid-April on his home track before Osland freshened him and sent him to Doomben, where he worked home well for an eye-catching fourth behind Midnight Dynamite in a Class 6. Osland said the gelding had an average Armidale run and was given time before heading north, with Saturday now offering a chance to see whether that Brisbane effort can be carried back to Highway company. For Osland, the weekend is less about grand gestures than sensible placement, with So You Are kept away from an unsuitable fight and given the opportunity to turn consistent staying form into a deserved win.

  • Stradbroke Handicap the Holy Grail for Gollan

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    Tony Gollan has spent long enough trying to win the Stradbroke Handicap to understand both its pull and its resistance, and the champion Queensland trainer will again take his shot at the Eagle Farm feature on Saturday with Transatlantic carrying the stable's hopes. The $3 million Group 1 has been the missing piece in Gollan's outstanding career at home, with the trainer on hand for Tuesday morning's barrier draw as his Toorak Handicap winner came up with gate 18 for the time-honoured 1400m contest. It is not the draw connections would have chosen, but Gollan's desire to add the Stradbroke to his record has hardly been dimmed by setbacks before. Transatlantic was ninth in last year's race behind War Machine, while Antino, who had shaped as the stable's strongest Stradbroke prospect in recent seasons, finished 12th the previous year and has since been retired. Gollan has also gone close without landing the prize, with Temple Of Boom runner-up in 2014 and Vega One filling the same placing behind Tofane in 2021. For a trainer who has dominated so much of Queensland racing, the Stradbroke remains the race that keeps calling him back. Gollan said winning it was part of the fabric of training in Brisbane, not merely another major result to chase. He said anyone born into Queensland racing was raised with a desire to win the race, and that it sat at the centre of the local winter. Even if he were to win it this year, he added, the hunger would quickly return because the Stradbroke is part of the annual rhythm of the stable, the race they identify early and work back from each season. Transatlantic gives him a proven Group 1 horse for the assignment, having claimed the Toorak Handicap in 2025, and Gollan said he was pleased with the gelding's build-up across the past year. The 12-month preparation has been deliberate, and the stable believes the horse is where he needs to be going into the weekend. His latest run offered encouragement, with Transatlantic finishing strongly in the Kingsford Smith Cup to be beaten just over a length by Headley Grange. That effort suggested he was returning to the right level at the right time, even if the wide draw now leaves Gollan and his jockey with decisions to make. The Stradbroke has a habit of testing plans as much as horses, and Gollan has had enough near-misses to know that little comes easily in the race. Still, he heads to Saturday with a genuine chance, a horse peaking for the target, and the same motivation that has driven him through so many Brisbane winters. For all he has achieved, the Stradbroke is still the one he wants most.

  • No Royal Ascot for Breeders’ Cup Sprint Star

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    A planned Royal Ascot tilt has been abandoned for Cy Fair after the high-class filly failed to please her connections in the final days before departure, robbing the King Charles III Stakes of a notable British-trained 3YO contender. According to bloodhorse.com, the George Weaver-trained daughter of Ten Sovereigns, a Gr2 winner at Leopardstown last October when she accounted for a strong field of British and Irish juveniles, had been expected to take her chance in the 1000m sprint, but Medallion Racing confirmed she would remain at home after a below-par piece of work and an unsatisfactory scope. Raced by Medallion in partnership with Swinbank Stables, the filly had been purchased by Wathnan Racing for 1.6 million guineas at Tattersalls Book 1 before joining Weaver, having previously raced in Europe as a 2YO. The stable’s view was that she had not been showing her usual sparkle over the past few days and that there was little point pushing on with such a demanding assignment unless she was completely right. Although her absence removes a promising sophomore from the Royal Ascot sprint picture, Weaver still has a powerful hand at the meeting, headed by last year’s Queen Mary winner True Love and Crimson Advocate, who gave him a breakthrough success at the carnival in the 2023 Queen Mary before later joining John and Thady Gosden. The King Charles III Stakes remains a race with international depth, however, with last year’s Australian heroine Asfoora again central to the discussion and fellow Australian sprinter Overpass also among those bringing southern hemisphere interest to the market. For Cy Fair, the immediate plan is simply to regroup, with connections hoping a short break will allow her to return to full health and put the Royal Ascot disappointment behind her before new targets are set.

  • Hailstones Becomes First Winner for Noverre

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    A breakthrough for Waikato Stud stallion Noverre arrived at Scone on Tuesday when Hailstones became his first winner, making a professional debut for Annabel and Rob Archibald in a maiden handicap over 1300m. The 2YO gelding was ridden by Braith Nock and showed race sense beyond his experience, settling outside the leader before taking over soon after straightening and holding the late challenge of favourite Leovanni. The win came against older opposition and gave Noverre, Savabeel’s Gr1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas-winning son, an early milestone from his first crop. Rob Archibald said the stable had long held a positive view of Hailstones, but was pleased to see him translate that promise to race day at the first attempt. “He has always shown something from day one, but it was nice to see him put it together on debut,” Archibald said. “He is a lovely athletic type of horse and he’s got plenty of scope, so you’d like to think there is plenty of improvement to come and whatever we are seeing now is a bonus. He is just a really athletic good moving horse on the up, so it’s nice to start his racing career like that and hopefully there is plenty more to come.” Hailstones carries a pedigree with stamina and quality, being out of the stakes-winning One Cool Cat mare Cool Storm and a half-brother to Gr1 Auckland Cup (3200m) winner Ocean Billy. The Archibalds, in partnership with Will Johnson Bloodstock, bought him for $150,000 from Waikato Stud’s draft at the 2025 Book 1 Yearling Sale at Karaka. Archibald indicated the gelding was likely to have one more start as a juvenile before being given time to furnish, with the expectation that he would be better again as a 3YO and potentially suited once stretched out in distance. That profile makes him a useful early advertisement for a stallion still working to establish momentum in a competitive first-season sire crop. Noverre has had nine runners to date and has also left stakes-placed juvenile Bella Bonita, third in the Listed Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie. The Archibald stable also has another Noverre youngster, Chatoyer, a filly out of Candelabra, and Archibald said she had shown ability despite needing more time. “She’s a little bit more temperamental than he is, but she looks to have plenty of ability and she’s just taking that little bit longer and is another one to look out for.”

  • Perth Winter is Final Live MM Season Sale

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    Western Australia’s final live Magic Millions auctions of the season will offer buyers one more chance to secure young stock when the Perth Winter Yearling and Weanling Sales are held at the Swan Valley Sales Complex on Sunday, 21 June. The combined sale begins at 12pm Perth time, with the yearlings first through the ring before the weanlings follow. Both catalogues carry the usual appeal of a winter market that has previously produced horses capable of returning value either back in the sale ring or on the racetrack. This year’s Perth Winter Yearling Sale comprises 59 lots, all eligible to be paid up for the Magic Millions Race Series, which now carries more than $20 million in prizemoney. That programme includes two exclusive Pinjarra-based races worth a combined $600,000, including bonuses, giving local buyers an additional incentive to participate. The yearling catalogue draws on a broad spread of sires, with youngsters by All American, A Lot, Awesome Rock, Ducimus, Gingerbread Man, I Am Immortal, Jonker, Long Leaf, Manhattan Rain, Maschino, Ole Kirk, Playing God, Rommel, Shooting To Win, Splintex, Star Turn, Tiger Of Malay and Universal Ruler among those listed. Playing God again provides one of the stronger local threads, with seven yearlings catalogued by the leading Western Australian stallion. They include a full sister to multiple stakes winner and Gr1-placed Platoon, as well as a colt out of Magic Millions WA 2YO Classic winner Western Fever. First-season yearling sires represented include locally based Aysar, Lightsaber and Marine One, adding further interest for buyers looking to get in early on emerging stallion prospects. The Perth Winter Weanling Sale also has a strong local flavour, with stock by 13 sires including A Lot, Awesome Rock, Ducimus, Lightsaber, Long Leaf, Manhattan Rain, My Admiration, North Pacific, Playing God, Pride Of Dubai, Sessions and Splintex. Interest is also expected in two weanlings by Ingratiating, a four-time stakes winner and Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond placegetter.

    Perth Winter Sale

  • Curraghmore Amongst Leading Kiwi Vendors

    Thursday, 11th June 2026
    A familiar Karaka standard will be carried forward on June 25, with Curraghmore preparing to offer another compact but carefully assembled draft at the NZB Weanling Sale. Gordon Cunningham’s six-strong selection again reflects the approach that has kept Curraghmore at the front of the auction’s vendor ranks, combining proven commercial influences with the appeal of emerging stallions whose first crops are already attracting attention. The draft includes colts by Sword Of State, Ocean Park and Hilal, while the fillies are by Super Seth, Satono Aladdin and Chaldean. It gives buyers a spread of established and newer bloodlines from a consignor whose reputation has been built on sourcing, preparing and presenting young stock to a high standard. Cunningham has long treated the weanling market as a serious commercial opportunity rather than a secondary sale, and Curraghmore’s record at Karaka supports that view. The operation has topped the vendors’ table at the annual auction for 12 consecutive years and has also led the statistics at the two most recent editions, underlining both the depth of its drafts and the confidence buyers continue to place in the brand. Last year’s results were typically strong, with the 2024 Curraghmore draft realising $731,500 for eight lots at an average of $91,843, while the previous year saw all eight weanlings offered find new homes for a total of $465,000 at an average of $58,125. Those figures have helped reinforce Curraghmore’s standing as both a sales consignor and a proven source of quality bloodstock, particularly in an increasingly competitive weanling marketplace where pedigree, presentation and buyer trust all carry significant weight. Cunningham said the same standards would apply to the 2026 group, which he believes has the right mix to appeal to a discerning bench at Karaka. “We have always treated this sale with respect and take a lot of pride in offering weanlings with quality pedigree credentials as well as being good types,” Cunningham told RaceForm when discussing his 2026 selection. That philosophy has been central to Curraghmore’s success, with each draft needing to be more than just numerically strong. The aim is to offer a focused group capable of meeting the expectations of pinhookers, end-users and breeders seeking access to well-raised stock at a sale that continues to grow in profile. In that sense, the six weanlings represent another measured attempt to balance commercial appeal with the type and substance buyers expect from the farm, rather than relying on numbers alone. With proven sires represented alongside two of the more closely watched first-crop names, Cunningham’s latest team looks positioned to keep Curraghmore in familiar territory, prominent among the vendors most likely to shape the buying at Karaka and continue a tradition that has become one of the sale’s most reliable benchmarks for quality, consistency and preparation when the catalogue comes under inspection from a demanding and selective buying bench at Karaka this year.
Amarina Farm
Arrowfield Stud
Bell River Thoroughbreds
Berkeley Park Stud
Bhima Thoroughbreds
Blue Gum Farm
Bombora Downs
Clear Mountain Fairview
Coolmore Stud
Cressfield
Evergreen Stud
Kingstar Farm
Lime Country Thoroughbreds
Mill Park Stud
Murrulla Stud
Newhaven Park
Segenhoe Stud
Silverdale Farm
Sledmere Stud
Torryburn Stud
Tyreel Stud
Vinery Stud
Widden Stud
Willow Park Stud
Yarraman Park Stud

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
Topicus 1st Season
Toronado Established
Trapeze Artist Established
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