NEWInglis Premier Adds Eight Oaklands Supplementaries
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
A final batch of eight supplementary yearlings has been locked in for the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, lifting the completed catalogue to 814 lots ahead of Melbourne’s March showcase. The late additions add further depth to an already strong line-up at Oaklands Junction, with pedigrees that touch many of the sale’s most in-demand commercial influences. The supplementaries include progeny of Ghaiyyath, whose son topped last week’s Classic Yearling Sale at Riverside, alongside yearlings by Written Tycoon, Stay Inside, Tagaloa, Home Affairs, Alabama Express, Farnan and St Mark’s Basilica. Collectively, the group gives buyers extra opportunity across proven domestic speed lines and sought-after European blood. Vendor representation is spread across some of the powerhouse operations in the nursery. Yulong will offer two of the eight, as will Twin Hills Stud, while Newgate Farm, Coolmore Stud, Balius Farm and Blue Gum Farm will each contribute one. The lots will be sold in catalogue alphabetical order, with lot 807 scheduled for Day 1 and lots 808 through 814 to follow on Day 2. Inglis Victorian Bloodstock Manager James Price said the decision to incorporate supplementary entries into their select yearling sales has already proven its worth. “The addition of supplementary lots to our select yearling sales at Classic and Premier is a new move for us, but it worked well at Classic and our expectation is that these horses will be well received at Premier,” Price said He also reported a buoyant build-up to the sale, with strong engagement on the lead-in inspections. “We were delighted with how the catalogue came together through the spring, with excellent local and interstate support for the sale and buyer engagement to this point has been very encouraging,” he said. “Interest in our pre-sale inspection trips this week has been very good and we are looking forward to welcoming vendors and buyers to Oaklands next week.” He pointed to recent results as a key driver of momentum. “Graduate success from the sale over the past 12 months has been excellent and the momentum behind the sale continues to build and build,” Price said, noting the sale produced two G1-winning 2YO colts last season in Vinrock and Nepotism. He added that the fact each of the past three winners of The Everest offered at public auction were Premier graduates was another marker of the sale’s relevance at the top end. The Premier Yearling Sale will be held at Oaklands Junction in Melbourne from March 1-3, with inspections officially beginning on Tuesday, February 24.
Yearlings by Stay Inside are becoming increasingly popular (pic: supplied)
NEWNobody Told Zackariah Beau How Old He Is
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
In a paddock beside his trainer’s North Boyanup home, a 12YO gelding is still carrying on like time is optional – and Western Australia keeps watching in disbelief, reports racingwa.com.au. Zackariah Beau, foaled there in 2013, added another chapter last week when he won at Belmont in what became the 106th start of his career. “He’s obviously never seen his birth certificate,” Greg Beauglehole laughed. “No one would believe you if they looked at him and you told them how old he is. He’s a bloody legend and he just loves what he’s doing.” Having raised and educated him from the home paddock, Beauglehole now faces the reality that Australia’s racing rules will force retirement in four months, which makes each run feel increasingly precious. A return to Belmont on February 25 is likely, and the statistics around him keep stacking up: fifth-oldest thoroughbred still racing in Australia, oldest in WA, and only one of five 12YOs to win a WA race in the past decade. His latest success also arrived nearly eight years after his first win in Broome in 2018. “This is as good a preparation as he’s had for a fair while and it’s going to be quite sad to have to retire him, quite sentimental,” Beauglehole said. The attachment is obvious, shaped by years of routine and care rather than any grand plan. “He’s always been so pleasant and it’s just been a blessing to have a horse like him to train. We took him to Broome a couple of times and he didn’t like the dirt, but we just couldn’t leave him at home here in the paddock,” he said. “People take their pet dogs on a holiday and we don’t want to leave our nice horses behind. It’s a beautiful thing and I don’t know where you would get another horse like him.” Beauglehole said the $71 starting price with TABtouch at Belmont didn’t dull his confidence, and he linked the gelding’s sharpness to the family, headed by broodmare Brookesmebaby, a four-time WA winner in 2010. He also races siblings Crippalenko and Olivia’smemumma, and described Zackariah Beau as a horse who stays switched on and thrives on his routine, adding that meticulous attention to safety — at home and on the road — has helped keep him sound and happy. Racing WA Head of Animal Welfare Caroline McMullen said longevity is shaped by biology and management as much as training skill. “Science supports that racehorse longevity is strongly influenced by individual biological variation in development (maturity), adaptation to training loads (fitness and strength) and response to injury management,” she said, adding that “a training approach that recognises and manages horses as individuals… alongside careful training load management, is central to improving career longevity.” Dr McMullen also pointed to advances in early injury detection and fitness monitoring, with Racing WA supporting prevention and management initiatives through research funding and its Advanced Imaging Rebate Program.
NEWTasmania’s MM Sale No Longer a Secret
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
Value keeps turning up where the island bargain-hunters shop, and the Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale is again being held up as the best return-on-investment play in the country. According to tasracing.com.au, the case study writes itself through the stable of John Blacker, whose 2025 spend of $166,000 for eight yearlings has already been eclipsed on the track before he heads back to Quercus Park, Carrick, for the 2026 sale on February 23. Most of that story has been driven by an Armidale Stud-bred colt bought early in the sale for $60,000, the priciest of Blacker’s purchases. Aristopolos, a first-crop son of St Mark’s Basilica, has raced only four times and already banked $218,705 in prizemoney, plus $43,600 in bonuses, stamping himself as Tasmania’s standout 2YO. His 8.5-length demolition in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic at Hobart earlier this month put an exclamation mark on the promise, and he now heads to Launceston chasing a clean sweep in the Gold Sovereign Stakes. That is the striking part: he is the only one of Blacker’s eight from last year’s sale to have made it to the races to date, yet the return has already covered the rest. It is a neat illustration of the point local buyers and agents keep making — the strike-rate doesn’t need to be perfect if the entry price is manageable and the upside is real. The same Hobart card provided another reminder in the same colours when Daytona Diva delivered black type in the Strutt Stakes. Sourced from the 2024 Tasmanian Yearling Sale for $40,000 by former trainer Tanya Hanson, the Anders filly has now earned $168,430 plus $21,800 in bonuses from eight starts, and she will attempt to build on that in Friday night’s $150,000 Tasmanian Oaks. She is one of five stakes winners to emerge from that 2024 catalogue, alongside Sanniya and Mazzini, both purchased by Star Thoroughbreds and Randwick Bloodstock, as well as Yum and Zany Girl. Sanniya cost $67,500 and has returned close to six times that on prizemoney alone, winning six of seven starts including the Gr3 Mystic Journey Stakes this month. Mazzini, the $145,000 sale-topper, has already cleared $300,000 across prizemoney and bonuses with six wins from eight runs. Yum, passed in, has become a Listed winner on the mainland for breeder-owners the Breese family, while Zany Girl, a $65,000 purchase, is a Listed winner with more than $250,000 banked for Prime Thoroughbreds and trainer Stuart Gandy. Between them, those five have surpassed $1.3 million in prizemoney and bonuses, and they are only midway through their 3YO season. The 2026 sale offers 125 lots, including a Brutal half-sister to Mazzini and Durazzo (Lot 70), a Pinatubo half-brother to Yum (Lot 93), and a Hanseatic half-sister to recent Pakenham winner Tough Romance (Lot 34), plus siblings to Still a Star, I’ll Have a Bit, Tango’s Daughter Celavi, Greatham Boy, The Spirit of Zero and Mystical Pursuit. Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said, “We have a great line up of yearlings – a number of significant lots by high class stallions – buyers will be impressed,” adding, “The sale each and every year churns out a number of black type performers both across Tasmania and the mainland – recently the sale has done a remarkable job with a number of good winners in Hong Kong led by Bundle Award.” That 2020 graduate cost $110,000 and has since become a Hong Kong Group 3 winner with earnings equivalent to about AU$2.6 million.
Laurie Geared to Treasure Gr1 Futurity Moment
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
A sharp Caulfield gallop has Matt Laurie brimming with confidence ahead of Saturday's Futurity Stakes (1400m), with Treasurethe Moment completing her final serious hit-out under Damian Lane. The Group 1 trainer believes the mare is primed to strike first-up again, carrying the same spark that fuelled her explosive return last spring. Tuesday's work was designed as the finishing touch rather than a searching test, yet the response pleased the stable. "She worked over 1000m and quickened up 400m but you could see she was very much on the ball and wanting to get on with the job," Laurie said. "She's in a good headspace and now, (post final workout) she's ready to go on the weekend." The Futurity shapes as another elite-level assignment at 1400m, the same trip over which she dismantled a high-class field in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes last campaign, putting daylight on Mr Brightside and Buckaroo. Laurie feels she has returned a little more seasoned. "She's had a very similar preparation to her previous ones, I think she's a bit older, a bit stronger, she's very much aware of what goes on every time we put her on the truck these days," he said. "This capped her off nicely and I can't wait to kick her off and then see where the preparation leader. Her spring was not without turbulence, a bout of colic interrupting what began in spectacular fashion, yet she still found her way to the Cox Plate and finished a brave third. "She kicked off with a bang (last spring), we had our little issue (colic) and then, I mean, running third in the Cox Plate is pretty incredible," Laurie said. "I couldn't be more proud of the horse. The last three preparations she's been able to tick off some Group 1s, hopefully she can do it again in her fourth." The market has installed her a $1.90 all-in favourite, ahead of Pericles ($5) and Evaporate ($6), with Tom Kitten ($8) considered an unlikely runner due to plans to hold him back for the All Star Mile. Cox Plate runner-up Buckaroo sits at $18 and also worked at Caulfield on Tuesday morning. "Based on that work today and her trials, I'm really happy with her and got a similar feeling to coming into the Memsie," Laurie said. Tactics may be the only lingering query, with limited obvious speed in the field and Treasurethe Moment having led up a recent trial before powering away. "I'm just hoping, not sure where the speed is going to be in this particular race," Laurie said. "Damian will ride our horse how he finds it on the day and I wouldn't change anything leading into it."
Treasurethe Moment could run her opposition ragged (pic: Mark Gatt)
It's a Big Yes for Attard Ahead of Thursday
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
A shot at the $1m Provincial-Midway Championships Final is the immediate lure, but bigger ambitions are already being mapped if a Hawkesbury qualifier goes to plan for Oui Oui Oui on Thursday. The early-season momentum of the four-year-old has put her in the spotlight, and trainer Jason Attard believes booking a Finals berth now could open a window to chase black type either side of the April 11 decider. Attard's view is that qualifying early buys flexibility. If Oui Oui Oui can secure a top-two finish at Hawkesbury, it not only locks her into the Final, it also gives the stable time to consider a higher-grade target in the interim. "The biggest goal for her and for Kate (Nivison), the owner, will be to try and get black type for the horse,'' he said. "The Championships is a nice notch to have on her belt but black type will be the bigger goal. It's whether or not we try to do that in between now and the Final or if we save it for afterwards." The idea of stepping up after qualifying is not without precedent, with Bandi's Boy winning a Group 3 after earning a spot in the 2024 Country Championships. That example has helped shape Attard's thinking as he weighs what a Hawkesbury win might enable. For now, though, the focus is simply to tick the box and keep options alive for a mare who burst onto the scene early in summer with a hat-trick and quickly became a $6 favourite for the Provincial-Midway Final with TAB. A key appeal of running on Thursday is the safety net it provides. Sitting on five wins, Oui Oui Oui has already done enough to suggest she belongs in the series, but Attard did not want to be cornered late in the qualifying window. "It's a back-up to run now because if she doesn't qualify then there's plenty of room to go again in another qualifying race,'' he said. "I didn't want to leave it too wide between runs and we're at the home track which helps. It's encouraging that she's favourite but there's still pressure because everything still has to go right and go her way." Preparation has been deliberate rather than flashy, with one trial at Warwick Farm two weeks ago and steady work since. Attard said the mare has pleased him at every step. "Her trial was exceptional, there's been no knocks to her whatsoever,'' he said. Tactics will likely depend on tempo, but he is hoping the race is run to suit her pattern. "I'd like there to be a little bit of speed so she can sit in behind them like she does." Conditions also appear favourable. "The track should be where she likes it, it felt great when I galloped her on the course proper on Saturday."
Snitzel 4YO Strengthens Newnham Classic Arsenal
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
A reshuffle in the Four-Year-Old Classic Series narrative has given Mark Newnham renewed cause for optimism, with Infinite Resolve emerging as a serious player after his runner-up finish in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, reports racingnews.hkjc.com. With the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on March 1 fast approaching and the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on March 22 in sight, the Snitzel gelding has put himself squarely in the frame. Sent out at 19/1 in his first Hong Kong attempt at 1600m, Infinite Resolve settled midfield in a strongly run contest before carving through the field in the straight to finish second to the powerful Little Paradise. The effort answered a lingering distance query. “He’s a good-class horse. There was always a doubt about him at 1600m but what he did have going for him going into it was a positive run at his start before where he relaxed really well and hit the line,” Newnham said. Acquired by the Absolute Return Syndicate after racing at Group 2 level in Australia, the gelding had shaped as a horse still learning his craft. Newnham admitted he harboured reservations beforehand. “I still had some doubts whether he would [run a mile], but horses who relax well and conserve energy, you can generally stretch them out in distance, especially against their own age group. Once he drew a good barrier and was able to switch off, he was always going to have a good turn of foot.” The upcoming rise to 1800m presents another test, yet the trainer is encouraged by how the horse finished off. “I was pleased that he ran out the mile strongly. Obviously the 1800m is another step up but his manner is going to take him a long way,” he said. While Infinite Resolve was the stable’s standout in the Mile, Newnham still considers Invincible Ibis his leading Classic hope despite finishing sixth from barrier 11. The run, in his view, told the story. “The run he had didn’t help him. Certainly no jockey error, he was just back and wide and trying to make a long run. The winner was coiled up like a spring and had to sprint 200m, whereas I had to make a 700m run,” he said. He believes the 1800m will suit if the gelding can secure a more economical trip. Crimson Flash (11th) is likely to drop back to sprinting, while Winfield (13th) remains under consideration for the Classic Cup after a recent dirt run. Aerodynamics, rated 74, also sits on the Derby radar following an interrupted passage last start. “Aerodynamics was very unlucky the other day, he should have been in the finish but just got chopped out,” Newnham said, outlining plans to test him at 2000m on Classic Cup day in a bid to secure a Derby berth.
Infinite Resolve finished 2nd in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (pic: hkjc.com)
Anderson Pivots to His Real Estate Dream
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
A shift in focus is underway at Eagle Farm, where Chris Anderson is trimming his stable to boutique proportions while stepping into a parallel career in real estate. The 51-year-old is adamant the move is not a farewell to racing, but rather a recalibration that allows him to pursue another long-held ambition without abandoning the craft he has built over the past 15 years. Before saddling runners in Brisbane, Anderson cut his teeth in sales as a national beer brand manager, experience he believes will serve him well in property. He began training with a single leased horse and gradually constructed a competitive operation from the ground up. Among his highlights was Ballistic Boy, winner of the Group 3 Rough Habit Plate in 2020, a horse who placed the stable on the national radar. Now, however, the stable numbers are coming back. "There's one thing I've never been afraid to do and that's follow my passions in life," Anderson said. He regards the timing as right, citing both maturity and opportunity. "I think it's the right time to do it, life experience goes a long way in real estate, and we have the Olympics coming up in Brisbane in a few years." The adjustment, he insists, is measured rather than drastic. "I've downsized my stable and I'm becoming a boutique stable but I'm not transitioning out of racing." Property has long held his interest. "I've always had a really big interest in property, I was actually looking at doing this 15 years ago. But I had always had a burning desire to train horses." That desire saw him prepare runners for the late Dato Tan Chin Nam's Think Big Stud, whose yellow, black and white silks were carried by champions such as Melbourne Cup winners Saintly and Viewed. Anderson has already commenced work with Ray White Clayfield and sees the dual roles as complementary rather than conflicting. "Having less horses will allow me more time with the horses I have, to really work with every horse on an individualised basis," he said. The structure of a trainer's day also offers flexibility. "And a benefit with training horses is early starts, so that means I can then go to the office to do the real estate side of things." Community ties forged through racing are another asset. "I've trained horses in the local community for 15 years so hopefully there's people there who know me, understand me, trust me and will give me an opportunity in real estate. This has been in the pipeline for the last six to 12 months."
Lindsay Park Per Incanto Duo Under the Radar
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
With the autumn weight-for-age narrative reshaping in the absence of Mr Brightside, a fresh Lindsay Park angle could emerge quickly if Evaporate is ready to announce himself at Caulfield on Saturday, suggests racing.com. Trainer Ben Hayes believes the Per Incanto 4YO has tightened the key screws since spring, and says recent work has finally started to address the habit that has blunted him on race day. “I haven’t spoken about him much, but he’s trailled up excellent and will be hopefully announcing himself this autumn,” Hayes said. “What has let him down is his racing manners. He’s always been a headstrong horse and doing things wrong but still ran well.” A jumpout win at Werribee on February 6, with Jamie Melham aboard, is the reference point. “When Jamie (Melham) rode him in his last jumpout (win at Werribee on February 6) he actually relaxed and he finished off and we have been really working on it in his trackwork,” Hayes said. “Jamie was really happy with him, and I think she’s keen to ride him (in the Futurity).” The upside was obvious last year when Evaporate ran third in the 2024 Gr1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m). Two weeks later he was pitched into the Gr1 Cox Plate (2040m) and failed to adapt, not beating a runner home, before a brief autumn campaign that included second in The Kiwi (1500m) in New Zealand. Back in Australia last spring, he stacked up well at the elite level, finishing second in the Gr1 Toorak Handicap (1600m), third in the Golden Eagle (1500m) and third in the Gr1 Orr Stakes (1400m). With Tom Kitten unlikely to run, Hayes expects Evaporate to be a key danger to early Futurity Stakes (Gr.1, 1400m) favourite Treasurethe Moment. Lindsay Park will also chase a Group 1 result in the Oakleigh Plate (Gr1, 1100m) through Oak Hill, another Per Incanto who has been learning on the job. “He’s going really well,” Hayes said. “Again, he’s a horse that was doing a lot wrong. He was an aggressive horse, and we saw last start he relaxed and he ran well so if he does that in an Oakleigh Plate, he’ll run very well.”
Evaporate has come on strongly (pic: Mark Gatt)
WA Training Duo Free to Return to Training
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
Shockwaves rippled through Australian racing last month when Western Australia’s leading stable was suspended after one of its runners returned a positive test to Ritalin, a tightly controlled medication more commonly associated with the treatment of ADHD. The development cast uncertainty over the powerful Grant and Alana Williams operation, but that uncertainty has now been eased — at least temporarily, reports punters.com.au.. Racing Western Australia confirmed on Tuesday that the 12-time Group 1-winning trainers have been granted a stay of their suspension pending the outcome of an appeal. The decision allows the pair to resume training while the matter proceeds through formal channels. On Monday, the Williams team appeared in Perth represented by Victorian lawyer Damian Sheales, challenging the stewards’ ruling that had barred them from racing and trialling horses. The appeal itself is scheduled to be determined on March 10, but in the interim the Racing Penalties Appeal Tribunal has intervened. In an official statement, the tribunal outlined its position: “The Racing Penalties Appeal Tribunal (RPAT) today determined the stay application by thoroughbred trainers Grant and Alana Williams against RWWA Stewards' order to suspend their training licenses pursuant to Local Rule 22 of the Rules of Thoroughbred Racing.” The statement confirmed that a Notice of Appeal dated February 5, 2026 had been lodged, seeking to overturn the suspension order imposed under Local Rule 22 pending the determination of a charge under Rule 240 (2). The tribunal further ruled: “Pursuant to s. 17(7) of the Act, the Tribunal directs that the RWWA Stewards' order under Local Rule 22 suspending the Appellants' training licenses be stayed until 4.00pm on 10 March 2026.” It concluded plainly: “Accordingly, Mr and Mrs Williams can resume training racehorses.” The timing is significant. The Williams stable currently sits second in the Western Australian Metro Trainer Premiership with 27 wins, just two behind Michael Grantham on 29. With the stay in place, the stable can continue its pursuit of metropolitan honours while awaiting the tribunal’s final determination next month.
Shirreffs is Gone but He’ll Never be Forgotten
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
One good horse can sustain a lifetime in racing. For John Shirreffs, who died last week at 80, that simple truth defined a career built not on volume but on conviction. Though he trained a Kentucky Derby winner and a string of elite performers after taking up the profession in earnest during middle age, it was a towering mare who came to define his name. According to TDN, Zenyatta became the emblem of his patient craft. Unbeaten in her first 19 starts, conqueror of males in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic and crowned 2010 US Horse of the Year, she captured the public imagination in a way few modern champions have managed. Her final defeat, by a head, only deepened the affection. Shirreffs, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam before shaping the California racing landscape with quiet authority, guided her ascent with instinctive restraint. “Zenyatta was the ultimate racing machine,” he said. “She evolved into something great. Even walking to the paddock with Zenyatta was such a special experience, the crowd yelling ‘Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Zenyatta’. She meant so much. She was a miracle.” The miracle required time. She did not race at two and debuted just shy of her fourth birthday. As a younger horse she could test riders and bristle at the starting gate, yet Shirreffs resisted haste. “I think kindness is the big key to horses,” he explained. “I think it’s good to talk to them… Horses are always trying to learn from their environment.” That same philosophy shaped the preparation of Giacomo, the Moss-owned colt who stunned the 2005 Kentucky Derby at 50-1. Arriving at Churchill Downs off three defeats, he was handled with care once Shirreffs sensed anxiety creeping in. “After about his third race, he started to fret a little on the racetrack,” he said. “So we had to be careful that we didn’t push him hard.” He eased the work, waiting for the horse to come to himself. After each loss, Mike Smith remembered hearing the same reassurance: “I can feel it, I know it’s there. I just want to get it better and better.” Public acclaim never altered his bearing. Success was met with courtesy and a willingness to share his horses, Zenyatta foremost among them, with fans who felt personal ownership of her story. Jerry Moss once observed, “He sees things in horses that people maybe don’t see from time to time, but he can look at a horse for hours.” The record lists 596 winners, including Life Is Sweet, Tiago, Gormley, Express Train and others. Yet numbers were incidental. What endures is the image of a softly spoken horseman in a blue cap, attentive to the animal before the accolades. In Zenyatta he found greatness; in Shirreffs she found understanding.
2026 Royal Juveniles Come into Focus
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
Change arrived swiftly at the Royal Studs following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, prompting a trimming of numbers within a breeding operation that had grown expansive in its later years. The reset may yet prove beneficial, reports sportinglife.com. While many long-established royal families have delivered at the highest level, a certain unpredictability has also threaded through the bloodlines. From 2010 onwards, annual gifts of homebred yearlings from Sheikh Mohammed and His Highness the Aga Khan – often around six each year – bolstered the late Queen’s ranks. Those reinforcements yielded major prizes, including Gold Cup heroine Estimate, Hardwicke Stakes and Yorkshire Cup winner Dartmouth, and Dante Stakes scorer and Derby third Carlton House. Patience has typically been required with the royal stock, so it is little surprise that several of the current juveniles are only just filtering through to trainers. On paper, however, the class of 2026 appears among the stronger recent crops set to carry the purple and scarlet for HM The King & HM The Queen. Two youngsters – the Blue Point colt out of Kinematic and the Camelot filly from Desert Breeze – have been lost, while a Cracksman/Make Fast filly and an Australia/Approximate colt realised 42,000gns apiece at auction. Sixteen 2YOs remain in contention. Broodmares Estimate and Golden Stream anchor much of the intrigue. The former, less convincing in her second career to date, has been paired again with Siyouni; their earlier mating produced the useful 10f 3YO Market Value, and the resulting colt is named Rough Guess. Golden Stream continues to upgrade her page, having already supplied black-type performers including Solario Stakes winner Reach For The Moon. Her current 2YO is Golden Reflection, a Sea The Moon colt closely related to Reach For The Moon and the Group 3/Listed-placed Chalk Stream. Elsewhere, Too Darn Hot filly King’s Prize, trained by Ralph Beckett, represents the deep-rooted Amicable family that entered royal ownership in 1961. Laurel Crown, a Dubawi colt out of Daphne, and Kingman trio Lancaster Tower, Amber Spyglass and Lord In Waiting add further depth, while Light Music’s line contributes Romantic Melody and Persian Touch. Frankel is represented by Top Scholar and another colt from Sweet Idea’s branch, and Night of Thunder has Glimpseoflightning, sent to Clarehaven. Additional interest centres on La Torre, a Lope de Vega filly from Magnetic Charm’s family, a Dubawi filly out of Desert Flyer, and a Land Force filly from Star Value. Not all may ultimately race in royal silks, yet the blueprint for a revitalised era is clearly being assembled.
Connections Opt to Retire Caulfield Cup Hero
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
A successful international chapter has come to a close, with Caulfield Cup hero Duke De Sessa retired after a leg setback curtailed plans for another autumn campaign. According to racenet.com.au, the Irish-bred stayer will now leave the racetrack behind and return to his homeland, ending a career that yielded almost $4.4 million in prizemoney and a place in recent Australian racing folklore. His defining moment arrived in the 2024 Caulfield Cup (2400m), where he controlled the race from the front and held off the late surges of Buckaroo and Land Legend in a performance of authority and grit. That triumph formed part of a remarkable afternoon for trainer Ciaron Maher, who had captured The Everest with Bella Nipotina little more than an hour earlier. For jockey Harry Coffey, celebrating his 29th birthday, the Cup success delivered an emotional high that resonated well beyond the mounting yard. The decision to retire was confirmed by Maher’s assistant Johann Gerard-Dubord after the seven-year-old failed to come through a recent trial as hoped. “He’s retired, he’ll go back to Ireland where he started his career,” Gerard-Dubord said. “He doesn’t owe anything to anyone so we just want to make sure he’s got a happy life now. He deserves to be looked after.” The Lope De Vega gelding had trialled under Chad Schofield at Randwick on January 27 but did not pull up sound, prompting the stable to draw a line through further ambitions. With his rating elevated following the Caulfield Cup, the most logical target remaining had been the weight-for-age Gr1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill. That option is now redundant, and any return next season would have required the veteran to stretch his durability even further. “When they get to that age, you know they won’t last forever so you get prepared,” Gerard-Dubord said, acknowledging the inevitability that accompanies seasoned campaigners. Bred by Newtown Anner Stud in Ireland, Duke De Sessa arrived in Australia in early 2023 carrying a strong European pedigree but mixed form. Gelded ahead of the 2023 spring, he blossomed into a genuine elite stayer, later finishing runner-up to Dubai Honour in the Tancred Stakes. A minor leg issue prevented a 2025 Caulfield Cup defence, and that same fragility has now signalled the end. He departs as a memorable import whose Cup victory stands as a lasting highlight.
Magnolia Sky Continues to Raise Tassie Eyebrows
Wednesday, 18th February 2026
A determined finish at Hobart on Sunday carried a progressive 3YO filly to a third straight victory, as Magnolia Sky confirmed her rise through the grades with another tough display. In a competitive Class 2 (1200m), she had to dig deep to justify favouritism but did so with authority. Trained by John Blacker, the $3.10 elect was positioned outside longshot leader Angel Sphere by apprentice Catherine Van Munster, who ensured a steady rhythm before asking for a decisive effort in the straight. Challengers Material Madam and Antheia loomed late, yet Magnolia Sky refused to yield, clinging on to score in a performance that spoke as much of resolve as raw ability. Purchased for only $16,000 at the 2024 Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale, the daughter of now deceased Widden Stud stallion Magnus has already returned more than $93,000 from just four starts, a tidy result for connections and further evidence of astute placement. Blacker has long held her in high regard. “She’s always shown a lot of promise from day one,” he said, indicating that a short freshen-up now beckons. “We’ll tip her out now and give her a few weeks off and see what happens as a later three-year-old.” The success capped a productive afternoon for the stable. Araya Sunshine delivered a race-to-race double for Blacker when surging past heavily backed Flying Billie to claim a BM68 (1430m), adding further polish to the trainer’s day. For Van Munster, the meeting carried added significance. The apprentice notched the first riding double of her career on the eight-race program, having earlier partnered Outbush to victory in the opener. It marked her first visit to the winner’s stall since 23 November and comes as she prepares to conclude her apprenticeship in April. “You won’t find a harder worker than Catherine. I’m glad the horse won for her. She rides him in work,” said Outbush’s trainer John Lutrell after that maiden breakthrough. Meanwhile, Sarah Cotton prepared a training double with Tribal Council and Carnotaurus, while Bulent Muhcu celebrated a riding brace aboard Miss Keeds and Coal River. The meeting was not without incident, however, as premiership leader Erica Byrne Burke was stood down after sustaining a back injury in the barriers, though she walked back unaided and is hopeful of riding later in the week.
