Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
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Global Breeding, Racing and Sales News

  • MM National Finishes on a Strong Note

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    A colt by Extreme Choice supplied the headline act on the second and final day of the 2026 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast, topping trade at $400,000 and giving the Newgate Farm draft a strong result with a son of Group-winning mare Coco As In Chanel. Presented as Lot 1077, the colt was bought by Michael Freedman, Darby Racing and Andrew Williams, who joined forces to secure a horse they hope can develop into a serious Sydney prospect. Darby Racing’s Scott Darby was taken by both the page and the individual, saying, "What's not to like about buying an Extreme Choice colt. The way he's going - he's dominating, he's world class." He added that he and Freedman had been keen on the youngster from the outset and had "some very good clients to put into him", with the colt described as a late December foal with plenty of improvement still to come. Darby also noted the sale had been a productive source for his operation, having previously yielded Group winners Irithia and Dark Eyes, and said the team was delighted to land this colt after being beaten on three leading lots the previous day. All four yearlings by Extreme Choice offered across the two days sold, returning an average of $357,500. The second-highest price on the day came for Glenbeigh Farm’s Zoustar colt out of the stakes-performed Snitzel mare Cafe Royal, a member of the Redoute’s Choice family, who was knocked down to KPW Bloodstock for $275,000. KPW’s Kevin "Millie" Walls said, "He was value for money this horse. You're virtually paying less than a service fee, so you can't lose can you!" He said his team had missed earlier targets at other sales, came to the Gold Coast seeking well-bred, good-type horses, and left with three colts and a $20,000 filly, including the Zoustar colt, Day One’s Lope De Vega colt at $600,000, and another Zoustar at $110,000. Across Book 1 of the National Yearling Sale, 212 lots grossed more than $11.9 million, with the average finishing at $56,231 and clearance at 75 per cent after a catalogue that gave buyers options but still demanded selectivity. Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said the figures reflected an engaged market when the right horses were presented. "There was plenty of the right people here to buy these horses and when they vetted out well were highly competitive in the sale ring." He said 35 horses made more than $100,000, a marked lift on last year, while about 90 horses went to overseas parties. Bowditch added that the sale had a genuine future as an alternative for horses needing time or a later foaling date, and said the $9.7 million gross across three sales had produced "a big number" from start to finish.

    Extreme Choice-Coco as in Chanel

    Extreme Choice-Coco as in Chanel colt (pic: magicmillions.com.au)

  • Newnham Box Seating in HKJC Premiership

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    With two Happy Valley runners backing up just seven days after strong performances, Mark Newnham has a timely opportunity to trim Caspar Fownes' lead in the Hong Kong trainers' championship on Wednesday night. The Australian handler sits third on the table with 55 wins, reports scmp.com, three behind Fownes, and will rely on Armor Golden Eagle and Loving Vibes as he tries to keep pressure on the title race late in the season. Armor Golden Eagle is the more intriguing of the pair, with the 4YO stepping to Class Two company and rising to 1800m in the Tai Tam Gap Handicap after producing one of the sharper wins on last week's card. He charged past Highland Rahy to score by a length and a quarter, taking his Happy Valley record to three wins from four starts and again showing how effective he has become since switching to the city circuit. "He had to win to get into Class Two – he won and he won well, and pulled up well. So it's a good opportunity for him – especially to test him at that level and up to 1,800m," Newnham said. The trainer said lightweights moving into Class Two had been a profitable theme for his stable this season, particularly with horses coming off strong Valley form, and Armor Golden Eagle fits that profile neatly. "So far this season my horses stepping into Class Two with light weights have done well. He's in good form since switching to Happy Valley, he's three wins and a third from his four starts, so he's good around Happy Valley. He might be catching some horses at the end of a busy season while he's still on the up," Newnham said. Karis Teetan takes the ride on the son of Ace High, with regular partner Zac Purton already booked for Silvery Breeze, but Newnham sees no issue in the change. "Zac was already booked and we've got a nice lightweight, so Karis is in good form and hopefully it's a good combination," he said. Loving Vibes also returns on the quick turnaround in the opening section of the Class Four Cricket Club Valley Stakes over 1200m after a brave second to Bright Day from barrier 12 last week. The Zoustar gelding had to cover ground early from the wide draw and still kept finding late, a performance that suggested he had come through his first local win in sound order and remained capable of holding his form. With Armor Golden Eagle testing a higher grade and Loving Vibes better drawn to make his presence felt, Newnham has two legitimate chances to make the championship margin tighter before the final weeks, and both arrive with the kind of recent Valley evidence that gives a late-season backup genuine appeal rather than making it feel like an afterthought.

  • Delayed General Salute Campaign Starts Now

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    A winter campaign that was meant to begin earlier in the season will instead restart at Randwick on Saturday, reports punters.com.au, with General Salute set to resume in the Listed Bob Charley AO Stakes over 1100m after more than seven months away from race day. The 5YO has not been seen since finishing a close second to Joliestar in the Listed Five Diamonds Prelude at Randwick last spring, a run that followed a productive campaign in which he won the Gr3 Star Kingdom Stakes and placed in five straight feature races. Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou had intended to press on with the gelding after that consistent sequence, but a chipped joint forced them to miss the Sydney Autumn Carnival and reset his preparation for a shorter winter return. Ryan said the stable had deliberately kept expectations measured for Saturday, with the 1100m likely to be short of General Salute's best, but the race provides a suitable starting point before he steps up in trip. "The 1100m is probably too short for him on Saturday but we have to kick him off somewhere so we go there and all being well we will go to the (Listed) Civic Stakes over 1400m a couple of weeks later," Ryan said. "We will probably only give him the two runs over winter then back off him and start getting him back for the early spring." The son of Russian Revolution signalled he was close to a race return with a strong 1000m trial win at Hawkesbury on Monday morning, an outing Ryan was keen to give him away from home after weather interruptions had forced the stable to delay an earlier trial attempt in Sydney. The hit-out was also an important mental marker for a horse whose pattern is not built around heavy workloads, and Ryan was more interested in seeing him travel, trial cleanly and come through the exercise. "He's a horse that doesn't cop a lot of work and we just wanted to give him a trip away from home," Ryan said. "He hasn't been to the races in quite a while, he chipped a joint after his last run so we wanted to give him a trip away from home." While Saturday's assignment looks more like a launching pad than a peak target, Ryan is satisfied the setback is behind General Salute and that the gelding has retained the quality that made him one of the stable's most dependable stakes performers last season. There is enough in his record to suggest he can work back into better races once he gets to a more suitable distance, particularly if the winter programme gives him the grounding Ryan is seeking. The Civic Stakes looms as the more natural test, but a sound return at Randwick would put him back on course for the early spring programme his trainers have mapped out.

  • Paltrow Miss Fresh Horse on Oaks Scene

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    After being kept fresh for the next leg of the Queensland winter, Paltrow Miss (see below) will head to Eagle Farm for Saturday’s Gr1 Queensland Oaks having skipped her chance in the Gr2 The Roses, with the Ciaron Maher stable electing not to risk her from a wide gate at Doomben. The lightly raced daughter of Circus Maximus finished third in the Gr1 Australasian Oaks over 2000m at Morphettville in April and had been listed for The Roses, won by stablemate Fireball Miss, before barrier 22 convinced the team to scratch. Assistant trainer Jack Turnbull said the decision was made with the filly’s longer-term target in mind. “She's not a big horse and she was drawn wide,” Turnbull said. “We thought if we just played our cards right and thought of her rather than anything, if we had of run, it'd probably see her out and then that's it.” Paltrow Miss has already given connections a significant return, having been bought on Gavelhouse as a yearling for just $900 before winning on debut for Robbie Patterson as a 2YO in May 2025 and later being sold to Australia, where she races for a syndicate headed by Ozzie Kheir. Turnbull said the Oaks had always looked the right race after her Adelaide placing. “She was bought for an Oaks, she was third in Adelaide at her third start so she's good and progressive as well.” She will be joined in the Oaks by Fireball Miss, although both Maher runners drew awkwardly for Saturday, with Fireball Miss in 18 and Paltrow Miss in 22, likely to become 13 and 17 if the emergencies fail to gain a run. Fireball Miss is chasing a rare The Roses-Queensland Oaks double, while Chris Waller will bring serious depth, headed by last-start Australasian Oaks winner and $4.80 favourite Panova. The race now shapes as a stern staying test for emerging fillies still building their racecraft through a demanding winter programme.

    Paltrow Miss

    Craig Williams drives Paltrow Miss to victory (pic: Pat Sacala Racing Pics)

  • Trainer Takes a Long Road Less Travelled

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    Few young trainers in Queensland have covered as much ground before setting up under their own name as Stephen McLean, whose path to Doomben on Wednesday has taken him from Bundaberg to New Zealand, Britain, the United States and some of Australia's strongest racing stables. Now based on the Gold Coast with 35 horses in work, including 15 2YOs and 14 yearlings, McLean has been training in his own right for almost 12 months after previously spending a similar period in partnership with Toby Edmonds. The 34-year-old was still a teenager when he began using school holidays to work with Mark and Denny Baker at Hallmark Stud in New Zealand, a grounding that led to a full-time role there before his ambitions carried him further afield. "I also worked for two-and-a-half years for Mick Kent in Melbourne and he suggested I should start travelling," McLean said. That advice became the springboard for an education few emerging horsemen could match. McLean went to Newmarket in England for 18 months with Chris Wall, then spent 12 months in the United States with Tom Morley, experience that also included three months at Belmont, three months at Saratoga and six months in New Orleans as Morley's travelling foreman. When he returned to Australia, he kept adding layers to the resume, spending eight months with Archie Alexander at Ballarat, another three years in Sydney with Bjorn Baker, 18 months at Murwillumbah with Matthew Dunn and a year with Michael Freedman before joining Baker's Warwick Farm operation. That breadth of schooling is now being channelled into his own stable, and Scheherazade gives him the chance to continue an encouraging first year when she runs in the Class 4 Plate over 1200m at Doomben. McLean has already produced one metropolitan winner since going solo, with Eve Of The Eagle breaking through at Doomben on April 1, and he has reason to believe Scheherazade can add to that tally after making a strong start for the stable. The 4YO mare is unbeaten in three runs since joining McLean, progress that has given Wednesday's assignment far more substance than a routine midweek target. While his background has made him the sort of trainer who has seen a wide range of systems, surfaces and stable cultures, McLean is now trying to turn that accumulated experience into results under his own banner. A second city winner would be another important step for a young stable already building depth, and Scheherazade arrives with the form to make it possible.

  • Win Has Connections Russian to Belmont Bar

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    A change of scenery and a shorter trip brought Russian To The Bar roaring back to form at Ascot, where the former star Perth prospect ended a long run of outs with victory in the Furphy Handicap. Once rated one of the most exciting horses in Western Australia after completing a clean sweep of the Listed Challenge Stakes and Listed Lex Piper Stakes as a three-year-old, the Luke Fernie-trained gelding had gone winless since December 2024 and drifted from $31 to $41 before Saturday's 1400-metre assignment. That lack of market support mattered little once Chris Parnham gave him a patient, economical ride, settling him behind cover before producing him at the right time to defeat stablemate Brazen Empress and Yorga Pride. Parnham said the five-year-old's recent form had been better than it appeared and felt the return to 1400 metres, rather than stretching to the 1800 metres of the Diggers' Cup, had allowed him to show his best again. Fernie also believed the race shape suited, with strong speed and a three-wide line helping Russian To The Bar switch off and conserve energy, something the gelding had not always been able to do during a frustrating sequence. It was his first win since taking a benchmark 72 event at Ascot more than 500 days earlier, and the result lifted his record to five wins from 15 starts, with earnings beyond $379,000. The victory also sharpened the picture around future carnival options, as he is a half-brother to Kissonallforcheeks, the Group 3 winner and multiple stakes performer who earned more than $1.7 million before being sold to Yulong in 2022 for $1.75 million. Their dam Rosie Rocket was herself a black-type winner over 1600 and 1800 metres at Ascot in 2011, adding further depth to a family that continues to attract attention. Belmont Bloodstock's Damon Gabbedy bought the Dundel filly at the Inglis Australian Easter Sale on behalf of Ben Willis and Victoria's final bid on the same buyer's behalf also secured the Dawson Stud-bred So You Think filly out of Temptation. For Russian To The Bar, however, the immediate story was simpler and sweeter: a talented horse rediscovering the winning habit when given conditions that let him relax, travel and finish with the same spark that once made him one of Perth's brightest young names.

    Russian To The Bar

    Russian To The Bar is back in form (pic: Western Racepix)

  • Twelve Days for Hippo to Turn into a Greyhound

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    With a Stradbroke Handicap ride on favourite Headley Grange waiting at the end of the fortnight, Adam Hyeronimus knows the hardest part of his preparation may have less to do with the horse than the number on the scales. According to racenet.com.au, the 35-year-old jockey, long nicknamed "Hippo", will need to ride at 55kg in the $3m feature after the Joe Pride-trained gelding was handed the weight for his next major assignment at Eagle Farm. Headley Grange earned his place at the top of the market with victory in the Kingsford Smith Cup over 1300m, a performance that confirmed his standing as a serious Group 1 sprinter and left Hyeronimus facing a demanding but familiar challenge. He has ridden comfortably below 56kg in the past, but admitted the final trimming required for the Stradbroke would test him as much mentally as physically. "I don't really ride under 56kg too much so it's a little bit of a stretch, but in those races, big Groups 1s, you've got to expect to do it at some point," Hyeronimus revealed on Monday. "I'm happy to do it and I'm very fit at the moment so I've got a couple weeks to focus on it and it should be all sweet." The task will not force a wholesale change to a lifestyle already built around fitness, with Hyeronimus maintaining regular gym work and outdoor running, but it will demand tighter control in the closing stages. His emphasis now is on managing intake, reducing fluid weight carefully and avoiding the temptation to rush the process too hard too soon, especially with such a valuable ride at stake. "Going down to that weight, it's all about the wasting of fluids out of my body," he said. "I don't want to be putting too much pressure on myself to be wanting to eat too much or refuel too much. I need to just take it slow and steady." Hyeronimus said the most difficult part would be the mental pressure that sits behind the physical work, particularly after knowing several weeks out that the ride would require him to get down to a mark he does not often meet. "Oh definitely, but I knew that when the weights came out last week so I've had three weeks really to prepare," he said. "I've got to work out what I've got to do that's best for me. It might be missing a set of trials or just doing a couple of little things differently, but a great deal won't change." For all the discipline ahead, the prize is obvious: a live Stradbroke chance on a progressive gelding whose latest Group 1 win has given his rider every reason to make the sacrifice worthwhile, and whose timing has left Hyeronimus with just enough runway to get himself there without tearing up a routine that already keeps him sharp.

  • Amelia Park Eyeing East Coast Spoils

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    International bloodlines meet a familiar Australian test when Bassett Hound has his next start for trainer Mitch Pateman, with the Amelia Park homebred set to use one more local lead-up before a likely trip east for a race in which connections hope he can emulate one of Western Australia’s most celebrated 3YOs. The son of Wootton Bassett, who is currently making his influence felt around the world, carries a pedigree that might suggest stamina, yet his race record has so far painted him as a sharp and adaptable sprinter. Bred to win a classic, he has instead shown himself effective over shorter trips, outsprinting his rivals first-up over 1100m at Ascot before stretching that speed to 1000m at Belmont, where he settled last behind Define Beautiful in the Janet Amaglio Memorial and then produced a decisive burst through a gap to defeat Let’s Talk and Overdrive. Pateman now intends to give Bassett Hound one more preparatory outing before taking him to Melbourne for a race modelled on a path made famous by Jokers Grin, with the trainer keen to see how his colt handles the return around a bend before any bigger decision is made. “I was reaching for the rosary beads when Pat (Carberry) angled back for that split in the straight,” Pateman admitted. “He has a lot to learn but there’s plenty of raw ability under the hood.” Pateman was careful not to overreach in his comparison with Jokers Grin, but said the broader programme was similar, noting that Bernie Miller had given that horse three winter runs as a 3YO before returning him for a summer preparation and then raising the bar through the grades. Carberry also felt there was plenty of education in the Belmont win, explaining that he had to drive between the leaders at the furlong rather than come back around Overdrive. “That could have thrown him off balance and he was up against horses that have been around the block a few times. He was fresh today after missing a bit of work and then floated once we got to the front. He had a good blow coming back to scale and will learn a lot out of that race.” Bassett Hound’s pedigree gives the story further international depth. His sire is Wootton Bassett, while his dam Providence, by Queensland Derby winner Darci Brahma, has also produced Cualificar, the Wootton Bassett colt from the Coolmore partnership of Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor, who won a French Derby trial before being pointed towards Sunday’s Chantilly classic. Providence herself is from Bound Copy, a Street Cry mare bought by Amelia Park’s Louis Le Metayer through Astute Bloodstock for 45,000gns at the 2018 Tattersalls July Sale, reinforcing the global reach behind a young sprinter now trying to turn raw ability into something more polished and, perhaps, more durable with each start.

  • Tassie Jockey Makes Long Awaited Return

    Wednesday, 3rd June 2026
    A return to race riding is finally within reach for Anthony Darmanin, with the multiple Tasmanian premiership-winning jockey preparing to resume at Hobart on Sunday after a long rehabilitation from a serious spinal injury sustained earlier this year. According to tasracing.com.au, the experienced rider has been absent from competition for almost five months after fracturing his T12 vertebrae in a freak training accident in January, but six weeks of trackwork for the Hayes stable in Melbourne has convinced him the time is right to climb back into the saddle on race day. “It’s been a long, hard road to get back, but I’m ready and raring to go in Hobart this week,” Darmanin said from Melbourne. The injury initially carried considerable uncertainty, with specialists unsure how long a damaged disc would take to heal, but Darmanin’s recovery proved smoother than first feared. The incident occurred when a loose horse on the outside track, reportedly suffering a colic attack, became distressed and struck the running rail, triggering a chain reaction that ended with Darmanin being dislodged. “The loose horse was trying to get up and kicked the running rail, which spooked my horse, causing it to whip around really quickly, and I came off,” he explained. “I landed on my back, and that caused the T12 vertebrae to rupture in the middle of my back.” While the diagnosis sounded alarming, the jockey said there was surprisingly little pain involved throughout much of the recovery. A back brace was required for the first six weeks and movement was deliberately restricted, but the injury gradually healed without major complications. “The brace was to limit mobility, and I didn’t experience too much discomfort while recuperating,” he said. Known for his determination and professionalism, Darmanin has approached the comeback with patience, steadily rebuilding his fitness through morning trackwork before committing to a race-day return. His reappearance will be warmly welcomed by Tasmanian racing participants, where he has long been one of the state’s most respected and accomplished riders. Few jockeys return quickly from a spinal injury, making his progress all the more remarkable. The Hobart meeting will mark the culmination of months of rehabilitation, uncertainty and hard work, and while race fitness can only be regained under competitive conditions, Darmanin is simply looking forward to doing what he does best again. After a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Sunday’s comeback represents not only a return to riding but also the closing chapter of a difficult period that tested both his patience and resilience.

    Anthony Darmanian

    Anthony Darmanian has a huge record in Tasmania (pic: tasracing.com.au)
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A Lot Established
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