Interest was predictably high for a piece of one of Australia’s most promising fillies when two shares in Within the Law went under the digital hammer this week. The daughter of Lucky Vega, already a Group 2 winner (see below) and dual Group 1 placegetter, proved a major drawcard during the Magic Millions Digital Sale held from 21 to 26 November. Trained by Bjorn Baker and raced in partnership with Darby Racing, Within the Law is being aimed at some significant Autumn Carnival targets after an impressive spring. Her form and profile ensured her fractional offerings – 6.5% and 5% stakes – were snapped up by Highway Farm for $85,000 and $80,000 respectively, following a flurry of nearly 80 bids. Across the broader sale, optimism was palpable among vendors and buyers alike. The second iteration of Magic Millions' digital format drew strong engagement, with a range of tried horses and breeding stock attracting healthy competition. Leading Adelaide trainer Will Clarken was among those impressed by the level of inquiry. “We got heaps of traction and had plenty of people ringing,” he said. “We'll definitely be putting more horses through the platform moving forward.” Several syndication opportunities also found favour. Bennett Racing successfully moved shares in multiple runners, with principal Nathan Bennett praising the transparency and ongoing communication. “We were very happy with the results on behalf of our clients,” he noted. “The team at Magics were in constant communication throughout and the platform looks great.” Standout individual results included Gioia River, a sister to VRC Oaks placegetter After Summer, who was offered by John Shelton Racing and sold to Malcolm Gladwell for $30,000. Meanwhile, Hot Affair – a well-related unraced filly by Too Darn Hot – changed hands for $18,000, with Warwick Racing securing the unreserved offering. Magic Millions Head of Digital, Bryce Bevan, said the results were especially pleasing given the global engagement. “We received strong interest for the shares in Within the Law from across Australia as well as multiple clients from China and the United States who actively bid which is extremely encouraging,” he said. With more high-profile entries confirmed for the next online auction running from 5 to 12 December, the digital sale format appears to be gaining genuine momentum. “We’re building a strong base,” Bevan added, “and we look forward to what’s coming next.”
All in the Family for Kennedy-McDonald
Thursday, 27th November 2025
There’s a new chapter unfolding at Cranbourne, where the McDonald family legacy is poised to evolve with a fresh partnership in the making. The next bearer of the baton is Ali Kennedy-McDonald, who is now one step away from becoming a licensed trainer and joining her father Clinton in a formal alliance. For now, she manages the day-to-day operations of the stable and is completing the final paperwork to secure her credentials. “Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later,” she told SEN’s Giddy Up with Gareth Hall. “At the end of the day, it’s a bit tough after you’re working long hours at the stables. As soon as we get that ticked off, we will be ready to go.” It’s a role she’s been preparing for most of her life. Since officially becoming Clinton’s assistant in 2024, she’s seamlessly taken on operational responsibilities, but her involvement goes back much further. “I started working for my dad 11 years ago,” she said. In that time, she’s shaped an impressive résumé yearling prep at Arrowfield, hands-on experience at Coolmore Stud, time with the Melbourne Racing Club, and formal training through Marcus Oldham’s Equine Management diploma. The knowledge gained across those varied experiences has only strengthened her resolve. “I’ve done a bit of everything in the industry, but I’ve always come back to the stable because that’s where I love to be. I love the horses, the lifestyle, everything about it… it’s completely different to anything else.” In recent weeks, Kennedy-McDonald has had to take full command, with Clinton recovering from a serious fall sustained on Melbourne Cup Eve. Slipping on wet stairs, he ended up in ICU with four broken ribs and a punctured lung. “He was in a pretty bad way,” she said. “He ended up in the ICU and then spent a few days in the Trauma Unit.” Despite attempting to visit Caulfield for gallops, his daughter admitted it may have been premature. “I think he may have overdone it a bit, in true Clinton fashion,” she said with a smile. “He’s coming along well; he’ll be alright soon enough.”
Another Jericho Cup Possible for The Oaks
Thursday, 27th November 2025
The Oaks Stud and trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray won the 2023 Jericho Cup with Nassak Diamond (Roc de Cambes-Kadesa, by Zabeel) and this year, they will have another crack at it with Tempest Moon (Turn Me Loose-Nocturnal, by Darci Brahma), reports racingnews.co.nz. “It is a fantastic week here,” Ritchie said. “They have the light infantry go through town and when Nassak Diamond won, Colm, Rick (Williams, The Oaks Stud general manager) and I all got a kick out of it because they play the last post, there are 8,000 people on course and nobody says a word, it is eery. They really show a lot of respect to their returned serviceman, as do we. It is a unique race being three miles and when Nassak Diamond won it two years ago I wasn’t sure if there was another lap to go or not. It is nice to come over here with a New Zealand-trained horse again and have another go.” Tempest Moon ran second at her most recent start over 3000 metres. “She profiles as the right style of horse, she wanted to go another lap again after the winning post at Riccarton and at Taupo in her last couple of starts,” Ritchie said. “You are taking on a great deal of jumping style horses over here, but the one to beat might be The Oaks Stud’s other horse, Nassak Diamond, who is with Michelle and Paddy Payne now. Either way, if The Oaks Stud win the race, we will be having a drink on a Sunday night.” The stable also has two stayers running in the Gr3 Great Northern Challenge Stakes over 1600m at Ellerslie. “Mahrajaan now looks like an open sprinter, he has put natural muscle on. We have given him a lot of required time, most of it partly because he can’t handle wet ground. I am looking forward to him getting back to the racetrack, but I will expect him to be uncompetitive in those first couple of runs that he has as he works up over those further distances. He holds a nomination for the Wellington Cup, [where] he would need everything to go 100 percent right on fitness levels, but his main goal will be the Auckland Cup to try and do what he did last year,” said Ritchie. “Nereus is a lovely horse. He has won a couple of Cups for us and this is just a stepping stone. I am sure we will get him to 2000m in a race like the Awapuni Gold Cup, which he has won before.”
Tuxedo Gearing Up for a Strong Summer
Thursday, 27th November 2025
Summer racing looms large for Tivaci’s talented son Tuxedo who enjoyed a quiet tune-up over 1100m at Taupo on Tuesday as connections prepare him for a fresh assault on the Summer stakes race circuit. According to racingnews.co.nz, the trial marked the latest step in a carefully managed campaign for Tuxedo, who made his mark last season with multiple Group wins and a close second in the Karaka Million 3YO. As a three-year-old, he won three of six starts for the Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray partnership, including the Gr2 Waikato Guineas and Gr3 Wellington Stakes. He also pushed Damask Rose all the way in the $1.5 million Karaka feature, confirming his class over a mile. This term, he resumed with a sharp first-up win at Ruakaka over 1400m in August, before tackling elite company in the Gr1 Proisir Plate and Gr1 Howden Insurance Mile, where he finished midfield. Those efforts were not without merit. “He had three weeks off after his two unlucky weight-for-age runs, and he certainly didn’t get the rub of the green in either race,” Ritchie said. A wide draw and traffic issues hindered him in the first, while in the second he was denied a run at a crucial stage. “Waitak beat him to the gap and won the race. He perhaps could have run a place had he had clear running in that one.” Rather than dwell on those outcomes, the stable opted to freshen the gelding and switch focus to handicap targets. “I don’t believe he underperformed, but it was time to back off,” Ritchie added. “I think it will strengthen him up and make him a lot tougher for the summer and autumn racing he has got ahead of him.” The Taupo outing – run without pressure at the rear of the field – was another step in that direction. Ritchie drew parallels to the relaxed, uncompetitive trials used by leading stables in Sydney. “That was a lovely quiet trial,” he said of Tuxedo. “You find when they have trials like that, they usually come out full of beans and perform well first-up.” A first-up tilt at the Gr3 J Swap Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa on December 13 now beckons, followed likely by the Gr2 Rich Hill Mile. “He is in a good place in the handicap now, so he doesn’t need to run at that weight-for-age level anymore,” Ritchie said. “We will work our way through the handicap and hopefully hit our peak in the Aotearoa Classic at Ellerslie.
Tivaci's son Tuxedo is working towards summer targets (pic: Kenton Wright Race Images)
Flying Fun Chasing Stakes Success for Heys
Thursday, 27th November 2025
Dropping back from being beaten four lengths last start in the Gr1 Champions Sprint (1200m) behind Giga Kick (Scissor Kick), the Bryce Heys-trained Flying Fun (Spieth-Vol Prive, by Sebring) looked good two starts back when beaten less than half a length in the Gr3 Begonia Belle Stakes (1100m) down the Flemington straight in a run that should see the mare right in Saturday’s $200,000 Listed Starlight Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill. With Zac Lloyd in the saddle, the duo will jump from barrier 2 which should see them secure a handy run in the race. Three starts back, Flying Fun was beaten just over a length by Saturday’s favourite Zealously (Harry Angel-Duenna, by Sepoy) when racing over 1000m at Warwick Farm and come Saturday she is better off at the weights. A late withdrawal from last Saturday’s $300,000 The Warra (1000m) at Newcastle due to the downgrading of the track with the persistent rain, the Peter Snowden trained Zealously looks set to chase plan B this coming Saturday at Rosehill. Off the back of his last start third in the Gr2 Caulfield Sprint behind Rey Magnerio (Magnus), with that winner set to line up in Saturday’s $1.5m Gr1 Winterbottom Stakes at Ascot, Zealously has surprisingly never started at the track in his 13 starts to date. While last week’s race was going to be run over 1200m, the drop back to 1100m should not cause any issues for the 4YO gelding. Drawn barrier 9 in the 13-horse field, jockey Kerrin McEvoy will likely aim to go forward, with the hopes of not being trapped wide in the run.
Waitak on Target for a Kiwi Group 1 Hattrick
Thursday, 27th November 2025
With summer Group 1s on the radar, a high-powered team from Wexford Stables stepped out for a crucial hit-out at Tuesday's Taupo trials, giving Lance O'Sullivan and Andrew Scott valuable insight ahead of major targets in December and January. Among the headline acts, according to loveracing.nz, was Waitak, already a dual Group 1 winner this season in the Howden Insurance Mile and Livamol Classic. Held together by Craig Grylls throughout the 1100m open heat, the imposing son of Proisir finished fourth with his ears pricked, showing the benefit of resumed training without being asked for an effort. "They were all there for a day out just to bring them on," O'Sullivan said. "Waitak has pleased us since we stepped up his training again and he did all that we wanted today." Grylls echoed the sentiment, remarking that the gelding "felt great" and would take improvement into his next assignment – the TAB Mufhasa Classic (1600m) at Trentham on December 6, where he currently shares top billing at $4.50 with La Crique and Legarto. Also catching the eye was stablemate Tomodachi, who holds equal favouritism with Crocetti for the Gr1 Telegraph (1200m) on January 4. Third in the Proisir Plate earlier this spring, the mare was allowed to stride by Joe Doyle and was unextended in winning by a neck from Scolera. "That's Tomodachi, she likes to run," said O'Sullivan. "It probably didn't help that they weren't going that quick, but she'll trial again next month and go into the Telegraph fresh." Another who trialled was Grail Seeker, last year's Telegraph heroine, who finished a solid third and remains on track for her title defence. "She's going really well and it's good to see that she's starting to carry more condition, which is a positive sign," O'Sullivan added, noting one more trial would have her ready. Away from the Group 1 candidates, a string of progressive types also took further steps. Miss Bo Peep, a three-time winner from seven starts, finished just ahead of Waitak and will resume in Rating 75 company at Te Rapa on December 13. Checkmate, a quiet fourth of four in his trial, did what was asked and is building toward Waikato Cup day, while the lightly-tried Monday Melody had a soft outing and will have another trial before racing. The team was rounded out by stable newcomer Up The Anti, a three-race winner formerly with Holly Wynyard, who trialled with promise and is expected to debut from his new base next month.
Waitak winning the Livamol Classic (pic: Kenton Wright Race Images)
Merson Cooper Second Chance for Free Flying
Thursday, 27th November 2025
After finishing second on debut in the Listed Debutant Stakes, the Ben, Will and JD Hayes trained Free Flying (Snitzel-Ennis Hill, by Fastnet Rock) then disappointed in the Restricted Listed Inglis Banner(1000m) down the Flemington straight, finishing second last in the field of 11 as the race favourite. The fact that she is back at the races, ready to contest Saturday’s Listed Merson Cooper Stakes, suggests she has come through that run well, and maybe the poor showing can be attributed to the wet track that day. Purchased for $750,000 from the draft of Coolmore at the Easter yearling sale, the half-sister to the Gr2-winning, Group 1-placed Learning To Fly (Justify) has drawn barrier 2 in the-13 horse field and being one of just three to have raced before, the veteran of two starts would be considered one of the most experienced in the field. One of three in the field set to sport the Yulong silks, Free Flying is the outsider of the trio with the unraced Morning Whisper (Written Tycoon-Kooweerup, by More Than Ready) from the Ciaron Maher yard one of the race favourites. Having won a Cranbourne jumpout recently, the Yulong bred, as well as raced, filly was passed in shy of her $600,000 reserve at the Inglis Easter yearling sale and hence retained to race. The second foal out of the Group 3 winner Kooweerup, who is herself a daughter of the Group 1 winner Allez Wonder (Redoute’s Choice), it's a lovely filly family and if Morning Whisper can secure her own black type, her value will skyrocket.
Clipperton’s Return from Retirement Promises Plenty
Thursday, 27th November 2025
Fourteen months after winning The Everest on Think About It (So You Think-Tiare, by Flying Spur), jockey Sam Clipperton retired from riding, but he’s back now, reported racenet.com.au. "I wasn't applying myself to my riding the way I should have and needed to be," Clipperton said. "My heart wasn't in it. When I say that I mean to compete at the level I had and wanted to be at, you need to be 110 per cent committed. That meant I was letting myself down and the owners and trainers that were supporting me. It was a time in my life that I needed to step away and at the time I had no intentions of coming back." Clipperton had won five Group 1 races and two Sydney apprentice jockey titles. "I was fully committed to taking my life in a whole new direction," he said. "I had a daughter Adeline who was nearly three at the time that I had to provide for. I had to step into the real world which I did, and it was a real eye opener. I met some great people from a completely different world, and they have turned into lifelong friends. It wasn't an easy time of my life, it was tough, but it taught me plenty and I think I'm a better person from those experiences." He resumes on Thursday at Hawkesbury with two rides for Chris Waller on Galway Flyer (Pierro-Galway, by Savabeel) and Konsa (Ocean Park-Numerian Sunset, by Thousand Words). "I spoke to quite a few people. Breeders like Henry Field and Charles Kelly. Trainers like Chris Waller, Ron Quinton and Michael Freedman as well as Darren Beadman," he said. "They all provided me with encouragement and advice on different things, and I know that I'm coming back for the right reason with enthusiasm I haven't had for a long time. I'm so excited. I haven't felt like this since back in my apprentice days. The difference between the two versions of Sam Clipperton is this time I know how to achieve what is expected of me and I know what to hold onto and what to let go of." Clipperton’s return will add another layer to the exceptional riding talent in Sydney.
Saudi Arabia's Neom Cup Bestowed Elite Status
Thursday, 27th November 2025
Growing international attention on Saudi Arabia's racing landscape has coincided with a fresh wave of upgrades to the Riyadh season program, culminating in the nation securing its first Group 1 contest on turf, reports bloodhorse.com. Central to that elevation is the $2 million Neom Turf Cup, which will carry Group 1 status for its 2026 edition on Saudi Cup day, scheduled for February 14. The announcement highlights the pace at which the country's turf portfolio, only introduced in 2020, has climbed the global ladder. With the Neom Turf Cup ascending to the top tier, the Saudi Cup meeting now features three Group 1 races, supported by a strengthened undercard. Three Group 2 events, a Group 3, and a newly upgraded Listed race in the Tuwaiq Cup broaden the program's depth. The King Saud Cup, contested on December 27 this year, has also advanced from a domestic Group 1 to an international Listed race, signalling the expanding reach of Saudi racing across multiple divisions. The Neom Turf Cup's swift rise through the classifications has been striking. Its 2100-meter test earned Group 3 recognition before the 2022 running, then advanced to Group 2 ahead of the 2024 renewal. Performance quality has underpinned that trajectory, with high-profile winners helping to lift its status. A devastating seven-length triumph by Mostahdaf in 2023, later crowned in both the Prince Of Wales's Stakes and the Juddmonte International, underscored the race's calibre. Spirit Dancer added further credibility the following year, consolidating the international profile the contest was beginning to attract. A compelling display by Shin Emperor (see below) in the most recent edition further solidified the required three-year performance average monitored by the Asian Pattern Committee. His authoritative win over Calif and Irish St Leger victor and Melbourne Cup runner Al Riffa provided the final data point needed for the upgrade. The timing aligns seamlessly with Saudi Arabia's hosting of the 41st Asian Racing Conference on February 14, offering a global stage on which to unveil its newest elite race. The enhanced turf feature now sits beside the $20 million Saudi Cup, which itself achieved Group 1 level ahead of its third running in 2022. Completing the trio is the Obaiya Arabian Classic, ensuring that Saudi Cup day delivers a diverse slate of top-flight competition spanning both Thoroughbred and Arabian racing traditions. His Royal Highness, Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, said: "This is very good news for the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia as we prepare to host the seventh renewal of The Saudi Cup weekend in February next year. Turf racing did not exist in The Kingdom prior to 2020, so to have achieved a first Group 1 on the surface in this time frame is something we are justifiably proud of…"
VRC Reports a Brighter Financial Picture
Thursday, 27th November 2025
Improved financial performance has delivered a welcome sense of stability at Flemington, with the Victoria Racing Club reporting a 2025 financial year EBITDA profit of $12 million. The result represents a $17.9 million turnaround from the previous year and aligns with the expectations flagged at the Club's AGM in December 2024. Underpinning the result was a highly successful 2024 Melbourne Cup Carnival and a reinvigorated commercial model driven by stronger partnerships, expanded media rights, and record membership. These gains were supported by ongoing operational efficiencies and a continued focus on innovation following the challenges of the COVID-19 period. According to the Club, strategic investments into facilities and racing infrastructure also formed part of the growth platform, while prize money top-ups totalling $7.3 million were made to key races at Flemington. Chief Executive Kylie Rogers pointed to financial discipline and sharper commercial outcomes as the key enablers. "We are in the process of working through our new 3-year strategy, and the $17.9 million dollar EBITDA turn around is an important start in returning to the Club to a net profit position," she said. She noted a clear focus on revenue growth over the last financial year, including enhanced commercial arrangements, the signing of a new media rights deal with TAB and Nine, and a boost in membership to a record 35,371. Operational controls also played their part. "We have been disciplined in our approach, managed our expenses, and right sized our business to ensure operational efficiency," Rogers said. "Over this period, we have decreased our spending by $8.7 million and paid down a further $5 million dollars of debt." The net result showed a narrowed loss of $7.2 million, down significantly from the $24.2 million loss posted in 2024. With a stronger platform now in place, the Club anticipates continued improvement in the upcoming financial year. Looking ahead, the Board has signed off on a plan targeting further growth and debt reduction in FY26, again anchored by the Melbourne Cup Carnival and broader commercial momentum. Additional capital is expected to be directed into strategic pillars identified in the Club's longer-term roadmap. Rogers said the organisation remained clear-eyed about the effort still required. "We are under no illusion there is still plenty of hard work ahead, but the plans are in place and the outlook is positive, and we are committed to building on these sound foundations." The Club acknowledged support from the Victorian Government and Racing Victoria, singling out Ministers Anthony Carbines and Steve Dimopoulos for their ongoing role in backing Flemington and the wider racing ecosystem.
