Tuesday, 30th June 2026
All enquiries - Gary Knowles 0406 599 773
  • Eurell Has an Exciting 3YO Prospect

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A Caulfield debut delivered the kind of result Greg Eurell had been quietly building towards, but what most excites the trainer about Lucky Brook, according to racing.com, is not simply the speed and strength she showed on raceday, but the temperament that first drew him to her as a yearling. The $95,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast purchase, raced by an all-female syndicate, was well supported before last weekend's first start and justified that confidence with a polished performance, racing like a filly who already understood her job. Eurell had watched those qualities long before she carried silk, returning more than once to inspect her at the sales because her physical correctness was matched by an unusually settled attitude. "We just kept going back to have a look at her," he said. "Conformation-wise she was absolutely spot on, and what we liked more than anything is her attitude – she just never changed. These yearlings at the sales, they're in, they're out, they're in and they get a bit sick of it in the end. But she's just coped with it very well, never changed in her demeanour at all." For a trainer who knows what an elite horse looks and feels like, having prepared the outstanding Apache Cat, that calm mind is no small advantage. Eurell said natural ability can take a young horse only so far if pressure exposes flaws in their character, particularly during the demanding transition through their two and three-year-old seasons. "A lot of these horses can show ability, but they can't handle pressure," he said. "That's the big thing, that's why the good horses are what they are, and she's heading in the right direction. She's still got a long while to go, but she ticks a couple of boxes, that's for sure." Lucky Brook had earned confidence before race day by winning all four of her lead-in jumpouts, and Eurell said the stable had deliberately aimed to win first-up so she could bank the experience, take a break and then be placed with more ambition in the spring. "It was a big day for us – we really targeted the win first-up just so we could give her a breather and then map out something a little bit more difficult," he said. "She's come out of that run the other day like she hadn't even gone around, it was incredible how she is." No spring target has been locked in, but the next stage of her preparation is expected to test whether that rare composure can carry her into better company. By Lucky Vega, Lucky Brook is out of a half-sister to Gr1 Myer Classic-placed multiple Group performed mare Denmagic, and closely related to high quality performer Magic Albert.

    Lucky Vega

    Lucky Vega is the sire of Lucky Brook (pic: Yulong)
  • Eagle Farm Ready to Stand and Deliver

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A landmark transition for Brisbane racing began in earnest at Eagle Farm last Saturday, where the final winter carnival meeting also marked the closing chapter for the ageing John Power Stand before its scheduled demolition later this year. Built in 1957, the stand has been deemed by engineers to pose a health and safety risk to patrons, forcing its closure and setting in motion a redevelopment that the Brisbane Racing Club hopes will preserve the venue's raceday heartbeat while replacing a structure that has long been part of the Eagle Farm landscape. Demolition is expected to begin in August and take between four and six months, with construction of a new $75 million grandstand unlikely to start before the new year at the earliest. The BRC has already secured $25 million towards the project and remains in discussions with the State Government for the remaining $50 million, a process complicated by the significant infrastructure demands building across Brisbane ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games. Chief executive Karl deKroo said the club remained confident the budget could deliver a facility suited to Eagle Farm's needs, even if it would not match the scale of Australia's largest metropolitan racecourse developments. "While there's been continued escalation in building costs, we're confident that ($75m budget) will enable us to deliver a really good facility," deKroo told News Corp. "I think it's important to note, this isn't a Taj Mahal, it won't be like Randwick or Flemington in terms of scale and size, but nor does it need to be. The main thing we want to be able to deliver is a facility that gives racegoers a great race-day experience each and every Saturday." With Olympic-related funding pressures acknowledged, the BRC is also pressing Eagle Farm's broader economic case, and deKroo said temporary marquees could be used during major carnival periods to expand capacity when required. The course may also have a role beyond racing in 2032, with the club already fielding inquiries from nations seeking a Brisbane base and Eagle Farm identified as a potential hospitality hub for entertaining sponsors. In the shorter term, racegoers will notice a very different Eagle Farm when Saturday racing returns on July 25, with both the John Power Stand and the adjoining heritage stand, which is also set for upgrades, closed to the public. The BRC has spent months planning around that disruption, and deKroo said the club's central commitment was to keep the racing product intact. "One thing that we've absolutely committed to is the continuity and delivery of the racing product," he said. "Yes, it will be a different experience for each of those key stakeholders but we're also pretty confident that with the work we've done, we will be able to deliver a good experience." Members will be briefed at an information night at Eagle Farm on July 14, while chairman Richard Morrison said the priority was to avoid losing any meetings, with exclusion zones expected to allow racing to continue. The proposed four-level replacement will include bars, a tiered-seating restaurant and five private suites capable of being reconfigured into a large function space, giving Eagle Farm a modern focal point without erasing its working racetrack purpose.
  • So Far So Good for Young Sire Hilal

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A limited but well-received showing at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale has given Grangewilliam Stud further encouragement around Hilal, whose first crop is beginning to test market opinion with positive results. The young son of Fastnet Rock was represented last week by a colt from the placed Pierro mare Drama Series, offered by Gordon Cunningham's Curraghmore on behalf of Nearco Stud, and the youngster found strong competition before being knocked down to Paul Pertab Bloodstock for $65,000. Cunningham, a 12-time leading vendor at the New Zealand Weanling Sale, said the price was no surprise given the impression the colt had made from birth and the progress he had continued to show through preparation. "I wasn't surprised that he was very popular and made a nice price," Cunningham said. "From the time he was born he impressed us and continued to progress. Even in the early stages, we rated him so sufficiently that we decided to breed the mare back to Hilal." Curraghmore had three Hilal foals born on the farm last year, and Cunningham said all had developed well enough to be regarded as genuine racing prospects. Drama Series is a smaller mare, making Hilal an attractive physical match, while his background only strengthened the case, being by Fastnet Rock and from a deep Australian family that now includes his half-sister Marhoona, winner of the Gr1 Golden Slipper. The sale result also fitted into a broader positive week at Karaka, where Cunningham had fewer entries than usual but felt vendors were rewarded by increased demand and the now-established mid-June timing. He said the sale remained pivotal for the New Zealand industry, noting strong Australian participation and the presence of New Zealand pinhookers who have often travelled across the Tasman to buy weanlings, with bidding levels consistent with what they might have expected in Australia. For Grangewilliam principal Mark Corcoran, the $65,000 colt added to a strong foundation for a stallion who has drawn rare second-season growth, covering 137 mares in his first book before rising to 154 in his second. "We're really pleased with the type of foals he's been leaving, and he's been very well supported in his first two seasons," Corcoran said. "We knew people were keen on his pedigree and race performance but it's good to see the market bullish on him too." Hilal's profile sharpened after his first season at stud when Marhoona won the Golden Slipper, but Corcoran said his own race record was already compelling: a sharp debut winner over King Of Sparta, then runner-up to Anamoe in the Gr1 Sires' Produce Stakes and to Captivant in the Gr1 Champagne Stakes. Standing at $7,500, Hilal gives breeders in a contracting New Zealand stallion market access to precocity, pedigree and type at a workable fee, and Corcoran expects strong support again this season. Grangewilliam plans to take 16 or 17 Hilal yearlings to Karaka next January, with Corcoran describing them as physically strong, good-tempered bays raised on quality South Taranaki country.

    Hilal weanling colt

    The Hilal-Drama Series weanling colt made $65,000 (pic: nzb.co.nz)
  • Magnier Unconvinced About Geldings in Arc

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A proposed change to one of the world’s defining Flat races has drawn a fierce response from John Magnier, with the Coolmore supremo warning that the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe would lose part of its essence if geldings are admitted from next year. France Galop’s board has given overwhelming approval to a plan from president Guillaume de Saint-Seine to seek European Pattern Committee backing for a change to the Arc’s conditions, a move aimed at broadening the race’s global reach and allowing the likes of high-class geldings Calandagan and Goliath, recent winners of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot, to compete for Europe’s premier middle-distance prize. Magnier, whose Coolmore interests have been involved in four Arc winners through Montjeu in 1999, Hurricane Run in 2005, Dylan Thomas in 2007 and Found in 2016, made clear at the Curragh on Sunday that he regards the proposal as a threat to the race’s breeding significance rather than an enhancement. “I hope they don’t let the geldings into the Arc. I think most of the purists would be against it,” Magnier said. “There are two sides to every coin but I’m only giving it from the breeding side and from the breed as a whole. The Arc is one of the real races and it won’t be any more if you include geldings.” His position reflects the traditional view that the Arc is not merely a championship contest, but a race that helps shape the breed by identifying entire horses, colts and fillies capable of influencing pedigrees beyond their racing days. Magnier also reached for family history to make the point, recalling the view of his father-in-law, the legendary Vincent O’Brien. “My father-in-law used to always say that if he was training a yard of geldings the bookmakers would be in worse trouble!” France Galop has presented the proposed reform in very different terms, describing it as a landmark decision and part of its ambition to establish the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as the undisputed global benchmark in Flat racing. Should 2026 become the final Arc run without geldings, Coolmore may yet have a powerful chance to preserve the older model with another victory, as Paddy Power has last year’s winner Daryz at 7-2, followed by Coolmore-owned Minnie Hauk at 8-1 and Constitution River and Diamond Necklace at 10-1, giving Magnier’s team three of the first four in the market. 
  • Crawford Can Land Another Blow at Sha Tin

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A public holiday card rich with emerging talent gives Brett Crawford another chance to press his early Hong Kong claims on Wednesday, when Public Attention steps up to 1400 metres in the Class 2 Hong Kong Reunification Cup Handicap at Sha Tin. The first-season trainer has made a bright start in his new jurisdiction and the New Zealand-bred son of Written Tycoon, already a Group 3 winner in Australia, still counts as a young horse by Hong Kong standards at four, with the scope to turn consistency into a first local win. Public Attention has placed four times from seven Hong Kong starts and has shaped encouragingly in two outings since joining Crawford, who believes the grey is ready to show further improvement over a more suitable distance. "I've been very happy with his two runs in the yard so far," Crawford said. "I think he's going to be much better and I'm looking forward to seeing him run over the 1400." Karis Teetan, who enjoyed Group 1 success for Crawford in South Africa before establishing himself in Hong Kong, takes the ride from gate five and is also expecting the rise in trip to suit. "Stepping up in distance will help him. He comes here with a beautiful weight on his back and a nice draw. I think he has a good opportunity," Teetan said. "His progression has been good, and we are happy with him." Rated 82, Public Attention meets a competitive field of nine rivals headed in the weights by Packing Hermod with 61kg and Invincible Shield with 60.5kg, while Storm Rider carries 59kg, Gorgeous Win 55kg, Emblazon and Top Dragon 54kg, Beauty Bolt 53kg, Regal Gem 52.5kg and Ka Ying Attack 52kg. The same Sha Tin programme comes as Hong Kong's brightest sprinting star, Ka Ying Rising, begins building towards a return to Australia for the Gr1 The Everest over 1200 metres. Trainer David Hayes said the Shamexpress gelding is in excellent order as he prepares for the opening day of the 2026-27 season before travelling to Sydney. "He's in great shape. He's doing strong canters at the moment. He'll start doing three-quarter pace at the end of the week and gradually build up to The Everest," Hayes said. The plan is to mirror last season's approach, with a Sha Tin run followed by Australia, and Hayes said two trials, one on turf and one on dirt, would sharpen a horse who has returned from his spell heavier and stronger at around 530.5kg.

    Brett Crawford

    Brett Crawford has made himself at home in Hong Kong (pic: hkjc.com)
  • Golden Tempo Skipping Dandy for Travers

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A patient path to Saratoga’s summer showpiece has replaced a planned stepping stone for Golden Tempo, with trainer Cherie DeVaux confirming the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner will miss the Gr2 Jim Dandy Stakes on August 1 and train up to the $1.25 million Gr1 Travers Stakes on August 29. The Curlin colt, a homebred for Phipps Stable and St Elias Stable, had been expected to use the $500,000 Jim Dandy as his lead-in to the Travers, but, according to Horse Racing Nation, a minor illness has cost him about 10 days of work and left DeVaux unwilling to force a schedule that no longer fits. Speaking to FanDuel TV’s Caton Bredar at Churchill Downs, DeVaux made it clear the issue was not serious, only inconvenient, and that the colt’s welfare remained the stable’s guiding principle. “He got a little sick, so we're probably going to end up skipping the Jim Dandy and train right up to the Travers,” DeVaux said. “He's fine, but the timeline isn't going to suit us to get there, and we'll continue to do what got us here and put him first.” The adjustment means Golden Tempo will tackle the Travers off a break rather than with the benefit of a Saratoga prep run, a scenario his trainer had not mapped out but one she is prepared to manage. “We're going to come off a layoff, and that wasn't really by design. But it's the hand we've been dealt,” DeVaux said. “We have all the confidence in Golden Tempo's abilities, and it's just up to us and our team to get him there and have him ready to go.” The update came during a reflective return to Churchill Downs for DeVaux and the colt’s owners, who visited the Kentucky Derby Museum for a private tour of the revamped Winner’s Circle exhibit honouring Golden Tempo’s Derby success. The display includes a replica horse remade in his likeness, his halter, and the red blazer and custom shoes DeVaux wore on Derby day, providing a chance to pause after a hectic few weeks. “Walking through the museum has really brought, I think all of us, back to a few weeks ago where Golden Tempo won the Derby,” DeVaux said. “It's been a really busy few weeks since, so I've been looking forward to coming here and just letting it all sink in.”
  • Pride’s Poison Chalice in Winter Stakes Mix

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A familiar Winter Stakes force will arrive at Rosehill with strength in numbers on Saturday, as Joe Pride chases another win in the $200,000 Listed 1400-metre feature with Cool Jakey, Accredited and Poison Chalice, reports racingnews.co.nz. The Warwick Farm trainer has made a habit of striking in the race, winning it last year with Estadio Mestalla (see below) after first taking it three years earlier with Taksu, and while he is again well armed, he is not expecting a soft target in a race that has drawn 23 nominations. “They've been competitive these races this time of year, the winter noms this year have been really strong I feel, and that lead-up the other day was a good, strong race,” Pride said. “I wouldn't expect it's an easy race, but they're competitive older horses.” Pride’s team gives him options across a range of surfaces, which could be important with Rosehill rated a Soft 6 last Saturday, showers forecast from Tuesday to Thursday and clearer weather expected on Friday and raceday. Cool Jakey, a son of Pierro who comes through a third placing behind Midnight Dynamite in the Listed Civic Stakes, would be best served by genuine give in the ground, while Accredited, by All Too Hard, is at his most effective when tracks firm back towards Good range. Poison Chalice, the New Zealand-bred son of Savabeel, offers a more flexible profile and is expected to handle either wet or dry conditions. “A wet track would be lovely for him, he's an absolute swimmer,” Pride said of Cool Jakey. “But I've got him and Accredited and one wants it really wet and one doesn't, so someone will be really happy. The last thing you want is two who want the same thing because you know what will happen then.” The main opposition may include Bjorn Baker’s in-form pair War Eternal and Midnight Dynamite, with the latter already having the Civic Stakes form around Cool Jakey, but Pride’s interest also extends to learning more about Poison Chalice, who is second-up for the stable after finishing 12th, beaten 6-1/2 lengths, in the Civic Stakes at his first run since arriving from Victoria. “I think he's going to be a decent horse for the stable, I've just got to get in and around his head and see what makes him tick,” Pride said. Bred by Waikato Stud and raced by the Ultra Horse Syndicate, Poison Chalice was bought for A$350,000 at the 2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and Saturday gives Pride another chance to assess where he fits while pursuing a race that has become a reliable winter hunting ground.

  • Rodd Shares Strong Belief in Anemacore

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A home-track Listed assignment at the Sunshine Coast will ask Anemacore to combine all his talent with all his toughness, and Michael Rodd is confident the gelding will empty himself in Saturday’s Glasshouse Handicap over 1400 metres if he can be kept comfortable through the run. The Shaun Dwyer-trained galloper has had more than his share of setbacks, reveals racenet.com.au, including a bleeding attack and a back issue, but he has continued to race with admirable consistency and retains the turn of foot that makes him dangerous against the likes of Bjorn Baker’s in-form Sydney visitor Midnight Dynamite. Rodd, who won the 2007 Melbourne Cup aboard Efficient, has partnered Anemacore in five of his six wins and knows better than most that the gelding can require careful handling, particularly when he hits a flat patch around the 600 metres as he changes legs. “You know that wherever you are, he's going to give you his best and that's enough to win a Glasshouse for sure,” Rodd said. “As long as you can get him out and get him comfortable, because he can lose his action a little bit through the run. He normally does that around the 600m mark, just when he goes to change legs. He's not an easy horse to ride but if you can get him comfortable and get him going through his gears then you'll definitely see the best of him.” Anemacore’s most recent victory came in the Listed Sunshine Coast Cup over 1400 metres on January 24, and he again advertised his quality when close up in the $1 million The Archer over 1300 metres at Rockhampton early last month. The barrier draw on Wednesday will be important because he can miss the start and drift back, leaving Rodd needing to balance patience with the need to keep the leaders within range. “But he's got an amazing turn of foot,” Rodd said. “If he's not too far off them on Saturday and he's travelling and he's feeling good then he'll be very hard to beat.” Dwyer, already a dual Gr1-winning trainer, is looking beyond the winter if Anemacore continues to progress, with the $1.5 million Gr1 Epsom Handicap over 1600 metres at Randwick in October among the races under consideration. “I've probably got three or four horses that could go on a flight down there in the spring, if they measure up to what I think they will,” Dwyer said. “He's quite an amazing horse. He just eats and works and does his job. People keep telling me he's a great sprinter but this horse, if I could get him to 2400m, he'd be as good as anything, certainly up here.”
  • Flemington Finals Day to Offer Spring Clues

    Wednesday, 1st July 2026
    A winter meeting at Flemington can often look modest when measured against the glare of spring, but, according to racing.com, recent history suggests Saturday’s Finals Day card may again contain form worth remembering well beyond July. Several races on the program have become reliable launching pads for horses capable of progressing to Group company, and in some cases all the way to Gr1 success, with names such as Nature Strip, Gytrash, Tuvalu and Apache Cat having used this part of the calendar as a stepping stone to far bigger prizes. The Winter Championship Series Final over 1600 metres has its own spring relevance, most notably through Tuvalu, who won the race for Lindsey Smith in 2022, had a short break and returned to claim the Gr1 Toorak Handicap at Caulfield two starts later. Other winners of the mile final have also advertised the race’s strength, with Reykjavik taking out the 2019 edition before winning the Gr3 Chatham Stakes during Melbourne Cup week, Magic Consol using his 2018 victory as the springboard to a next-start win in the Gr2 Feehan Stakes, and Sircconi becoming Gr2-placed two starts after his 2020 success for Nick Ryan. Royal Symphony’s 2017 Finals Day win also belongs in that conversation, as he later finished fourth behind Winx in the Cox Plate, while Buffalo River, Ability, Front Page and Cherry Tortoni all went on to make their mark at Group level after winning at the meeting. The Creswick Stakes has been especially potent in recent seasons, producing Nature Strip in 2018 and Gytrash in 2019, both of whom later became Gr1 winners, with Gytrash landing the Lightning Stakes just two starts after his Flemington winter success. More recent Creswick winners have gone desperately close to joining them at the top level, with last year’s winner Bridal Waltz beaten on the line by Geegees Mistruth in the Sangster Stakes in April, while Right To Party, the 2024 winner, was edged out by Sunshine In Paris in the VRC Champions Sprint later that year. Passive Aggressive, the 2022 winner, adds further depth to a recent honour roll that also includes Renosu, Free To Move, Front Page, Highland Beat and Lord Von Costa, reinforcing the idea that this sprint is one of the sharper winter pointers on the Flemington calendar. The juvenile features have provided their own spring clues, and the Taj Rossi Series Final, formerly the Gibson Carmichael Stakes, has been a particularly productive race for Billy Egan and Patrick Payne, who have combined to win three of the past six editions, including with Cherry Tortoni. They are set to reunite in Saturday’s renewal with Give It A Year, giving punters another reason to treat the day as more than a winter finale. The Spring Carnival may still feel distant, but Finals Day has repeatedly shown that horses capable of winning at headquarters in the cold can reappear when the stakes, and the lights, are much brighter.

    Gytrash

    Gytrash used Finals Day as a Spring stepping stone (pic: Mark Gatt)

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
Toronado Established
Trapeze Artist Established
Tropicus 1st Season
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