Cover image courtesy of Off The Track

In The Thoroughbred Report’s ‘Industry Profiles’, TTR AusNZ speaks to trailblazers and the unsung heroes of our diverse and vibrant racing community. Thoroughbreds have a unique ability to unite people from all walks of life, and everyone involved in racing shares one common bond — the love of the horse.

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With this in mind, this segment celebrates the diversity of the industry while exploring the careers and future plans of its established personalities.

In Friday’s edition of The Thoroughbred Report, we profile Lisa Coffey of Racing Hearts Therapy to learn about her early life and what inspired her to start the organisation.

A love of horses

Coffey was born in Ireland and didn’t grow up with horses, but her love for them began after a trail ride in Spain. “I’ve ridden since I was about 12, but I came from a family that wasn’t wealthy, and we didn’t have any horses or experience with them,” she explained.

Coffey shared how her family took in students for additional income, which led to her discovery of horses. “We hosted a Spanish student during the summer holidays, and they invited me to their home in Spain. They paid for me to visit one summer, and during the trip, they took me on a trail ride. I was absolutely hooked from that moment and just couldn’t get enough. Every time they asked what I wanted to do for the day, I kept asking to go back to the horse-riding centre.”

Upon her return to Ireland, Coffey pestered her parents for riding lessons. “I begged them to let me have lessons, but we just couldn’t afford it. Eventually, I think I annoyed them enough that they found a lady up the road whose son had competed in eventing at the junior European level. She kindly offered to teach me how to ride if I helped muck out the stables and care for the horses.”

This early opportunity set Coffey on her path. “They were so kind to me. I spent all my summer holidays living with them, stayed over on weekends, and would get off the bus after school to head to their place. They even took me to pony club because I didn’t have a float. They ultimately just adopted me.”

Riding leads to racing

Coffey explained how her journey in competitive riding eventually led her into the racing world. “I was older and had been competing a lot, but after surgery, I struggled to get fit again. One day, a friend who’s a jockey’s agent dropped by for a coffee to see how I was doing. I complained about my fitness struggles post-surgery, and he mentioned a local racehorse trainer who was looking for riders.

“I said, 'I’ve no idea how to ride racehorses with the short stirrups and those little saddles.' But he assured me they’d teach me, and since it was a National Hunt yard, the horses were older, and the saddles weren’t quite as small, so it was more manageable.

“The trainer’s name was Niall Madden. His son, Tom Madden, has since moved to Australia and is actually riding in Victoria. Their family were so good to me—they taught me how to ride racehorses and gave me the opportunity to train for my jump jockey's licence.”

Melbourne Cup brings Coffey to Australia

Up until this point, Coffey had remained in Europe and had the unique opportunity to travel with Aidan O’Brien’s impressive fleet of thoroughbreds. “I was working for a French horse transport company that had the contract for Coolmore. My job was to organise the planes and travel to races with Aidan O’Brien’s racehorses.

“I did that for a couple of years, and it really gave me the bug for travelling. I was quite new to racing at the time, so I hadn’t realised how different countries have different training techniques, or the big differences between jump and flat racing.”

When asked what inspired her to move to Australia, Coffey explained it came down to one particularly miserable morning of weather. “I was riding out one morning, and I think I went through three or four sets of waterproofs, and I just thought, ‘There has to be more to life than this.’

“So, I literally googled ‘horse racing jobs in the sun’ and had a choice between America and Australia. The only thing I knew about Australian racing was this fabulous event called ‘The Melbourne Cup Carnival’ in the spring, and I thought, ‘Well, that sounds very fancy and glamorous,’ and I wanted to see how things were done in Australia.

“So, it was the Melbourne Cup that brought me here!”

Coffey packed her saddle and boots and landed at the stables of Champion Trainer Peter Moody, back when he was still based at Caulfield. At the time, Caulfield had on-course training and was also home to Ciaron Maher and Mick Price, both of whom Coffey rode for. “I rode for Peter Moody, and what we’d often do at Caulfield was, if we finished riding for our trainers, we’d go and help other trainers.

"So, I rode for Ciaron Maher, and then for Mick Price for quite a while as well.”

Gap in mental health support leads to Racing Hearts

Coffey was working at Racing Victoria when she became aware of the gaps in the industry’s mental health support for all participants. “I had my counselling qualifications from Ireland before I came to Australia, but I had never formally used them. I was actually working full-time at Racing Victoria, where I was offered a job teaching stable hands, track riders, and creating pathways for the apprentice jockey program.

“There was a noticeable gap in the industry for mental health support, especially for the day-to-day stable staff. While the jockeys had access to a psychologist, the trainers had no one to turn to despite being under significant pressure. Likewise, the stable staff, who were also under strain, had no mental health support.

“The industry was really lacking in mental health services across the states and nationally, and there was a big need for it, especially considering the long hours, physical labour, and wages that weren’t always great—it could be a tough gig.”

Recognising the need for more support for vulnerable people in the industry, Coffey felt inspired to make a change. “I decided to build on my counselling degree and pursued a psychology degree through Monash University. At the same time, Racing Victoria started their Off-The-Track program, and I had a small role in helping get that off the ground.

“One of the issues I felt they faced was a gap in their rehoming program for horses that weren’t very athletic—those who couldn’t be ridden regularly or weren’t considered ‘pretty’ enough for showing.

“These horses were falling through the cracks because they had limited options for rehoming, particularly older horses. I realised that these horses, with their profiles, could be absolutely perfect for equine-assisted therapy, and that’s how I started it all!”

Racing Hearts starts up

As Coffey’s time at Racing Victoria was coming to a close, she began to sense where her true calling lay. “My time at Racing Victoria was naturally winding down,” she explained, “I felt like I had given all I could within the limits of what I was and wasn’t allowed to do in the organisation.

“I really wanted to dive into the mental health space, so I just started Racing Hearts with two retired racehorses at home, and it grew very quickly from there.”

Racing Hearts catered to horses that weren’t suited for eventing careers but were much better matched to life as therapy companions. “It’s not something that’s talked about enough—the horses that become pleasure horses, trail riding horses, paddock companions, or in our case, therapy companions.

“We’ve had horses that we’ve sold for a dollar to clients as companions, and we’ve also re-homed horses for some of our clients. Sometimes these horses can be ridden, but often the clients don’t feel the need to ride them—they just love the horse and the energy it brings. People form deep connections with horses, just like they do with dogs or cats.

“I really believe there are probably more of these kinds of horses than the athletic ones, and I’d love to see more attention given to what a horse can provide in terms of therapy and companionship. Horses can save lives—they’re just larger than a cat or dog and take up more space, but they are equally capable of offering that same level of companionship.”

Challenges of starting a business

Beginning a business in any area isn’t easy, and Coffey learnt some valuable lessons, “The financial challenge has been the biggest one. I started off Racing Hearts as a just a proprietary limited because I was always going to go down the charity route, but I didn’t want to register as a charity starting off because I wanted to make sure that it was actually going to work as a business model before trying to turn it into a charity.

“We have to feed live animals, and if I was relying on donations and they didn’t come in for whatever reason then I’d be really struck and so I just had to try it as a business model first and it worked really well.

“I’ve also had to learn along the way about taking on too many horses and having some boundaries around taking horses from people for free. We don’t take horses for free anymore and we encourage everybody to not take horses for free because the more retrainers keep taking horses for free the more owners will just keep discarding them.

“So that was a big challenge and then trying to find where our income stream was going to come from because even though our clients were paying for their sessions, there’s all the insurance, which is higher when working with animals.

“When I started to employ staff we had all the other costs that come with that, and horses they take a bit to feed and need room, so we had been renting a property in Melbourne but we just go so big we had to rent a new property, so the rent and as well as having to fix that property up and the maintenance; it was a lot, however I think I’ve had a similar learning curve to anybody who’s started up a new business in a new country for the first time.”

Another challenge that Coffey faced was navigating a team of people, “I was also probably in a bit of a hurry to employ certain staff instead of being a good leader or a good manager and just take my time to employ a really good team and get on top of toxic behaviour quickly I just employed people who were qualified and had experience as opposed to really taking note of their personalities and how they were going to fit in as a team.

“There were a couple of phases where the culture of the staff has been very, very toxic and it has been a big learning curve for me to have to deal with that as I never had to before. Now having the centre in Queensland I’ve been really careful about who I employ and who volunteer’s as I just won’t tolerate any kind of toxicity anymore.

“It was quite an emotional learning curse rather than the financial; because people either want to donate or they don’t and I’m not precious about people wanting to part with their money if they don’t have any emotional attachment to our cause.

“That’s fine. We’re also a new charity and we’re gaining momentum in terms of partners and supporters really quickly, which is great because we’re only going into our fifth year of operation and we’ve got some heavy hitters from the racing and breeding industry backing us or that have come on board, so I’m very, very grateful.”

Learning curves and looking ahead

As Coffey navigated her business, she came to realise the complexities of applying a blanket approach to governing racing in Australia. “Racing Hearts operates in four states, and I used to be the first person beating the drum, saying, ‘Why can’t we just have a national approach where every state does the same thing?’ I still believe we need a national approach, especially for traceability.

“However, after working with four different PRAs, I now understand why, from a practical point of view, states can’t always do exactly the same thing. For example, in the Northern Territory, it’s incredibly hot, and the equestrian community is small, with limited options for horses when they retire.

“Their model involves funding to transport horses out of the Northern Territory, which is the best option for them, and we’ve established a great partnership as a result. Racing Queensland has also been incredible—I can’t speak highly enough about their off-the-track program, which has an independent body, and one of its key principles is that funding must go directly to the horses.”

Looking to the future, Coffey hopes to raise more awareness about the companionship potential of thoroughbreds and to ensure these horses are well cared for in their post-racing lives. She believes this shouldn’t be up for debate—owners and participants should naturally want to support their horses in thriving after racing. “I’d love for Racing Hearts to no longer be something ‘new’ that I have to explain, especially within the racing industry. There are a lot of people who are now aware of what we do, but one of the most important things has been the help from race clubs and sponsors in connecting me with media, journalists, wealthy owners, and influencers.

“Often, that’s been more valuable than a race club depositing $20,000 into my account, as it allows me to build those networks. There are hundreds of thousands of owners in this country, and I constantly find myself explaining at races what Racing Hearts is. I’d love for it to be common knowledge that we’re a national charity helping people with physical and mental disabilities through work with retired racehorses.

"My goal is for Racing Hearts to become an international model, delivering the program in other countries. I had my own challenges growing up, and I can honestly say horses probably saved my life on many occasions. Knowing what my childhood was like and the limited pathways available to me, I want to help both people and horses.

“One thing I think is often undervalued about the thoroughbred, compared to other breeds, is their connection to humans. They’re handled from the moment they take their first breath, so their brains develop attachments not only to their mothers but also to humans. They grow up being able to read people as well as they read each other.

“This is a huge difference with thoroughbreds. Another topic I keep hearing about is the ‘social licence to operate’—it’s a buzzword right now. But instead of just focusing on public perception, we should be doing the right thing by these horses that bring us so much joy in the sport.

“There are so many great people in racing, and I wouldn’t have met half of them if I hadn’t moved to Australia and gotten involved in racing. It’s a wonderful way to meet people, and we should all band together to give these horses the retirement they deserve.

“There is, unfortunately, some ‘window dressing’ with certain off-the-track programs that lack substance, and that frustrates me. I’m sure it’s not simple, but we’ve been so innovative in creating syndications, micro-shares, and ownership opportunities. Why can’t we find a way to create a retirement fund for every thoroughbred born? It might be complicated to set up, but it surely can’t be that difficult.

“Racing has evolved over the decades. It was once the ‘Sport of Kings’, where the wealthy owned the horses, and the poor looked after them. But people have been clever in developing new ownership models. Let’s explore ways to support every thoroughbred.”

Cover image courtesy of Two Bays Farm

Located at Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula and established in 2012, Two Bays Farm is a purpose built facility set on 200 acres named after the Two Bays Walking Trail which runs near the base of the picturesque farm.

Two Bays enjoyed a good recent sales season, at the Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale selling six youngsters with four of those fetching six figure sums including a $250,000 Zoustar colt out of the Group 3 placed multiple city winner News Girl (Magnus) and a $230,000 Street Boss (USA) colt out of the metropolitan winner Foxpack (Foxwedge), full sister to the Listed winner Kentucky Miss.

And as agent at the Inglis Melbourne Premier they sold an Alabama Express filly out of the city winner Lucy's Look (Lonhro) to the Waterhouse & Bott stable for $370,000; that two-year-old named Shangri La Rose.

A fresh approach

With the aim of competing at the top end of the market, Two Bays have taken a "fresh" approach to their broodmare band with Carlile describing the current group of mares as “hands down the best we've had on the farm."

And there is more to come with Two Bays "proactive on the racing side of things," racing a number of nicely bred fillies with ability who will be nice additions to the farm in the future.

Such as the very promising Hurricane Georgie (Toronado {Ire}) who created a big impression leading throughout to an easy win at Sandown recently.

A $200,000 purchase at last year's Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, she is a half-sister to the G3 Spring S. winner Pierossa (Pierro), the Listed winner Ploverset (Street Boss) and to the dam of the G3 Thoroughbred Breeders S. winner Bossy Nic (Nicconi).

Also showing talent is last weekend's Seymour winner Bay Of Zea (Shalaa {Ire}), a $420,000 Magic Millions graduate from the family of Joliestar (Zoustar).

Nudge due to Zoustar

In the meantime Two Bays have nine foals coming this spring with excitement surrounding the arrival (due at the end of this month) of a second Zoustar for the G3 Pam O'Neill S. winner Nudge (Fastnet Rock).

Her first foal, a filly by Zoustar, arrived last spring and has impressed; "she is a really good first foal," Carlile noted, adding that whilst no definite decision has been made for Nudge's 2024 mating, Toronado (Ire) is high on the list.

“He is a stallion who has really been on the rise and he suits her physically,” he said, taking note of the success of the Sadler's Wells (USA)/Fastnet Rock combination including two stakes winners by Toronado out of Fastnet Rock mares.

Second to Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) in the 2021 G1 Tattersall's Tiara, Nudge is a half-sister to the dual Group 1 winner Julinsky Prince (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) out of the triple Listed winner Julinsky Princess (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}).

A lovely Pinatubo filly

Already at foot is a Pinatubo (Ire) filly for the G2 Queen Of The South S. winner Shrouded In Mist (Exceed And Excel), a mare who has not had a great deal of luck so far.

“She is a lovely filly,” Carlile said, looking forward to Shrouded In Mist's date with Toronado.

“She is quite a tall Exceed And Excel, a big roomy girl and Toronado seems to like mares like that.”

Shrouded In Mist is one of the three stakes winners produced by the dual Group winner De Lago Mist (Encosta de Lago), dam of another Queen Of The South winner in Into The Mist (Redoute's Choice) and also of the triple Listed winner Instinction.

Mates for the maiden mares

Two Bays have enjoyed the process of figuring out the first mates for their maiden mares, such as the G2 Moonee Valley Fillies Classic winner Zoe's Promise (Swear) who was purchased from an Inglis Digital Sale for $200,000 in August and who heads to Street Boss.

“We are keen on sending a nice young mare like her to a proven stallion to give her a chance and Street Boss is such a good, solid stallion who has been going from strength to strength,” said Carlile.

“And she suits him on type, she is a lovely mare with good length and strength,” he said of the daughter of the American stakes winner Kinz Funky Monkey (USA) (The Green Monkey {USA}).

Also visiting Street Boss will be News Girl who fared so well at the sales with her Zoustar colt.

“We like Street Boss' strength for her,” said Carlile, describing the full sister to the Listed Creswick S. and dual The Kosciuszko winner Front Page (who again aims for that rich race) as "a sharp mare from a classy family."

Pierata makes sense

Another recent purchase for Two Bays was the Group 3 placed Sensical (Zoustar) who was secured at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $725,000.

Due to visit Pierata, she is described by Carlile as "a lovely, big, tall athletic mare who really covers the ground as you'd expect for a daughter of Zoustar out of a Not A Single Doubt mare."

“She is a really well framed mare with good bone Pierata is going really well so he is a good prospect for her in her first year at stud.”

Sensical is a daughter of the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic and G3 Red Anchor S. winner Karuta Queen (Not A Single Doubt) who has also produced the Listed Bill Carter S. winner Eawase (Sebring).

Also purchased at the Gold Coast was Red Rubi (Rubick), a $370,000 triple city winning full sister to the G2 Sheraco S. winner Shades Of Rose and half-sister to the G3 Shaftesbury Avenue H. and five time Listed winner Scallopini (Snitzel).

Cylinder has been chosen as her mate with Carlile noting that "he complements her physically and genetically."

“She is a good running mare and he is a lovely walker with good hip and strength an she probably needs a bit of that for her first mating.”

Nice mares from the Magic Millions

Yet another good Magic Millions buy was the $350,000 mare Miss Ella (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}), a Listed winning daughter of the G1 Queensland Oaks runner-up Zenella (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) from the Tristalove (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}) branch of the Eight Carat (GB) (Pieces Of Eight {Ire}) family.

Purchased in partnership with Widden Stud, she visits their four time Group 1 winner Trapeze Artist.

Also bought with Widden, for $450,000 at last year's National, was Xtravagant Star (Xtravagant {NZ}), the RL Inglis Millennium winner who they raced on to another couple of metropolitan victories.

Described as "a lovely style of mare," she visits Zoustar with this mating the sort "that could produce anything," Carlile enthused.

“Farm favourite” Alcatraz (Fastnet Rock) has done a good job with her two stakes winners Kubrick (Shooting To Win) and Bundle Of Fun (Written Tycoon) and the 14-year-old visits Blue Point (Ire) with Two Bays confident that he is a horse on the up.

“They are getting better with time and he is a solid match for her, we'd be happy with a colt or a filly,” Carlile said.

Decisions on which Two Bays mares go to which stallions are made by what Carlile jokingly described as "a meeting of the masterminds!"

“It is a three way discussion between myself, Ross and our agent Louis Le Metayer. We go backwards and forwards a bit and spend time in New South Wales getting to know the stallions.

“We like things to come together in regards to both pedigree and type and then we cross our fingers for a bit of luck!”

Table: Two Bays Farm breeding plans for 2024

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

The Thoroughbred Report looks at the spring plans of some of the best-performed juvenile fillies from last season.

Of the five Group 1 races for 2-year-olds in 2023/24, two went to colts and the rest went to fillies. Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) won the G1 Golden Slipper, Manaal (Tassort) won the G1 Sires’ Produce S. and Hayasugi (Royal Meeting {Ire}) won the G1 Blue Diamond S.

After the Manikato, Hayasugi faces a fork in the road

Clinton McDonald’s star juvenile filly Hayasugi, whose name means ‘very fast’ in Japanese, resumed at three in the G1 AJ Moir S. running second to Mornington Glory (Shalaa {Ire}). “She’ll run in the Manikato, then she faces a fork in the road, whether she heads to the Everest or a Guineas Prelude,” said McDonald. “There’s a few options, and I’m not 100% certain on the Everest. Perhaps she could do the Guineas Prelude over 1400, then come back (in distance) to the Coolmore. If she won the Manikato well, there’s also the option of the Champion Sprint at a low weight. We need to get through the Manikato first.”

Hayasugi was a $47,500 weanling purchase by James Bester Bloodstock, Rathosheen Bloodstock and C Mok from Fairhill Farm at the Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale. She debuted as an early 2-year-old in the R-Listed Inglis Banner 2YO S. running second to Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau). Fourth in the G3 Ottawa S, Hayasugi then strung together three wins in succession, all in group company culminating in the G1 Blue Diamond. The G1 Golden Slipper wasn’t her day and she concluded her juvenile season with three wins from six starts.

The stable also has 3-year-old filly Andrina (Written Tycoon) who won on debut on Wednesday at Sandown. “She won yesterday and is a nice filly. Let’s see how she comes through yesterday. There’s a nice race at Caulfield (in a couple of weeks) and then the Moonee Valley Classic for 3-year-old fillies over 1600 metres, or maybe the Edward Manifold if the field is lighter.”

Andrina, a $180,000 purchase by her trainer from Noorilim Park at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale is the first foal for her unplaced dam Rock The Sea (NZ) (Fastnet Rock) who is a half-sister to No More Tears (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) who is the Group 3 winning dam of G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner Ozzmosis (Zoustar) who has recently retired to stud. This is the outstanding Hips Don’t Lie family of Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}) and Acrobat.

Bold Bastille has the Asfoora problem

It has been well documented that Henry Dwyer took Asfoora (Flying Artie) to Royal Ascot because there weren’t many options for sprinting mares at 1000 metres in Melbourne. While TTR AusNZ are not suggesting that Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau) will head to Ascot, Lindsay Park’s racing manager Dom Rhoden did mention the same programming issue in relation to their star 3-year-old filly.

“She’s come through her run in good order and will head toward the Scarborough at The Valley. We’ll see how she goes at 1200m, would love to keep her at 1000m, but the options limited at that trip, and there’s more at 1200m,” said Rhoden. Bold Bastille ran second in the Listed Cap D’Antibes S. last start over 1100 metres, and previously had won four of her five starts at two. She ran fourth to future Group 1 winner Mornington Glory (Shalaa {Ire}) in her first run as a 3-year-old.

One to watch for the longer term is Listed Taj Rossi Series Final winner Jenni’s Meadow (Brutal {NZ}). “She will kick off on Saturday in the Jim Maloney, then progress to something like the Edward Manifold on Turnbull Day. We think she is probably a Wakeful type, and are hoping she can stay the Oaks trip.”

Jenni’s Meadow won on debut as a December 2-year-old, then had four unplaced efforts including a couple of fourth placings, before bookending her juvenile season with the Listed win. In winning the Taj Rossi, she became the first stakes winner for Brutal who has 11 winners from his first crop.

Second to Jenni’s Meadow in the Taj Rossi was stablemate Sneaky Sunrise (The Autumn Sun), who won twice as a late 2-year-old. The Autumn Sun had a fantastic time with last season’s 3-year-olds, siring three Group 1 winning fillies, which surely puts Sneaky Sunrise into many punter’s black books. “She had a little setback with a virus. We are on top of that now and she’ll kick off in about three weeks in the Thousand Guineas Prelude.”

“We have several maidens who could quickly progress, but it’s hard to pick any of them at this stage. Hopefully something pops up in the next fortnight.”

Million dollar Sakima: ‘best is yet to come’

Sakima (Snitzel) was a $1.25million purchase at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Snowden Racing along with William Johnson Bloodstock (FBAA) and Trilogy Racing. She ran fifth on debut in March then was put away until July where she won a juvenile race in Sydney. Back at three, she has had two starts, mostly recently running third in the Listed Atlantic Jewel S.

“She runs in the Jim Maloney on Saturday. She’s come through well with a good run last start and steps up to 7 furlongs. It was good to get a black type placing in the Atlantic Jewel,” said Snowden Racing’s Colum McCullagh.

“The best is yet to come in the autumn for her.”

Currently a winner from five starts with two placings, Sakima is a half-sister to Group 2 placed winner Bourbon War (USA) (Tapit {USA}) and R-Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic-runner up and race winner Russian Conquest (Russian Revolution). Her dam, My Conquestadory (USA) (Artie Schiller {USA}) won the G1 Keeneland Alcibiades S. at two and placed in the G1 Del Mar Oaks at three. My Conquestadory is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Runinsonofagun (USA) (Gun Runner {USA}).

I Am Invincible fillies dominate for Maher

The Ciaron Maher stable won the G2 Reisling S. last season with Erno’s Cube (Rubick). She ran fourth at her first start at three in the G2 Silver Shadow S. and is nominated for this Saturday’s G2 Tea Rose S. “She’s a nice filly. After the Tea Rose, she’ll head to the 1000 Guineas, or perhaps the Flight S,” said stable representative Will Bourne.

“We have a lot of Vinnie fillies, especially Sensational Wind and the one out of Fenway, but they’ll all take a bit of time. They have had a few starts, yet to win but you can see like Marabi and I Am Me that they’ve given us confidence that they’ll achieve something in time.”

Sensational Wind (I Am Invincible) ran fifth on debut in July and trialled since then at three. She is the third foal of G1 Australian Oaks winner Gust Of Wind (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}), and her year older half-brother Transatlantic (Snitzel) won at two and three and placed in the Listed Daybreak Lover S. two starts ago. Sensational Wind was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for $1.1million from the Segenhoe Stud draft at the 2023 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

G1 Vinery Stud S. winner Fenway (High Chaparral {Ire})’s 3-year-old filly, Qatars Choice (I Am Invincible) ran third on debut on the last day of her 2-year-old season, then was seventh last start. She was purchased by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock and David Redvers Bloodstock for $975,000 from Arrowfield Stud’s 2023 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale draft and she is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Williamsburg (Snitze), who has won five races and ran third last start in the 2024 Listed Rowley Mile.

Lilac best of Neasham’s Melbourne fillies

Another one in the Listed Jim Maloney field is Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald trained Lilac (Justify {USA}). “She’s had two starts this prep and was narrowly beaten second up by a good horse. She runs in the Jim Maloney.”

Fourth at her only start at two, Lilac won her first start at three, then was second to 3-year-old colt Private Life (Written Tycoon) last start. Private Life has won two of his three starts, all in the city, for trainer Chris Waller. Private Life runs in Saturday’s G3 Caulfield Guineas.

Lilac was a NZ$300,000 purchase by Champion Thoroughbreds and Annabel Neasham at the NZB National Yearling Sale, and is the second foal of Paulownia (Fastnet Rock), a Group 2 placed winning full sister to Group 1 winner and successful sire Foxwedge and Listed winner She’s A Fox.