A new chapter begins: Gooree Park opens its doors to a more commercial future

Cover image courtesy of Gooree Park

Gooree Park’s red and black striped colours have graced the winner’s circle in most of Australia’s great races, and their impressive list of top flight winners include Don Eduardo (NZ), Desert War (Desert King {Ire}), Northern Meteor, Laser Hawk (Artie Schiller {USA}), Hallowed Crown, Your Song, Prized Icon, and Tropical Squall (Prized Icon).

Original owner Eduardo Cojuangco, who died in 2020, was inducted into the Racing Hall Of Fame in 2015. He created Gooree Park by combining the historic properties of Cullenbone, Biraganbil, and Galambine, and the property, which is also a vineyard, is still run by his family.

“I used to manage Gooree Park for 40 years, and now I’m consulting for them. I live very close by and am part of the Gooree fabric,” said Andrew Baddock. Baddock went into semi-retirement after Cojuangco’s death, but then moved into bloodstock consulting work for Edinglassie Farm and then for John Singleton’s Strawberry Hills Stud.

Now he’s focused on his own horses property in Mudgee and back at Gooree in a consulting role, and with his long tenure at the farm, he brings a steady guiding hand backed by his extensive experience.

In 2023, the farm opened their doors to outside clients, under the management of Cojuangco’s granddaughter Michelle Juban, and began operating on a more commercial basis.

“We’ve wound right back in terms of numbers of racehorses since Mr Cojuangco died. Now they have a joint venture partnership with Newgate with several mares residing there and operating on a foal share basis. We’ve been successful selling the progeny of those mares, and we have several mares at Gooree who walk out too,” said Baddock.

“We still race a few horses, but not as many as before. Lonhro’s Queen is going well, and Compelling Truth is a very well bred horse by I Am Invincible from our good mare Speak Fondly. He’s a good sprinter who will run in Brisbane next Saturday.”

Gallery: Some of the horses raced by Gooree Park

Compelling Truth (I Am Invincible) has won 11 of his 23 starts for trainer Mack Griffith. He is a 5-year-old gelded son of G1 Flight Stakes winner Speak Fondly (Northern Meteor) who was raced by Gooree Park. Lonhro’s Queen (Lonhro) is a 4-year-old mare who has won six of her 15 starts for trainer Cameron Crockett in Scone.

At its peak, Gooree Park had upwards of 130 horses in work each year.

“Mr Cojuangco had the passion. He was the main driver behind Gooree, and they are keeping the horses in memory of him really. The property runs a lot of cattle and there’s a vineyard and wine cellar too. The boss’s passion was quite expensive, so that’s why the change to a more commercial outlook.”

Gooree Park have had the occasional yearling draft since Mr Cojuangco died, mostly at Inglis Classic, but nothing in 2025.

“We sell through Newgate mostly but have had a few smaller drafts of our own. We sent some weanlings to the sales recently through Twin Hills Stud. It’s still a working farm and still ticking along but the operation is a lot smaller than it used to be. The boss didn’t like selling and wanted to keep everything. It’s an expensive habit, but that has had to change.

“I used to show him a nice commercially bred horse and say ‘You should test that on the market’ and he’d look at me like, ‘What is wrong with you’, but it’s different now.

“People can board their mares here and it’s only two hours from Scone to walk out to stallions. Plus, we have our own two stallions here.”

Gallery: Images courtesy of Gooree Park

Opportunities to breed-to-race

Being able to utilise Gooree Park’s pastures with their long history of producing outstanding racehorses is a great opportunity for broodmare owners who didn’t have access to the property prviously.

And Baddock sees how small breeders utilising Gooree’s breed to race stallions can still make money in a tough game. Gooree Park stand two stallions in 2025, Prized Icon and Your Song who are both priced at $5500 including GST. They have three other stallions standing at other farms.

“It’s very tough at the middle and lower market for breeders. The important thing is that prizemoney is still outstanding. Prizemoney is the big advantage we have in Australia. The racetrack decides, and horses don’t know what they cost, so it’s a level playing field.

“You can win a nice trial or a race with a son of either of these two (Prized Icon or Your Song) who both throw a good looking type, like themselves, and you can trade your stock for a bit of money, especially into Hong Kong. You don’t have to spend a lot (on fees) to get a nice racehorse.”

Prized Icon has come home

Prized Icon will stand his first season at Gooree Park in 2025, after having stood at Kooringal Stud for six seasons. He covered 18 mares at $8800 inc. GST last year.

“You win a Derby and you get condemned in the marketplace, but win at Epsom or Kentucky and it’s celebrated. It makes no sense. Winning a Derby in Australia pays a price commercially,” said Baddock.

“He’s relocated back here from Wagga. He’s a beautiful horse, by More Than Ready from a great Gooree family that we’ve built up over several generations. He was classy, tough and durable. He won the Victoria Derby and the Champagne, and placed in the Breeders' Plate behind Capitalist. He wasn’t just a middle distance stayer. He was a much sharper 2-year-old and looks the type.”

Trained by James Cummings and transferred to Kris Lees for Gooree Park, Prized Icon debuted as an October 2-year-old in Capitalist’s Listed Breeders’ Plate running third, returning in the autumn to place four times before winning the Listed Fernhill Stakes and G1 Champagne Stakes. Back at three he was third in the G1 Spring Champion Stakes then won the G1 Victoria Derby, then in the autumn he was second in the G1 Australian Guineas.

As an older horse, he ran into Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) when second in the G1 Chipping Norton Stakes and retired with earnings over $2.1 million from his 33 starts. The family that Baddock refers to includes Gooree Park-bred Listed winner Tropical Affair (Danehill {USA}), the dam of Prized Icon and his Group 3 winning full sister Romantic Moon, as well as a half-sister Group 3 winner Matras (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}). Stakes winners Oscar’s Fortune (Rich Enuff) who has earnings over $1 million and Kabayan (Haradasun) both descend from Tropical Affair, who is a half-sister to the stakes placed dam of G2 Pago Pago Stakes winner Salade (Snitzel).

“He beat two Group 1 winners in the Derby and he was a high class tough performer. The Derby is early in the season and it’s usually not a genuine mile and a half horse who wins it. The winners, like Hitotsu and this bloke, are more precocious than people think, and it takes a horse with a great turn of foot who usually wins it.

“Prized Icon will throw you a tough horse, he’s good looking, and he’s already left a super star filly in Tropical Squall.”

His oldest crop are 4-year-olds and are led by dual Group 1 winner Tropical Squall who was the Champion 3YO Filly in Australia last season. Tropical Squall was purchased as a weanling by Gooree Park for $16,000 as they wanted to support some of the breeders who had supported Prized Icon.

“He’s a great breed-to-race horse, and probably the sharper the mare the better. He throws a great temperament and lots of bone. His dam won at two and was a flying machine. There's plenty of speed and that’s what people want, even though heaven forbid he won a Derby!”

Your Song’s grand season

Your Song might be about to turn 16, but he’s had a fantastic season in 2024/25 with Melody Again winning the G3 Dark Jewel Classic recently to become his eighth stakes winner.

“Your Song was bred and raced by Gooree. He’s a beautiful animal who throws a lovely type and is a great breed-to-race option. He still gets a lovely horse, and they like them in Hong Kong too.”

Your Song, by Fastnet Rock, is from the family of European Horse Of The Year and six-time Group 1 winner Fantastic Light (USA) (Rahy {USA}). Your Song won the G1 BTC Cup and is the sire of eight stakes winners and has a winners-to-runners ratio over 67 per cent.

Collaboration with other farms

Headlined by ill-fated Northern Meteor standing at Widden Stud, Gooree Park have always collaborated with other farms to stand their stallions after their successful racing careers.

“Before Mr Cojuangco passed away, we were producing a lot of stallions but weren’t set up to stand them at Gooree. A lot of farms wanted to get involved and working with them was great. They do great marketing, they deal with the clients, so it suits us both, and we can access them.

“Standing stallions and marketing them is a tough game and you’ve got to be set up to do it.”

King’s Gambit is the newest horse to retire to stud after being successful in the Gooree Park racing colours. He’s heading into his second season at Newgate Farm where he’ll stand for $22,000 including GST.

“He covered a big book last year and we are looking forward to his first foals this spring. He’s a great looking son of I Am Invincible with a lot of precocity. We bred and raced his dam too, it’s a fast family and he was a very good horse. There’s no greater speed influence than I Am Invincible in the market and King’s Gambit had 2-year-old form, he placed in the Golden Slipper, he ticks a lot of boxes.”

King’s Gambit won the Listed Debutant Stakes on debut in October, then placed three more times in Group company at two including third to Shinzo in the G1 Golden Slipper. At three he won the G2 Roman Consul Stakes.

“Newgate identified him as a quality foal and bought into him. He never went through a sale ring. They’ve believed in him all the way through. Newgate are very enthusiastic and there’s no better marketers than them.”

Two proven horses at Twin Hills

Twin Hills Stud stand two Gooree Park stallions in Hallowed Crown and Smart Missile. “They are both Gooree bred and raced, and both underrated stallions.

“Smart Missile is one of the best value sires around. He continues to get stakes winners and gets winners every day of the week. Hong Kong likes them too.”

Gallery: Two Gooree Park stallions, standing at Twin Hills Stud

Smart Missile added his second Group 1 winner this season with G1 TJ Smith Stakes winner Briasa, who joins G1 Spring Champion Stakes winner Maid Of Heaven and all up, Smart Missile has 27 stakes winners. Triple Missile won a Listed race earlier this autumn and was third in Saturday’s G3 Hyperion Stakes, while Aviatress added the Listed Matrice Stakes this autumn having won the G3 Northwood Plume Stakes in the spring.

“Hallowed Crown can throw a top liner. He’s more a breed-to-race stallion these days, but he’ll get you a runner.”

Hallowed Crown’s seven stakes winners are led by dual Group 1 winner Collette, and his 4-year-old gelding King Zephyr recently won three in succession in Melbourne before running in the Listed Straight Six Stakes last start.

Table: Stallion fees 2025 for Gooree Park