Cover image courtesy of Brisbane Turf Club
Road to the Gold Coast is through the BJ McLachlan
Ten 2-year-olds aiming to head to the lucrative Magic Millions raceday will attempt to get a boost on the way there via the G3 BJ McLachlan Stakes at Eagle Farm’s Saturday meeting this week.
Paradoxium (Extreme Choice) and Tornado Valley (Too Darn Hot {GB}) share top billing, both being exciting last start winners - the former taking out the R. Listed Magic Millions Wyong 2YO Classic two weeks ago and the latter winning the G3 Maribyrnong Plate in November.
Paradoxium’s trainer Bjorn Baker trained O’ Ole (Ole Kirk) to win the Wyong and Gold Coast features last year, with a stopover in Randwick in between for fifth. The Extreme Choice colt could derive benefit from heading to the Gold Coast early this year with a crack at the Group 3.
Paradoxium | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
In 2023, Storm Boy used the BJ McLachlan as his launchpad to the Gold Coast, where he was a comfortable two and a half-length winner of the R. Listed Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YO Classic. His trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have no representatives in the field, but there is another colt aiming to make the jump from city win to stakes company in third elect Zip Lock (Hellbent), a winner of a Doomben juvenile race at his first start in November.
He arrives at Eagle Farm having run second in a recent trial to Remembrall (Spirit Of Boom), the only filly in the field to arrive a winner, having also scored at Doomben in October.
A debut winner before running ninth on the seven-day back-up in the Listed Phelan Ready Stakes, Acrodance (Acrobat) regroups with a three-week breather in between runs when lining up on Saturday. The only other first season sire with a runner is Wild Ruler, whose grey son Priory Park will debut in the juvenile feature for Annabel and Rob Archibald, and bid to get a win on the board for his sire. He was last seen running second in a trial to Magic Millions-nominated Lady Moscato (Home Affairs).
Priory Park as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Where else can we see juvenile action around Christmas?
There will be 38 individual stallions with juvenile runners on Boxing Day and Saturday this week, eight of whom are first season sires out to build their portfolios ahead of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale next month. Pierata, Cool Aza Beel (NZ), and Hellbent will be the most represented over the two days of racing, with three individual runners each.
On Boxing Day, 13 juveniles will face the starter in the Sunshine Coast’s $40,000 QTIS opener. Pierata is the most represented sire with three engaged in the race, including trial winner Radomir (NZ) in his debut and twice placed Maganista. The race also features one of four foals from the first crop of the deceased Craiglea Boz, a son of juvenile stakes performer Warhead.
Radomir (NZ) as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
If Tornado Valley doesn’t go north for the BJ McLachlan, we could see him at Randwick in the third race on the card, although he will have a 3kg impost in the $160,000 event if he chooses to run under handicap conditions. He will also have to contend with handy trial winner Half Pipe (Extreme Warrior) and Wyong 2YO Classic placegetter Masvingo (Zoustar). There will also be the much anticipated debut of By Choice (Written By), twice now an explosive trial winner in the city.
Half Pipe | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
A full field of juveniles lines up at Cranbourne, including first starters Guest House (Home Affairs) and Perfect Dismount (Acrobat) out to score for their first season sires. Fine Sierra (Pinatubo {Ire}) and Neotropical (Captivant), third and fourth in the same race on debut, also fly the flag for their respective first season stallions, as will debutante and jump-out winner Trillium (Extreme Warrior) whose sire still holds on to the top of the leaderboard by prizemoney and winners.
| Acrobat | 2 | Eagle Farm, Cranbourne | |
| Extreme Warrior | 2 | Randwick, Cranbourne | |
| Home Affairs | 2 | Randwick, Cranbourne | |
| Pinatubo | 1 | Cranbourne | |
| Captivant | 1 | Cranbourne | |
| Wild Ruler | 1 | Eagle Farm | |
| Tiger Of Malay | 1 | Randwick | |
| Craiglea Boz | 1 | Sunshine Coast |
Table: First season sires with runners on Boxing Day and Saturday
Nominations have yet to be finalised for Sunday’s racing, but Canberra will host the only juvenile event nationwide, where Acrobat could have another chance to score a winner with Acrojack and Star Of Lily will be the first runner for her sire, Corumbene Stud’s Standout.
Konasana tips scales for Belle Of The Turf
Last year’s G3 Belle Of The Turf winner Konasana (Dundeel {NZ}) is amongst the nominations for Gosford’s headline event this Sunday, but if she accepts, she will have to lump 62kg to the line - a full 3kg more than her nearest rival, Mare Of Mt Buller (Dundeel {NZ}), and 8kg more than almost the entire of rest of the proposed field.
It’s a huge impost for the 5-year-old, who travelled to New Zealand to win the G2 Westbury Classic after her Belle victory in 2024, and added two fourth placings at Group 1 level before crossing back over the Tasman. That was her most recent win, and it has to hang in the balance whether she runs this weekend at all, having finished seventh to Know Thyself (The Autumn Sun) in a Benchmark 100 event on Saturday.
Konasana | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Thanks to her high weight, though, the field has been opened up for the likes of Hyperbolic (NZ) (Proisir) and Miss Hades (Hellbent), both the winners of their most recent two starts at city level and both afforded the weight of 54kg. The Mona Lisa (Under The Louvre) will also make the jump to stakes grade with a light weight, having won over the Randwick mile at her last start when carrying 56kg.
Stakes-placed Kind Words (Written Tycoon) attempted to make the restricted field of 11 for the G3 Summer Cup but didn’t quite have a high enough benchmark, but easily makes the first for the Belle where she will carry the number four saddlecloth for Kris Lees.
"I'm rapt with how she's (Kind Words) going this prep." - Kris Lees
"I'm rapt with how she's going this prep,” Lees had said ahead of acceptances. “She's flying and if she did get a run (in the Summer Cup), she's a mare in form and she's proven at the 2000 metres."
He will have to be content with the Gosford mile for the 5-year-old, but she gets a 4.5kg drop in weight from her last start win over the 2000 metres at Rosehill.
Kind Words | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Gollan going all in after Christmas
There’s no rest for a racehorse trainer, and Queensland’s premier trainer Tony Gollan will have all hands on deck for Boxing Day and Saturday racing this week. On Boxing Day, he will head to the Sunshine Coast with a team of nine - one of whom is dual accepted for Warwick - and has accepted with 11 for Eagle Farm the following day, plus four could head to the Aquis Park Gold Coast track on the same day, although three are dual acceptors.
Tony Gollan | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
He has the lion’s share of the Listed Magic Millions Falvelon field, having accepted with four in a potential field of 17, led by top-weighted Hidden Wealth (Better Than Ready) who won the $125,000 Swiss Ace Plate last month.
His Falvelon runners have amassed a collective $3.25 million between them, and Fleetwood (Encryption), King Kapa (Capitalist), and Pereille (Fastnet Rock) will all be bidding to climb closer to the million dollar threshold in the 1200-metre sprint, which offers $116,000 to the winner.
Recently sent north, stakes-placed 4-year-old Zoubaby (Zoustar) - who was fourth in the G3 Vo Rogue Plate last year - will have her first start for the Sunshine State supremo in a Benchmark 85 handicap on the Eagle Farm card. The Vo Rogue will be run on January 3, 2026, for this racing season. The mare has shown an affinity for the state, running second in the Listed Mick Dittman Plate earlier this year and adding another placing at Eagle Farm to her record in November.
Zoubaby | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Torabella (Toronado {Ire}) is a seven-time winner and will try to clinch an eighth win, and a first at stakes level, in the Listed Seven Members Mile on the Eagle Farm card.
She has some stiff competition though amongst her eight adversaries, including G2 Sandown Guineas winner Snitzanova (Snitzel) and Amor Victorious (Caravaggio {USA}), who takes a step down from Group level in search of his seventh career victory, having last run sixth in the G2 The Ingham by less than three lengths.
