Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Momentum is everything in the bloodstock game, and few are riding a stronger wave into the Magic Millions than Nick Taylor of Riverstone Lodge, buoyed by the continued rise of Shiki (Too Darn Hot {GB}).
Shiki's prominence first come as a lucrative pinhook and now as a genuine 2-year-old star on the racetrack, with a real chance of collecting a lucrative purse next weekend for the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-training duo.
Shiki dominant in the Gold Pearl
That momentum was reinforced on Saturday when Shiki (Too Darn Hot {GB}) stamped herself back into the spotlight with a dominant victory in the $150,000 Gold Pearl on the Gold Coast in the hands of Tim Clark, emphatically reviving her R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic credentials.
After a below-par performance at Randwick last start, where she was beaten as an odds-on favourite by Warwoven (Sword of State), the filly returned to her scintillating best. Previously, Shiki had announced herself as a serious juvenile with a G3 Gimcrack Stakes win on debut, but a ferocious on-speed effort at her second start saw her weaken late into fourth.
On Saturday, however, the performance was far more controlled and dominant as she won with ease, with a bit of gas in the tank ahead of the bigger assignment on the same track a week later.
For Taylor, the win carried both commercial and personal significance. Purchased by Riverstone Lodge and Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) for $150,000 from Cornerstone Stud at the 2024 Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale. Shiki proved a standout pinhook when resold by Riverstone Lodge at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $420,000 to Kurrinda Bloodstock and her trainers. Riverstone retained a 20% - a decision now looking increasingly astute.
“It’s been a busy few days on complex. I have been happy with the faces and foot traffic that’s come through to look at our draft and to get that win with Shiki yesterday was just fantastic,” Taylor said.
Adrian Bott and Gai Waterhouse | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Adrian and Gai have been working really hard to harness her ability, and she has come to Queensland and just relaxed so well. Being able to relax well and comfortably enabled her to not be vulnerable late and it was a fantastic win.
“She has been very good to us, and we had faith in her and kept 20%, she now looks a great chance next week in the big one, and we have an Ole Kirk half sister to offer which we are looking forward to.”
Building towards the Magic Millions
Shiki’s success has arrived at the perfect time for Riverstone Lodge, who are presenting their second draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale - and their largest to date.
“It’s our second draft for the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale, and our biggest draft that we have brought to the coast,” Taylor said.
“It’s our second draft for the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale, and our biggest draft that we have brought to the coast.” - Nick Taylor
“The focus we wanted this year was having a bit of diversity between proven sires and having some new, exciting first season horses. We have put together a draft where there’s lots of horses that have very current, active families and horses that are half-relations to either current 2-year-old winners or stakes performers. It’s an exciting draft.”
Shiki | Image courtesy of Trackside Photography
While still a young operation, Riverstone Lodge has quickly built a record that underpins the confidence behind the draft.
“Shiki is our first Magic Millions Gold Coast stakes winner. We also sold the Group 2 winner Savvy Hallie out of our first Inglis Classic draft, so to have two stakes winners in our first three years of operation feels very good,” he said.
“It’s exciting for us. We have had a great strike rate of winners off of the farm and just under 10% stakes horses to runners. It’s important to get these results. You can do all of the promoting and marketing that you want, but if you aren’t producing an athlete to take to the market, you can't compete against the big guys.”
Nick Taylor | Image courtesy of Riverstone Lodge
Yearlings to keep an eye on
Riverstone Lodge brings a draft of 15 yearlings to the Gold Coast, and while Taylor admits narrowing down highlights is difficult, several naturally rise to the top.
Lot 405, an Ole Kirk filly out of Jest Excel (Exceed and Excel), the half-sister to Shiki looks to be one of the standout offerings. Jest Excel , is a three-time Queensland provincial winner and a half-sister to G2 Maribyrnong Plate winner Jiang (Testa Rossa).
Lot 405 - Ole Kirk x Jest Excel filly | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“The half-sister to Shiki is a lovely filly. Shiki won on Saturday which can only be a positive and the potential buyer has a half-sister that still has plenty of chances to upgrade the page,” Taylor said.
“We backed ourselves knowing that Shiki was a lovely filly, and while she is a different style of filly to Shiki, she has the same demeanour and is probably a touch more athletic.
“It has worked out great with Shiki delivering and Ole Kirk siring a Group 1 winner, and he is a very exciting stallion. So the timing is working out well."
Also drawing attention is Lot 427, a Home Affairs colt out of Kononkop (Arg) (Pure Prize {USA}) a Champion 2-year-old filly in Argentina who won two Group 1 races. He is also the full brother to the R. Listed Inglis Nursery runner-up Internal Affairs (Home Affairs).
Lot 427 - Home Affairs x Kononkop (ARG) colt | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“The full brother to Internal Affairs who ran second in the Inglis Nursery is another exciting horse in the draft,” Taylor said.
“He was bred by Morning Rise Stud’s Robert McClure and I am very excited to consign this horse for those guys. He is a lovely animal, a very scopy, strong individual who should be able to get up and run as a 2-year-old, then go on with it as a 3-year-old.”
Lot 171, a Justify (USA) filly out of Cinderella (I Am Invincible), who is a full sister to the Group 1 winner and stallion Sizzling is another key offering. She is also a half-sister to Tales Of Time (Pinatubo {Ire}), runner-up in the Maribyrnong Plate.
Lot 171 - Justify (USA) x Cinderella filly | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“Another exciting one in the draft is the Justify filly out of Cinderella,” Taylor said. “She is a half-sister to Tales Of Time who was second in the Maribyrnong Plate for Yulong and Clinton McDonald.
“We bought her as a weanling from Milburn Creek for $160,000. I have a lot of respect for Scott Holcombe and John Muir, they do such an incredible job and breed a lot of really good athletes.”
The art of pinhooking and a clear philosophy
At the core of Riverstone Lodge is a deliberate, disciplined approach to pinhooking - one built around type, presence and athleticism.
“Our business model, with how young we are, is focusing on bringing a nice, quality article to the market,” Taylor said.
“Our business model, with how young we are, is focusing on bringing a nice, quality article to the market.” - Nick Taylor
“I don’t want to just show up with horses and expect it to happen without putting in the hard work to have a great product to sell.”
Taylor’s buying philosophy begins with a combination of presence and pedigree.
“I like a weanling that has presence,” he said.
“I do a lot of research on pedigrees as well, you like to see active families, but you can try and make your own luck as much as you can.”
Riverstone Lodge | Image courtesy of Riverstone Lodge
Physical attributes remain paramount to Taylor, as they have to look the part and have the right structure to be successful in the ring and on the track.
“Physically, they have to have good action in the hocks. I particularly like to pinhook something that looks like a sharper type of horse,” he said. “Overall, I look for something with presence, something that has a little swagger.”
"I look for something with presence, something that has a little swagger." - Nick Taylor
The results are beginning to speak for themselves.
“We stayed in two horses last year, one was Shiki and the other was Blandford Baron, and both gone on to be winners already before Christmas,” Taylor said.
“The farm has had three individual 2-year-old winners before Christmas, which is amazing. I am not sure there are any other farms that have had the same amount of 2-year-old winners before Christmas this season, and certainly none our size.”
Looking ahead and venturing into the stallion game
Alongside the sales and pinhooking operation, Riverstone Lodge is also investing in the future through stallion involvement, including first-season sire Starlust (GB), the Group 1-winning son of Zoustar.
“I was very happy with the numbers he covered and he has had some really nice mares support him. There has been good support from breeders that are good vendors and that breed a lot of top athletes, which gives the stallion every opportunity to succeed,” Taylor said.
Starlust (GB) | Standing at Riverstone Lodge
"We supported him ourselves with some lovely horses and you know that if they are nice, everyone has the opportunity to make some money. It was certainly a hard year across the board for breeders and a lot of people were cutting back numbers, and it was certainly different everywhere for stallions in that $20,000 to $40,000 bracket.
“But everybody that came and saw the horse fell in love with him, and it wasn't too many people that looked at him and didn't send a mare. He has settled in so well, he has put on some amazing condition.
"Everybody that came and saw the horse (Starlust) fell in love with him, and it wasn't too many people that looked at him and didn't send a mare." - Nick Taylor
“I think when people come see him this year, he just looks like an Australian horse now with so much quality and not dissimilar to his father. He has that great Zoustar action and conformation.”
As Riverstone Lodge heads into the Magic Millions week, the blend of racetrack success, a strong draft, lovely yearlings, and a clear pinhooking philosophy that is working has Taylor quietly confident that the wave Shiki has created is far from cresting.
