'You dream about this every year': Widden roster firing on all cylinders

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

A stud with a large stallion roster has many plates to spin, and Widden Stud had more plates than most in the air on Saturday, when seven resident stallions posted winners or stakes performers across Australia. Supido was the stallion in the spotlight when his son Unit Five won the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic, but the day’s glory was not his alone.

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Two other races on the card also went to Widden stallions, when Zoustar’s son Mr Carter won the $500,000 Magic Millions Country Cup and Dirty Work sired the winner of the $250,000 Magic Millions Maiden plate with Melanite.

Written By’s electric daughter By Choice was third to Unit Five, and Zousain and Gold Standard both posted winners, the former sending home a juvenile quinella at Murray Bridge. Most importantly, as Book 2 of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale gets underway, young gun Portland Sky saw his first winner arrive from his first crop of 2-year-olds.

It’s a lot of horses to keep up with, but for the Widden team, days like Saturday make the hard work all worth it.

A very Widden victory

The unbeaten Unit Five’s victory in the $3 million juvenile event on Saturday is special for Widden on multiple levels. Bred by Widden staff out of a mare bought online for four figures, by a Widden stallion, sold by Widden and with some staff remaining in his ownership - and not to forget, named for the late David Merrick, Widden stalwart - the crowd on both the Gold Coast and at home in Widden Valley was immense.

“It’s a massive ‘pinch yourself’ moment in every respect,” said Matt Comerford, Nominations, Sales and Client Relations for Widden. “It was massively exciting to have all of us up there and to see what he could do, and to remain undefeated and win as strongly as he did. You dream about this every year, this is why you get up early in the morning and go to work.

“I really can't believe that we're in the situation we are, it's just unbelievable.”

The horse carrying the name of long-time Widden stud manager Merrick has been a documented story, but Comerford was keen to remind everyone that it could have not happened at all.

“Credit has to go to Sam White and Gabrielle Nutt when they worked for Ciaron (Maher),” Comerford said. “They were so accommodating. That horse actually stood on a nail up here (at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale) 12 months ago, so we had to take him back to the farm and get him right. Most other trainers would be less forgiving of that.

“We were just so thankful that they had the patience with us and that they trusted our farm’s processes to get him right. Being able to do that was a testament to Sam and Gab. The horse never turned a hair at the farm. He just had a bit of misfortune come sale day in hindsight, and it made him a bit cheaper. He’s repaid everyone tenfold now and we couldn't be more proud of him.”

Comerford and the team are also proud of Supido as the tide turns back in favour of the son of Sebring.

“Unit Five was bred off the back of that good first crop he had, where he had horses like Buenos Noches and What You Need,” Comerford said. “His support was astronomical and still off of a very cheap fee at the time. His yearlings this year are out of higher quality mares and a higher fee, and people have been ready to pay a bit of money for them. Star Thoroughbreds bought one for $160,000 out of Hollaback Girl (Lot 353) and it’s going to Chris Waller now.

“Stallions go through ups and downs, and we couldn’t have dreamed of getting a second chance to launch this horse. It’s a real testament to market trends. We see it all the time - good mares flooded back to Supido thanks to horses like Buenos Noches, and that’s how we got Unit Five, who has won a Magic Millions race. It’s pretty bloody exciting.”

Northern Meteor line shining bright through Portland Sky

It only took three individual runners for G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Portland Sky to get off the starting block with a winner, and that came in the form of Daryte winning the $80,000 Magic Millions 2YO Plate over at Ascot’s metropolitan meeting. The filly had been an impressive trailer before her debut, darting home by a clear length over her nearest rival, and put an even bigger margin of three lengths over Farnova (Farnan) on Saturday.

Portland Sky becomes just the ninth first crop sire this season to post a winner on Australian soil, a vital act as the yearling sales season gets underway. The son of Deep Field - himself a son of Widden’s late champion Northern Meteor - had his first yearling go through the ring earlier in the week, and a further three on Sunday during Magic Millions’ Book 2, with the victory hopefully turning a few heads.

“It’s really important to have these sort of things happen, especially leading into the sale,” Comerford said. “He's had a number of really impressive trial winners of late - Daryte was one, and she is potentially one of the favourites for the Magic Millions race over there now, I believe. She put them away like a proper horse. That was really exciting.

“He’s a stallion that we have a lot of hope and faith in. You'll see plenty more runners coming out over the next month or two - Brett Cavanough had a trial winner in Newcastle recently, a filly that he really likes, and he’s here this (Sunday) morning looking at the Portland Skys again in Book 2. These results have a serious effect on the commerciality of a stallion.”

Cavanough’s Oregon Coast actually led home a quinella for her sire, chased home by Sambuca Sky two and a half lengths behind, with another length and a half of daylight back to third place.

Not every stallion can or will produce those early juvenile runners that the market continues to crave, but Comerford recognises the importance of a stallion showing their face, particularly as the second crop is gearing up to be sold.

“There’s been a couple of good jump-out winners in Victoria as well,” he added. “There's a bit of momentum starting to build behind him now and, typical of that line, we will see them get better as late 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds, but knocking off that first win is huge.”

A champion’s work is never done

Zoustar has been - appropriately - the shining star of Northern Meteor-line stallions for quite some time, and last season’s Champion Sire also enjoyed a bountiful Saturday, with four winners across Australia.

Chief among them is Sir Carter, a 6-year-old who brought home the $500,000 Magic Millions Country Cup, but he also posted a double at Kangaroo Island and won the $60,000 Camperdown Cup with Mister Me. The wins took the stallion to over 100 individual winners for the season, with everything to play for in the autumn carnival.

In addition, the Magic Millions Maiden Plate might have been won by a son of Dirty Work, but Zoustar also nabbed some of the prize pool by siring the third and fifth plate runners.

It’s all in a day’s work for the champion, who ended Book 1 of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale as the fifth place stallion by aggregate and sixth by average (for two or more yearlings sold). Widden also offered his top-priced yearling - Lot 887, a half-sister to stallions Farnan and Sandbar, who sold to Matt Laurie Racing and Willannah Park Bloodstock for $900,000.

“He’s just such a good stallion,” enthused Comerford. “There's a good reason he was our Australian Champion Sire last year, and he's continued as well as he left off. He’s just so consistent, and he's really starting to get the motors going now ahead of a big autumn. He can do it at any distance, he can do it at any track anywhere in the country, or anywhere in the world, and we're just thrilled to have him.”

Comerford eagerly anticipates the release of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale catalogue, where the cream of the stallion’s crop will be on full display.

“He’s an in demand, commercial stallion, and he’s just going to get better and better,” he said. ”He's got a really strong following into Easter this year and you'll see plenty of really nice horses there. He'll continue to be in hot demand again.”

Zoustar’s son Zousain has been working hard to continue the legacy, and his Murray Bridge quinella of juvenile fillies Zouwin and Verzain added a 46th winner to his tally for the season, just three short of the 49 winners he produced in 2024/25. True to his sireline, he was a better late 2-year-old and 3-year-old, so the autumn is where it gets most exciting for his offspring.

“We’re seeing plenty of winners this season from the stallion, both here and in Hong Kong,” Comerford said. “He continually turns out nice horses. He was a stallion that probably wasn’t afforded as quality a mare as his sire in his early books, but he's got some really big and strong books coming through, and I think he'll certainly continue to deliver results for a lot of the breeders that have bred to him.”

Zousain missed out on emulating his sire in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes, but he was the first colt home when running second to Sunlight (Zoustar) in the stallion-making event, and he also split The Autumn Sun and Graff in the G1 Golden Rose Stakes. Thus, he only started at stud at a fee of $19,800 (inc GST), but he has had the rare phenomenon amongst young stallions of his fee never taking a backward step. In fact, it has risen twice and he finished the 2025 season at $27,500 (inc GST).

“He continues to deliver, and that’s all we can ask for,” Comerford said. “He’s an important horse to the farm. He’s earned it.”

Written Tycoon sons writing their own legacy

Widden stands three sons of Champion Sire Written Tycoon on the roster; Written By in the Widden Valley, and second season sire Dirty Work at Widden Victoria, who was joined in 2025 by Southport Tycoon.

The former’s 2-year-old daughter By Choice caused a stir with her trials, winning the second one by over four lengths, and again on debut when she was smartly home first at Randwick just after Christmas. After running fifth to Shiki (Too Darn Hot {GB}) and Double Cool (Cool Aza Beel {NZ}) at her first Gold Coast appearance, she beat both in the 2YO Classic and finished strongly behind Unit Five for third place.

On top of that, the stallion posted an interstate double with 3-year-old winners at Doomben and Murray Bridge to take his tally to 41 individual winners for the season, nine short of last season’s total.

“Written By has a great following in Hong Kong, but to have a filly be so competitive in the Magic Millions, that was pretty exciting,” said Comerford. “She was partially raised on the farm as well, so we can lay a little bit of claim to her! She’s a beautiful, big, strong filly. Written By’s continued to get good support and we will no doubt see that continue now.

“Gai Waterhouse loves his offspring, her statistics with them are phenomenal and hopefully it will continue.”

Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott are the stewards of By Choice’s career, and they have also trained G2 Silver Slipper Stakes winner Straight Charge, G3 BJ McLachlan Stakes winner The Novelist, and G3 Widden Stakes winner The Playwright by the sire.

“He’s well and truly turning out the winners, and quality winners as well,” said Comerford.

Dirty Work is finally starting to step out of his older paternal half-brother’s shadow with his second crop. On top of the breakthrough of Melanite in the $250,000 Magic Millions Maiden Plate, he also posted a maiden winner on the Murray Bridge card with his sole other runner for the day, chalking up his ninth winner for the season.

“It was a fantastic day for Dirty Work,” Comerford said. “You want to see them continue to build momentum like that. I feel like we will certainly be seeing that going forward now. We’re really pleased with him.

“He throws a great type, but you have to get those results on the track. He's had good support in Victoria, and this will really kick them along a little bit. The breeders will remember these kinds of performances and will go forward from there, no doubt about it.”

Jacquinot riding high after Magic start

Widden’s flagship young sire Jacquinot was the other highlight of the Magic Millions sale this past week, where the dual Group 1 winner rose to the occasion with his first crop to go through the ring. He finished Book 1 in second place by aggregate amongst the first season sires, beaten only by Anamoe, and third place by average (for two or more sold). Across the whole catalogue, he sat 17th by aggregate, in a population of over 100 stallions with representatives in the sale.

It was just the kind of start that Widden hoped for - and the stud also offered the stallion’s top-priced yearling; $425,000 was paid by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock and David Redvers Bloodstock for Lot 120, a colt out of a winning daughter of G1 Myer Classic victress Bonaria (Redoute’s Choice).

“We were thrilled, to be honest with you,” Comerford said. “I think the response to the quality of his stock across the board was phenomenal. The trainers that bought them, the trainers that underbid them, the support there was huge, and we couldn't be more pleased with how he launched.

“He had good representation. He had big numbers. To average as well as what he did in that environment is really, really important. I think it's a great stepping stone for him going forward.”

The response to Jacquinot ahead of his first crop yearlings has been equally buoyant, with the stallion covering two further triple digit books in his second and third seasons. The response to his first yearlings has Comerford confident that the momentum will continue.

The reception of Widden’s Book 1 draft also pleased the Widden team. They closed Book 1 in sixth spot by aggregate, and eighth by average.

An Anamoe colt - Lot 781, a half-brother to recent $1 million Magic Millions The Syndicate winner Spywire (Trapeze Artist) - topped the draft, selling for $1.1 million to Ciaron Maher.

“To be honest, there were sticky parts to the sale still, but overall, it was exactly where you would have expected it to be,” Comerford mused, “I think the level of interest and the money spent here at Magic Millions made the market pretty clear. Parameters were up across the board and that's a really good start to the year for sure.”

While not all might have had as good a sale as the dual-state stud, Comerford recognised that as nothing unusual for the market; “Whether it’s here or Classic or Melbourne, the bottom suffers because it's the bottom. A lot of good horses can still come out of that part, but it’s not easy if you are selling. We all want to sell at the top.”

To get to the top, you have to produce the results on the track, and it is abundantly clear that the Widden roster is very good at doing just that.