Cover image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Just Fine sets tone for autumn return
G1 Metropolitan Handicap winner Just Fine (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) led home a strong heat to open Warwick Farm’s trial morning on Tuesday. The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trainee was last seen at the tail of the field in the Listed Mornington Cup last April and had an extended break before his return to the trials, with Tuesday’s outing being his second of the preparation.
Video: Watch Just Fine at Warwick Farm Trials, video courtesy of Racing NSW
The 8-year-old put a sizeable lead on the competition and sailed home with Wootton Verni (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) finishing strongly a length and a third behind him, with Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) given a quiet ride in third. G1 New Zealand Oaks winner Leica Lucy (NZ) (Derryn) was next over the line, followed by Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) and Soul Of Spain (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}).
McKeever Bloodstock and Waterhouse Bott Racing secured Just Fine for 300,000 gns ($618,000) at the 2022 Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale; he has since amassed over $1 million in prizemoney. His half-brother Tornado Alert (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) won the G1 Grosser Dallmayr Preis in 2025.
Fast finish from classy Lilac
Multiple stakes winner Lilac (Justify {USA}) led home the pack in the second heat at Warwick Farm on Tuesday. The 4-year-old, trained by Annabel and Rob Archibald, jumped straight to the front and kept her rivals at bay by two lengths to win the trial, with Gerringong (Blue Point {Ire}) given some encouragement to come second.
Video: Watch Lilac at Warwick Farm Trials, video courtesy of Racing NSW
The spring’s G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Autumn Boy (The Autumn Sun) finished third, a nose ahead of G1 Spring Champion Stakes winner Attica (Lonhro) in his third trial of the preparation.
Champion Thoroughbreds and Annabel Neasham Racing paid NZ$300,000 for the daughter of Justify (USA) at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale. Her dam Paulownia (Fastnet Rock), a Group-performed full sister to Foxwedge and She’s A Fox, was one of a number sent to visit Justify in the Northern Hemisphere in 2024 and she produced a filly in the spring, before visiting City Of Troy (USA).
Lilac winning her trial at Warwick Farm | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Angel Capital gets serious
Coal Crusher (Turffontein) was first across the line in the third trial at Warwick Farm on Tuesday, but Chris Waller-trained 4-year-old Angel Capital (Harry Angel {Ire}) caught the eye when improving home strongly to finish second by less than half a length. Under Zac Lloyd, the colt closed a considerable gap posed by Coal Crusher with Joliestar (Zoustar) in third by another length behind him.
Both Waller trainees, Joliestar and Angel Capital, could kick off their autumns in the G2 Expressway Stakes a week on Saturday, although Waller told racenet.com that potentially the Royal Ascot-bound mare could wait a week and run first up in the G1 Futurity Stakes instead.
Video: Watch Angel Capital at Warwick Farm Trials, video courtesy of Racing NSW
“I don't want them all to clash in the Expressway, I don't mind them clashing in the Apollo, but the sprinters I want to try to keep their confidence up a bit,” he said. “I am half tempted to think about the Futurity for Joliestar, and Angel Capital will be in the Expressway..
“I don't want them all to clash in the Expressway, I don't mind them clashing in the Apollo.” - Chris Waller
“You've got a couple of other horses like Lazzura (around), and you have the Millie Fox there the following week if we need it. It's unlikely Joliestar would go to the Newmarket, because we've got three colts and they're very well weighted, whereas she would have a lot of weight.”
G1 Golden Rose Stakes winner Beiwacht (Bivouac) is set to resume in the G1 Lightning Stakes a week on Saturday, which Waller confirmed in the same interview that Wodeton (Wootton Bassett {GB}) will start in the G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes on Saturday before progressing to the G1 Newmarket Handicap.
Coal Crusher and Angel Capital in their Warwick Farm trial | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Angel Capital is the third stakes winner for his dam Bahamas (Teofilo {Ire}), who has also produced Berkeley Square (Territories {Ire}) who won the Listed Ballarat Cup in December. Her Blue Point (Ire) yearling has been retained to race by breeder David Peacock and named Disraeli, and Bahamas patronised City Of Troy in 2025.
Gun Runner colt improves lengths to win trial
Pulled up in his first trial last month, Genesis Runner (Gun Runner {USA}) turned over a new leaf to win his trial at Warwick Farm on Tuesday. Trained by Richard and Will Freedman, the juvenile was given plenty of encouragement by jockey Teaque Gould in the home straight to let down and dutifully put away runner-up Inner Gold (Zoustar) by three quarters of a length.
The trial also featured high-priced yearling Defensemen (Wootton Bassett {GB}) - running fifth - who scratched from the G3 Canonbury Stakes last Saturday in favour of accepting for the R. Listed Inglis 2YO Millennium this coming weekend.
Video: Watch Genesis Runner at Warwick Farm Trials, video courtesy of Racing NSW
YLP Racing purchased Genesis Runner from Widden Stud’s Inglis Australian Easter Sale draft last year for $575,000, and his Zoustar half-brother was offered at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale last month, where he fell short of his reserve. Genesis Runner was one of only four yearlings by American supersire Gun Runner (USA) to be offered at public auction in Australasia last year. Dam Originator (USA) (Artie Schiller {USA}) is a stakes-performed half-sister to the dam of multiple Graded winner Fluffy Socks (USA) (Slumber {GB}). She visited Zoustar again in the spring.
Home Affairs colt sharp on debut
Trial debutant Barracks (Home Affairs) made winning look easy on Tuesday at Warwick Farm when taking out his heat by just shy of a length. The Ciaron Maher-trained colt sat behind early leader Spring Ruler (Wild Ruler) and only made his move once well into the straight, striding past to secure the win, with Sardar (Wootton Bassett {GB}) edging out the latter for second.
Video: Watch Barracks at Warwick Farm Trials, video courtesy of Racing NSW
Ciaron Maher Bloodstock went to $420,000 to secure Barracks at last year’s Magic Millions sale from the draft of Cressfield, and Bennett Racing purchased his Zoustar half-brother for $480,000 at this year’s Gold Coast sale. From the family of Overpass (Vancouver) and Ethereum Girl (Maurice {Jpn}), he is the sixth foal from multiple Group winner Wild Rain (Manhattan Rain), whose four winners to date include stakes-performed Spring Lee (Zoustar). She was served by Home Affairs in the spring.
Juvenile Farnan fillies impress at Warwick Farm
Clarry Conners’s Gone To Gowings (Farnan) showed grit to win her trial on Tuesday by half a length, but the Gary Portelli-trained Farcolo (Farnan) was the heat’s real eye-catcher when burning home to finish third. Gone To Gowings and runner-up Handloom (Exceed And Excel) had pulled away from the pack in the home straight, when Farcolo came sprinting from the back to cross the line two lengths behind with that gap rapidly closing over the following 50 metres.
Video: Watch Gone To Gowings and Farcolo at Warwick Farm Trials, video courtesy of Racing NSW
David Norris purchased Gone To Gowings for $260,000 from Yarraman Park Stud’s 2025 Gold Coast draft, while Portelli paid $20,000 for Farcolo at the following Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, where she was offered by Middlebrook Valley Lodge.
Gone To Gowings’s dam Devout Heiress (USA) (Speightstown {USA}), a close relation to G1 Newmarket Handicap winner Zoutori (Zoustar), had her Exceed And Excel filly sell at the Gold Coast last month for $140,000 to Malua Bloodstock. She has a Farnan colt at foot and visited Harry Angel (Ire) in 2025.
