Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Bred and sold by Milburn Creek, Closer To Free became the 88th stakes winner for Street Boss (USA) when he stormed home to win the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (c&g) on debut on Saturday. The $60,000 graduate of the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale looks a bargain now, but to be fair, it was a bargain at the time given the depth of his pedigree.
“The critics didn't like him much. From memory, his hocks weren’t as good as they should have been. But he’s a beautifully bred horse,” said John Muir of Milburn Creek.
Closer To Free | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Early maturing pedigree a highlight
Closer To Free’s first three dams are all stakes winners. He is the third foal of Listed Cinderella Stakes winner Lady Naturaliste (Choisir). Her first foal, a colt by Written Tycoon has never been DNA-typed, so presumably died young, while her unraced 3-year-old gelding has been named Liquidator (Zoustar). She has a yearling colt by Justify (USA) who Milburn Creek sold as a weanling. Lady Naturaliste was exported to New Zealand in 2025 in foal to Pierata.
“We were surprised he went so cheaply but we bring horses here to meet the market. To do what he did yesterday as a first starter in a race against horses that have had a start was very impressive,” said Muir.
“To do what he did yesterday as a first starter in a race against horses that have had a start was very impressive.” - John Muir
Lady Naturaliste is a half-sister to Listed Debutant Stakes winner Tanker (Pride Of Dubai) and the pair are out of Listed Dequetteville Stakes winner Calcutta (Tale Of The Cat {USA}), who in turn is out of dual Listed winner Calchris (Commands).
John Muir | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“She was a nice type by Choisir. She wasn’t too big which is probably not a good thing. We bought her at Magic Millions out of Edinburgh Park’s draft and I think I paid $300,000 for and she was carrying the Street Boss but she'd been to Zoustar and he hadn't showed up and done much.” Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) is the formal purchaser of Lady Naturaliste at the 2023 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, spending $300,000 from Edinburgh Park’s dispersal sale.
Lady Naturaliste | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Closer To Free’s yearling half-brother by Justify (USA) sold for the same sum, $60,000, at the Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale of 2025, bought by Trilogy Racing and Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA).
“Then the disappointment with him (at the sales) then the Justify, so we sold the mare. I think we got $40,000 for her and now she's in New Zealand.” Lady Naturalist was sold for $40,000 through Inglis Digital in July 2025, bought by Lion Rock Bloodstock.
Early race records in the family
For Closer To Free to show up at two is no surprise given his pedigree page. His dam Lady Naturaliste placed on debut as a pre-Christmas juvenile, placing again in January before running sixth to Castelvecchio in the R. Listed Inglis Millennium. The next start, she won the Listed Cinderella Stakes in South Australia. She placed once in three starts as a spring 3-year-old.
Her half-brother Tanker won the Listed Debutant Stakes on debut, and ran in Tagaloa’s G1 Blue Diamond Stakes. He won again as a spring 3-year-old and spring 4-year-old.
Tanker | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Tanker and Lady Naturaliste are out of Calcatta who had only four foals, all of which were winners. Calcatta won on debut as a November 2-year-old in Melbourne, going on to run in the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic. She returned in the late autumn to win the Listed Dequetteville Stakes. Calcatta is a half-sister to Calculated (So You Think {NZ}) who won at two and went on to place in the R. Listed Magic Millions Guineas at three.
The third dam of Closer To Free, Calchris won on debut as a May 2-year-old, but she didn’t really hit her straps until she was four. She won the Listed J Cadell Garrick Handicap (now the Listed Nudgee Stakes) over 1300 metres, and went on to dead-heat in the Listed Silk Stocking Stakes. Calchris is out of Marscay mare Miss Chakra, who only had three starts, one of those at two.
Muir’s memory of another cheap sale
Selling, or not, a good horse for value is nothing new for Muir, who reminisced about buying Secret Admirer (Dubawi {Ire}) as a weanling and not finding a bid for her as a yearling.
“I bought a mare called Secret Admirer as a weanling and paid around $40,000 for her at Inglis. I put her back in the Classic sale. I reckon she owed me $60,000 on top of the $40,000, and if you’d given me $60,000 I would’ve taken it and walked away,” Muir said.
Secret Admirer was sold by Rothwell Park at the 2008 Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale to Jon Freyer for $38,000, and Milburn Creek brought her back to the old Inglis ring at Randwick for the Classic sale where she was passed in.
Secret Admirer | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“But she didn’t get a bid, so I sent her to Grahame Begg and she won the Flight Stakes and the Epsom and placed nine times in other Group 1 races. So that’s how it goes.”
Secret Admirer, raced by Milburn Creek, won three times, a maiden in Sydney, the G1 Flight Stakes and the G1 Epsom Handicap, earning over $1.4 million. She’s been a good broodmare too with her second foal Danawi (Exceed And Excel) being a Group 3 winner while her 5-year-old gelding Townsend (Dundeel {NZ}) placed in the G1 Champagne Stakes behind Militarize (NZ) (Dundeel {NZ}) and Bases Loaded (Deep Field).
O’Brien’s purchase after the trials
Closer To Free was purchased by Polaris Bloodstock, and Adrian Corboy took him to the trials on January 29, where he won nicely. Trainer Danny O'Brien and his client Sean Buckley of Ultra Thoroughbreds bought him privately for an undisclosed sum.
“I saw him in the mounting yard before the trial because I had one in it and Adrian (Corboy) is one of the best, if not the best, breakers and he does all of our yearlings. I asked him what he was doing down here and he said he was trialling this one with the potential to sell him,” O’Brien said post-race.
Closer To Free as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
The colt will head to the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes, and the purchase looks rather astute now. His sire Street Boss (USA) is the sire of this yearling season’s most sought after first season sire Anamoe, who was second in the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (c&g) and third in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes before winning the G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes later in the season. He went on to win Group 1 races at three and four as well.
Of Street Boss’ 11 Group 1 winners, six are Australian, and he had a stakes double on Saturday with 3-year-old filly Tempted winning the G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes.
