Stretan Angel to sell at Magic Millions National
Magic Millions announced on Sunday that G2 Danehill Stakes winner Stretan Angel (Harry Angel {Ire}) will be sold through Yarraman Park Stud’s draft at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in May.
“Yarraman is proud to present an exciting group of race fillies and mares at this year's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, highlighted by Stretan Angel,” said Yarraman Park Stud principal Arthur Mitchell. She is a half-sister to recent G2 Silver Slipper winning juvenile Stretan Ruler (Wild Ruler).
“Phillip and his sons Tommy and Kerrin, along with the Stokes Racing team, deserve enormous credit for the way her successful career has been managed. We’re grateful to them and Stretan Angel’s ownership group for the opportunity to present her.
Stretan Angel | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“We're assembling another strong lineup for this sale, including Gala Queen for the Stokes stable, So Glamorous for Grahame Begg, plus in-foal mares such as Seonee for Joe O'Neill's Prime Thoroughbreds, Seonee being in foal to Hellbent.
“We appreciate the support of the ownership groups who entrust us with their bloodstock, Magic Millions does a great job bringing together domestic and international buyers to cover all levels of the market.”
One more for Sheza Alibi this time
Co-trainer Peter Moody is contemplating giving Saturday’s G1 Randwick Guineas winner Sheza Alibi (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) one more start this autumn, in either the G1 Vinery Stud Stakes, G1 Doncaster Mile or G1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes.
“I expected her to be competitive but to put them to the sword like that,” Moody told racenet.com.au.
“She won't be doing anything for three or four weeks… she'll probably have one more, if she pulls up well, if she doesn't, well then she'll go to the paddock. Mindful we're in 3-year-old company but she looks exceptional… there's a pretty handy one called Autumn Glow floating around somewhere.
“You don't know, really (how good she is), we didn't see the bottom of her, did we? She's a pretty nondescript type of horse, not a big, bold Black Caviar, you know, goes out and runs track record times. I'm mindful she was in work 11 months last year, so that's why I wanted to run her in the (Randwick) Guineas… she had one (run) here, maybe two in Sydney.”
Eternal Warrior out of Slipper contention
Trainer Lloyd Kennewell announced on Sunday that his Listed-winning 2-year-old colt Eternal Warrior (Extreme Warrior) would miss the G1 Golden Slipper.
“After working the horse this morning, his regular rider reported that he did not feel good or normal in his action. Upon further investigation with our vet team, scans revealed the colt had significant changes to his suspensory branch,” the social media post said.
Eternal Warrior | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“This is shattering for our loyal clients all the way through to our entire team that work and care for not only Eternal Warrior, but all our horses on a daily basis.”
Listed winner Beadman heads to Galaxy
Trainer Peter Snowden will push on to the G1 Galaxy Handicap with Saturday’s Listed Fireball Stakes victor Beadman (Snitzel).
“Beadman's rating will go up with his Fireball win and we are hopeful he can make The Galaxy field,” Snowden told racingandsports.com.au.
“We've always felt he was a sprinter with a lot of ability and although he's still lightly-raced, he's improving all the time. A high pressure race like The Galaxy would suit him because he's a big, strong colt. If he doesn't make The Galaxy field, we have the Darby Munro Stakes the same day and then we can push on to the Arrowfield Sprint during The Championships.”
Pride Of Jenni into Australian Cup next
After Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) ran third in Saturday’s G1 All-Star Mile when resuming, trainer Ciaron Maher is planning a tilt at the G1 Australian Cup next.
“She does worry us sometimes, when you're like ‘oh no she's under siege today', but she's an amazing horse, to be doing it, the way she does it, at that age,” Maher told racenet.com.au.
“We used to give her two runs before we ran her in a race like this and she's doing it first-up, as you get older it's generally harder to get fit. They've broken the class record and she's half a length (off them), huge.
Pride Of Jenni | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Three weeks into an Australian Cup, the time works really well. You'd think 2000 metres might suit her again, I know we toss and turn which one is better for her, she's elite at a mile and she has been elite at 2000 metres. Sydney can get wet, I think she's better on top of the ground these days… (Australian Cup) probably the one that we're leaning to at the moment.”
Raging Force will recover from pelvis injury
Exciting 3-year-old Raging Force (Cosmic Force) was pulled out of Saturday’s G2 Challenge Stakes by jockey Tommy Berry and transported to the Randwick Equine Centre.
“Fortunately, it is not a displaced fracture and it will heal in time,” trainer Peter Snowden told racingandsports.com.au on Sunday.
Raging Force | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“It's a relief as it could have been a lot worse. He will need time, at least five to six months to recover but there is a high chance we can get him back to the races.” He won the G3 San Domenico Stakes in the spring.
Hatch joins Gollan team
Trainer Lindsay Hatch will move from Toowoomba to become Tony Gollan’s assistant trainer running Gollan’s Gold Coast stable.
“I never had a lot of good horses in work and the expenses are getting dearer and it's harder to run a business,” Hatch told racenet.com.au.
“Just a lot of things weighed up and Tony had been asking me since he set up at the Gold Coast (in mid 2024) to go there and run it. One thing led to another and I finally took it. It was an easy decision, especially with Tony's plans because he wants to run more horses at the Gold Coast and tap into the Northern Rivers. And he felt he couldn't do that without the right person there and he feels that I'm the right person, which is a feather in my cap I suppose.”
Juvenile winner for Spirit Of Boom
At Toowoomba’s night meeting on Saturday, Spirit Of Boom’s 2-year-old filly Boomelli took her record to two wins from three starts for trainer Tony Gollan. Spirit Of Boom has six individual juvenile winners so far in this crop.
Sold by Robyn Wise to Boomer Bloodstock (FBAA) and Beamish Bloodstock for $160,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, she is out of Foxelli (Foxwedge) who had a Hawaii Five Oh filly in 2025.
Rubick had two winners at the meeting with Rubaahy and Fabs Cuz.
Farnan adds juvenile winner
At Muswellbrook on Sunday, Farnan added a new juvenile winner when Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained colt Drumfire debuted with a victory over 1000 metres by 1.2 lengths. Purchased by James Harron Colt Partnership and Tony Fung Colts for $160,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, he was sold by Alma Vale Thoroughbreds.
Drumfire is the first foal of Can’t Get Enough (I Am Invincible) who is a winning half-sister to Group 3 winner Big Parade (Deep Field). This is the family of sires King’s Legacy, Not A Single Doubt, and Snippets.
Sunday sire doubles
The Autumn Sun had two winners at Muswellbrook with Autumn King and Olympian. Russian Revolution had a pair at Echuca with Baganov and Hughes. At Stoney Creek, Toronado (Ire) had a double with Baffleck and Station One.
Second Listed victory for Bonjoy
Jason Miller-trained 6-year-old mare Bonjoy (Maschino) added a second Listed victory to her record when taking out Saturday evening’s Listed Bunbury Stakes by a neck. She hasn’t won since this time last year, but has been competitive in stakes class in the interim. Now the winner of 12 of her 25 starts with earnings over $660,000, Bonjoy was purchased by her trainer for $60,000. She is a graduate of Alwyn Park Stud’s Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale draft.
One of two winners for unplaced mare Amity Belle (Snitzel) whose youngest foal is a Maschino yearling colt. This is the family of Group 1 winner Montoya’s Secret (High Chaparral {Ire}).
Listed Bunbury Cup won by Arcadia Park
Peters Investments-owned Arcadia Park (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) won his third Listed race in Saturday evening’s Listed Bunbury Cup. He had previously won the Listed Belmont Classic and Listed Aquanita Stakes last winter, and has five victories in total with earnings over $400,000.
Trained by Michael Grantham, he is one of four winners for G2 Western Australia Derby winner Arcadia Dream (Domesday). She is a half-sister to triple Group 1 winner Arcadia Queen (Pierro), Group 3 winner Arcadia Prince (Pierro) and Listed winner Arcadia Rose (Kheley {USA}).
European decision on World Cup delayed
Connections of some of the leading European-trained Dubai World Cup entries are said to be taking a watching brief on the conflict in the Middle East before firming up running plans for the fixture that boasts over US$30 million (AU$42.6 million) in prizemoney on Saturday, March 28.
On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Shadai Race Horse Company's Masquerade Ball and Jantar Mantar would not travel from Japan to Meydan for their intended starts in the Dubai Sheema Classic and Dubai Turf.
However, leading Irish trainer Joseph O'Brien and the Aga Khan Stud's Racing Manager, Nemone Routh, have said a decision on their respective participation at the meeting will be made much closer to the time. Tower Of London, Al Riffa and Sons And Lovers, successful in the G2 Red Sea Turf Handicap at the Saudi Cup meeting when last seen, are all in contention to represent O'Brien in the Gulf later this month.
Meanwhile, the Francis Graffard-trained Calandagan could bid to go one better for the Aga Khan Studs in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
Routh said, “We currently have two horses and a number of staff based in Dubai. Rayevka, who is trained by Francis Graffard, and Alakazi, trained by Johnny Murtagh, are both in Dubai. And then we have the prospect of running Calandagan. If he does go, he doesn't ship until the 21st of this month so we are waiting to see what happens and will see how we feel about the whole situation close to the time. We're going ahead with all of the protocols so that gives us the option if we do decide to go. We will discuss with Princess Zahra to see what she would like to do closer to the time. We will know a little bit more about what is happening in the Middle East by then.”
O'Brien, who has rightly earned himself a reputation for being a master campaigner of horses on a global stage, is taking a similar approach to the Aga Khan Studs.
“We plan to have three or four runners at the Dubai World Cup. We had Aeronautic, who was out there with Shane Crosse, in Dubai recently,” O’Brien said.
“He ran there last week but both he and Shane flew home within the past couple of days. We are just monitoring the situation between now and World Cup night because things could relax or escalate. We are in communication with the Dubai Racing Club and the horses are not due for shipping until later this month so we can make a decision closer to the time.”
Racing took place at Meydan on Friday, where European trainers like Charlie Appleby, Ian Williams and Jamie Osborne were all represented.
Japan cancel broadcast of Dubai World Cup
Japan's highest-profile challenger for the meeting, the Breeders' Cup Classic and dual Saudi Cup winner Forever Young, is already in situ along with his stable-mate American Stage having travelled to Dubai from Riyadh several weeks ago, but it is looking increasingly unlikely that others will follow from Japan.
The Japanese government has now raised its threat level for travel to six countries including the UAE. The Level 3 advisory urges people not to travel and, like other nations, the Japanese government is arranging charter flights to evacuate its citizens from the region.
Forever Young | Image courtesy of Dubai Racing Club
The Japan Racing Association (JRA), which usually arranges simulcasts for overseas races which include a Japanese runner, announced on Friday that it has cancelled its plan to show four races from Meydan: the Dubai World Cup, Sheema Classic, Turf and the Golden Shaheen.
Oaklawn announce field size incentive
Oaklawn Park will support a new purse incentive designed to reward horsemen who support the track for the remainder of the 2025-2026 racing season, Oaklawn announced Saturday.
Beginning with Condition Book 4 released March 19, 2026, the incentive will apply to the 25 remaining scheduled race days of the meet and, per the release, “will reward races that attract larger fields.”
Under the new structure, Allowance and Maiden Special Weight races will receive an additional US$5000 (AU$7100) in purse money for each official starter above nine betting interests, except for stake races; all other overnight races will receive an additional US$2000 (AU$2840) for each official starter above nine betting interests. Through the new purse incentive program, Allowance races could potentially reach US$140,000 (AU$198,000) while the lowest overnight purses could increase to as much as US$36,000 (AU$51,000) when races exceed nine official starters.
