The Next Episode all class on the Gold Coast
There was plenty of drama before the running of the $1 million Magic Millions National 2YO Classic on Friday night 1t the Gold Coast, but in the end it was the Ciaron Maher-trained hot favourite, The Next Episode (Snitzel), who won in stunning fashion, cementing his place as a star on the track as well as in the sales ring.
The beautifully bred 2-year-old colt was sensationally backed out of the gates after becoming fractious. He was passed fit to run, but the drama didn’t stop there. He was slow away in the hands of Jason Collett and ended up settling with only a couple of runners behind him. In the end, however, it didn’t matter as he scored in stunning style by a length and a half after making a long sustined run down the outside.
Halfway down the straight, it was the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Natural Fling (Home Affairs) who burst to the lead and looked the likely winner, but The Next Episode was warming up strongly and scored easily despite all the pre-race and early-race dramas. Natural Fling ended up running a game second, with Lucky Pat (Lucky Vega {Ire}) another length behind in third.
The win also pushed Snitzel ahead of Home Affairs in the 2-year-old sire premiership, with The Next Episode’s prizemoney from the race - just under $600,000, giving his sire a lead of approximately $280,000 taking account of the Home Affairs runners that ran second and fifth in the same race.
The Next Episode now boasts a 2-year-old record of three wins, including one at Listed level, and a second placing in the G3 Kindergarten Stakes from only five starts. He looks an exciting prospect for his 3-year-old season.
The Next Episode winning the Magic Millions National 2YO Classic | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
The Next Episode is the equal highest-priced yearling by Champion sire Snitzel ever sold and is the second foal out of Humma Humma (Denman), a multiple stakes-winning mare whose victories include the G3 Proud Miss Stakes, Listed Alinghi Stakes and Listed Redelva Stakes. She is also a half-sister to Listed winner Tycoon Humma (Capitalist).
Her first foal, Price Tag (Zoustar), has already made a bright start to her career, placing in the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (f), the Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes, and running fourth in the G3 Maribyrnong Plate last season.
Humma Humma has an I Am Invincible yearling colt that was purchased for $600,000 by McEvoy Mitchell Racing Pty Ltd and Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) at the recent Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, as well as a Zoustar weanling filly and she missed to Zoustar last spring.
The Next Episode was purchased for $2.8 million from the Widden Stud draft at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Connections of The Next Episode after winning the Magic Millions National 2YO Classic | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
McGovern moved to palliative care
Queensland jockey Shane McGovern has been moved to palliative care. He sustained major injuries in a trackwork accident on Wednesday April 8, after the horse he was riding collapsed and crushed him. “He has been transferred to the palliative care unit due to ongoing issues,” the Australian Jockeys' Association (AJA) posted on social media on Friday morning.
“He has his family by his side now as he continues with this horrendous battle.” McGovern had both his legs amputated in the weeks following the accident and has injuries to his ribs and shoulder as well.
“They just couldn't control the infection and he was also bleeding internally,” AJA health and safety officer Kevin Ring told racenet.com.au.
“They did take a bit more of his left leg off but they couldn't do any more. They were pumping him full of blood and he was surviving but that was it. The family just agreed it was best to let him rest and keep him comfortable. It's a sad situation.”
Half Yours under vet cloud for Doomben Cup
Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Half Yours (St Jean {Ire}) will need to vetted again on Saturday morning ahead of the G1 Doomben Cup after he was seen by vets to be slightly lame in a hind leg on Friday morning. “I've got no qualms with the horse whatsoever,” Tony McEvoy told racenet.com.au.
“The horse is normal to my eye, and normal to my riders. He is a 5-year-old stayer and they have just got him out of his box and trotted him up.”
Half Yours | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Free beers for Doomben Cup fans
If Half Yours does run, and either him or Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) win Saturday’s G1 Doomben Cup, the Brisbane Racing Club will shout free beers to the public. “Pride Of Jenni’s Hollindale win has created huge anticipation heading into Saturday, while the presence of reigning Melbourne Cup winner Half Yours, who worked brilliantly between races at Doomben last weekend, gives the race genuine national significance,” Brisbane Racing Club CEO Karl deKroo told racing.com.
“We’re thrilled to partner with XXXX again to create a fun, high-energy atmosphere and reward racegoers with a XXXX Gold on us if either champion gets the job done.”
Pair of stakes winners added to National Broodmare Sale
At the last minute, Group 3 winner Melody Again (Your Song) and Flemington Listed winner Basilinna (NZ) (Staphanos {Jpn}) have been added to the supplementary catalogue for the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale to be held on May 26 and 27.
Melody Again’s six victories include the 2025 G3 Dark Jewel Classic, a race she ran fourth in last weekend. Basilinna has won three times including the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes, and she was third in the G1 Victoria Oaks behind Zardozi (Kingman {GB}) at her fifth start.
Racing Minister steps down
Queensland Racing Minister Tim Mander has resigned following an Australian Federal Police investigation into potential breaches of electoral laws. “I have no intention of this becoming a distraction to the important work of the Government and so this afternoon I advised the Premier I am standing aside today as Minister while this is being sorted,” Mander said in a statement late on Thursday.
Inglis Digital May (late) Sale open
Fiorenza (Kingman {GB}) headlines the Inglis Digital May (Late) Online Sale catalogue, which is now open for bidding. “Fiorenza is without doubt a Chairman’s-quality offering,” Inglis Bloodstock Sales Manager Harry Bailey said.
“She has an incredibly strong international pedigree, her page is packed with black type performers, among her siblings are two Australian Stakes performed 2-year-olds as well as the elite race mare In Italian, a four-time Group 1 winner for Chad Brown and Peter Brant on the turf in America.
Harry Bailey | Image courtesy of Inglis
“The pedigree improves year after year - there are three Group 1 winners in the first two dams, with 18 winning female descendants of her second dam Celebria while her siblings have sold up to $1.8m, $1.1m etc so it’s evidently a pedigree synonymous with racetrack and sale ring success.
“Physically she is exactly what you would hope to see — a quality mare with the elegance and refinement so typical of Kingman, combined with the strength and substance of Redoute’s Choice. She’s a quality individual with a good length of hip and strong hindquarter, a good shoulder angle and good action. Overall, she’s a well-balanced, attractive mare with an exceptional international pedigree and that makes her very appealing as a broodmare prospect, whether it’s in Australasia or internationally.”
Emotional run in Chief De Beers for Chapman
Rob Heathcote-trained Hatchet (Worthy Cause) could provide an emotional victory for his ownership group in Saturday’s Listed Chief De Beers Handicap at Doomben. Co-owner Chris Chapman was also in the ownership of Chief De Beers (Hula Chief {NZ}) along with her late parents Barrie and Margaret Greenup. “It would be a dream come true. I'm pretty sure I'd have some heavenly help from Mum and Dad,” Chapman told racenet.com.au.
“I'll be jumping up and down as normal and screaming. I don't think I'll be able to contain myself. He never goes around really short, so I kind of expected that he'd have a decent price on him. For some bizarre reason, he happens to love Doomben almost as much as the ‘Chief'. He's just like wine, he's getting better with age.”
All 20 of Chief De Beers’ victories came at Doomben. He died in 2020, aged 28, while living at Living Legends in Victoria. “He gave us a load of fun and we loved him to bits. I've kept in really close contact with absolutely everybody who was in the story of his life, right up until the time that he passed away.”
Kropp’s filly up against it
Toowoomba trainer William Kropp knows his filly Our Brave Lini (Heroic Valour) is up against it in Saturday’s G2 The Roses, having snuck into the field thanks to scratchings. “I wasn’t even thinking about the Oaks until she won so well at Ipswich on a soft track,” Kropp told racingqueensland.com.au.
“She came from well back that day and she was six to eight lengths off them with only 200 metres to go. She just went bang and if she didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have proceeded with an Oaks campaign.”
Our Brave Lini as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
One away from glory for Prosser
The win of Dis Is Heaven (Dissident) at Inverell on Friday took trainer Colt Prosser to 299 career wins. He runs Danxia (El Roca) at Randwick hoping for the 300 milestone.
“I thought Danxia raced really well,” Prosser told racenet.com.au of Danxia’s last start seventh. “Nothing went to plan with him, he got back a little bit and then got hooked up on the corner and had to wait for a horse to get out of his road. I thought the last furlong was great.”
First winner for Johannes Vermeer
Second season sire Johannes Vermeer (Ire) celebrated his first winner when 3-year-old gelding Johnny Be Good won at Geelong on Friday for trainer Andrew Campbell. Johannes Vermeer, a Group 1 winning son of Galileo (Ire), has 13 live foals in his first crop, and has had three runners to date.
Johnny Be Good is the second live foal and first winner for It’s A Cinch (NZ) (Pins) who is an unraced half-sister to stakes placed Excessabeel (NZ) (Savabeel).
Purton five away from milestone
Champion jockey Zac Purton sits on 1995 career wins in Hong Kong, only five wins from a milestone 2000 wins. He already holds the record for most wins by a Hong Kong jockey, and his first win in the region was on Ricky Yiu-trained Elfhelm (Ire) (Perugino {USA}) at Happy Valley on September 12, 2007.
Zac Purton | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Purton won his first championship in 2013/14, ending a 13-season streak by Douglas Whyte. In 2020, he became the first jockey to win all twelve Hong Kong Group 1 races during his career, having hit the 1000 win tally in 2019. Only Purton and Whyte had reached that milestone at that point in time.
In January 2025, Purton overtook Whyte’s all-time record of 1813 wins, winning on View Of The World (NZ) (Derryn) at Happy Valley.
Keys looks to dominate hot field
Trainer John Keys has three runners in the Sunday’s strong 3-year-old race at Hobart with Zambesi Blonde (Stratosphere), Accusaient (Turffontein) and Lawrenny Boys (Stratosphere). “I think Zambesi Blonde is above average. He trialled really well the other day. He got a bit far back, but he was hitting the line really well. I really do rate that horse, and I’m hopeful he will run well,” Keys told tasracing.com.au.
“It’s taken Lawrenny Boys a long time to win a race. Accusaient improves all the time; I think having a strong rider will help no end.”
Half-brothers go head-to-head on Saturday
Trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott will run half-brothers Group 2-placed Uderzo (Vadamos {Fr}) and Desert Mystic (Satono Aladdin {Jpn})) in the same race at Ellerslie on Saturday. Bred by Rich Hill Stud with Peter Merton, they are out of Etosha Lass (NZ) (Pentire {GB}).
“Uderzo has taken a bit of racing to get him fit, which he is at the present time and generally holds his form, especially while the ground is in good condition like it is now. He gets around Ellerslie well, he’s got good form on the course and we’re expecting him to race well again,” Scott told Loveracing.nz.
Andrew Scott | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“Desert Mystic has been racing without any luck in Rating 75s with bigger weights. We thought we would go the other way and pop him up in grade and drop in weight to give him his chance. He’s a fit gelding and has been competitive around Ellerslie before without a winning turn. On his day, he’s a capable galloper and there’s no reason why he can’t put in close to a winning performance.” The pair are two of five winners for their dam, who is an unplaced half-sister to Listed placed Isle Be Ready (NZ) (Perfectly Ready).
Keeneland announce South American reps
Ignacio Correas IV and Ezequiel Valle have been appointed Keeneland's South American sales representatives, as the company looks to further strengthen its global outreach and engagement with buyers and sellers across the region, according to a Thursday press release.
Correas retired from training in 2025 and brings decades of experience and relationships across both North and South America. Valle, based in Argentina, adds extensive relationships across breeding, racing and farm management, currently serving as a leader at Haras Firmamento.
“Keeneland has long taken a global approach to recruitment, building relationships across various regions to deliver the most diverse buying bench in the industry,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “South America remains an important part of that effort, and Ignacio and Ezequiel bring the experience, perspective and connections to strengthen how we engage with our clients across the region.”
