Trilogy’s first Group 1 winner Libertad joins Blue Gum Farm

Cover image courtesy of Blue Gum Farm

Blue Gum Farm have been investing in their broodmare band over the sales season and on Thursday, they announced that Trilogy Racing’s first Group 1 winner Libertad will join the roster for his first season in 2026 at a fee of $9900 including GST. G3 Chairman’s Stakes victor Coleman also joins the roster at an opening fee of $7700 including GST.

They join resident stallions Flying Artie who will stand in 2026 at $14,850 including GST while Oxley Road heads into his third season at $5,500 including GST.

Tough Libertad has Trilogy Racing’s heart

Trilogy Racing’s Jason and Melanie Stenning first appeared in the racing game when they purchased shares in Annabel Neasham’s Libertad, a son of Russian Revolution, who had sold at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale for $210,000.

“It's no secret the investment that Jason and Mel have made in the industry, going back four or five years to when Trilogy Racing started showing up on the buyer sheet and everyone was trying to figure out who they were and what their plan was. They are here to stay,” Racing and Bloodstock Manager Colum McCullagh said.

“The industry needs people like that. They’ve had ups and downs but they are continuing to make investments in both personnel and bloodstock and improve their quality with a focus on the blue chip stock.”

Undefeated in two starts at two, including the G3 Kindergarten Stakes, Libertad won the G3 San Domenico Stakes on resuming at three.

He ran into Joliestar (Zoustar) when third in the G2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint, and at four he headed to Queensland where he won the G2 Victory Stakes. Back at five, he went west where he won the G1 Winterbottom Stakes in a hard fought victory against Overpass (Vancouver) by a tiny margin. He retires with five wins from 17 starts and over $1.6 million.

One of three Group 1 winners for Russian Revolution, whose unbeaten Group 1 winning filly Lara Antipova looks set to win this season’s Champion NZ 2YO title, Libertad represents the evergreen Snitzel sireline.

“It's a proud moment for all of us, especially for Jason and Mel Stenning, to be able to stand the first Group 1 winner in their silks. Jason and Mel, they love their racing, love going to the races, and love seeing their horses running their silks. To get Libertad to the next stage of his career is a huge thrill,” said Sales and Nominations Manager Phil Marshall.

“He's a horse that showed so much ability throughout a very good career. He was an unbeaten Group winning 2-year-old who won the Kindergarten which has been a good stepping stone for success in previous years. And he retained that ability all the way through.”

Other recent winners of the G3 Kindergarten Stakes include emerging Second Season Sire Bivouac, recently retired Espionage, and Darley’s multiple group winner Paulele.

“After he won the Winterbottom against Overpass, he was bitten by a spider and unfortunately, he ended up with a fairly nasty skin condition. It was never life threatening but it did mean he had to stay out of training.

"We had massive plans for the horse. He was going to run in the TJ Smith and he’d been invited to Royal Ascot where the plan was to run in the King Charles on the first day. Given how well Overpass ran in that event and with his form against him in the Winterbottom, it’s easy to see that he would have been very competitive in a race like that.”

Overpass (Vancouver) ran third in the G1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot, having been fourth in the G1 TJ Smith Stakes at his start prior behind Joliestar who ran third in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on the final day of Royal Ascot.

“It was disappointing that the public didn’t get to see him again, but he was incredibly tough. He won group races at two, three, four, and five. He just had such consistency, incredible toughness. But he was also a very precocious horse as well, and it's very rare that you combine all of those traits within one horse.”

Anamoe stands clear among the current generation of stallions having won Group 1 races at two, three, and four, while Champion sire Lonhro was a group winner at two, three, four and five.

Playing God and Spirit Of Boom are two examples of successful sires who were both Listed winning juveniles that showed plenty of longevity on the track, and in the Northern Hemisphere, exciting young sire Ghaiyyath (Ire) was a Group 3 winner at two and three and a Group 1 winner at four and five.

“People are looking for that more longevity now. Horses that can prove that they've trained on because the sales aren't getting any easier. As breeders, we all understand that we need to have a fallback plan and we've got to be happy to race a foal that we're trying to sell if things don't go according to plan.”

Libertad is priced at $9900 including GST for his first season, which makes him the cheapest Group 1 winner to retire for the 2026 season.

“We wanted to position him in the market so he’s appealing to a broad spectrum of breeders.

“We understand times are tough, we understand that the economy is certainly not in a great position at the moment. And we could have easily stood the horse at double his fee given the calibre of horse that he is, but we wanted to introduce him to the market at a price point that is accessible to every single person.

“Breeders are doing it tough, and we want to make sure we try and give as much back as we possibly can.”

His dam Electric Charge (Charge Forward) won over 1200 metres and is in foal to Toronado (Ire) for the upcoming spring. Electric Charge is a daughter of Listed Widden Stakes winner Miss Bussell (Danzero) who placed in the R.Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic behind Excellerator (Marscay) who trained on to win the G1 Epsom Handicap. She also placed in the G1 Champagne Stakes and G1 Queensland Derby, and produced Group 3 winner Miss Darcey (Hussonet {USA}).

Miss Bussell, in turn, is a daughter of G1 Auckland Classic winner Lurestina (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}) who also produced the dam of dual Group 2 winner Hurried Choice (Choisir).

Precocious Coleman from a sire-making family

A standout as a yearling where he made $550,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Coleman lived up to that price tag immediately when trainer Matt Laurie debuted him in the Listed Debutant Stakes as an October juvenile.

“Coleman’s 2-year-old form speaks for itself, and above all, he is an outstanding physical specimen,” Jason Stenning said.

In the Listed Debutant Stakes, Coleman covered the 1000 metres in 0:58.46s and had 1.3 lengths over second placed Arabian Summer (Too Darn Hot {GB}) who trained on to win the Magic Millions National 2YO Classic, the G3 Peter Le Grand Stakes and place in the G1 AJ Moir Stakes.

Next up, Coleman went to the G3 Chairman’s Stakes over the same distance, winning that in 0:56.71. Back in the autumn, Coleman ran third in the G3 Pago Pago Stakes, and then in the G1 Golden Slipper he split Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) and Storm Boy when second. He rounded out his juvenile season with third in the G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes won by Manaal (Tassort).

“Coleman was an incredibly fast 2-year-old and we all know that the Australian industry is built on speed and precocity. His win in the Chairman’s was unbelievable. They went very fast and things didn’t go Coleman’s way. He was forced to chase but once he got the gap he lengthened. It takes a very good horse to show a turn of foot off a very fast speed,” Marshall said.

“And in the Golden Slipper half a stride before the line and half a stride after the line, he wins. He was the first colt home and it was a very good year for 2-year-olds. Timeform rated him highest 2-year-old of that generation, so I think you've got to sit up and take notice.

“He's an incredibly good looking horse. When he arrived here on the farm, I think my jaw almost dropped to the ground when he got off the truck because he is drop dead gorgeous. He's exactly what you want for a stallion that should be producing precocious types.

“Great depth of girth, big hip, beautiful head and a great walk. He's an incredibly difficult horse to fault physically and I suppose that's the reason why he made $550,000 as a yearling.

“We know that speed sells and we think he represents incredible value.”

Coleman will stand his first season at $7700 including GST.

“There will be a lot of people who say he didn’t train on, but he ran some incredible races (as an older horse) against some smart horses. He probably raced on a little bit longer than he should have. I don't think he lost his ability, but his mind was on a different job towards the latter stage of his career.”

As a spring 3-year-old, Coleman ran second to Switzerland in the G2 Roman Consul Stakes, before running in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes. He was then transferred to Chris Waller for his next five starts, including one Listed placing, before being sent to Clinton McDonald where he concluded his career with earnings over $1.3 million.

Pierata recently added his third stakes winner with Midnight Dynamite and his best bred crop are about to turn two.

Coleman has a sire making family being out of a half-sister to Queensland’s good sire Rothesay, sire of the tough Rothfire and six other stakes winners. Coleman’s dam, Sboog (Redoute’s Choice) placed at two and has also produced dual Listed winner and G2 Karrakatta Plate-placed Liwa (Mulaazem), the dam of this season’s Listed Lonhro Plate winner Agrarian Girl (Tassort).

Sboog is a half-sister to Rothesay, as well as Listed winning second season sire Sensei. This is the family of dual Group 1 winner and outstanding sire Canny Lad, and his triple Group 1 winning full sister Canny Lass who is the second dam of Sboog. G1 Golden Slipper winner Sepoy who sired two Group 1 winners among his 22 stakes winners, as well as the promising young sire Bivouac also feature in this family.

Blue Gum’s laser-focused investment in the future

Blue Gum Farm and Trilogy Racing recently spent $920,000 at Inglis Digital to acquire La Mexicana (I Am Invincible) and $200,000 for Group 3 winner Karavali (Nadeem) at the same sale. It continues a trend of investment into high quality broodmares this year.

“It’s a statement on the investment that Jason and Melanie Stenning have made in the industry and continue to do so. The economy is difficult at the moment, but prime bloodstock is like prime real estate, it always has its safe place,” McCullagh said.

Trilogy Racing spent $765,000 on two mares at the 2026 Inglis Chairman’s Sale, and a further $720,000 at the 2026 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale where the group purchased three mares being Starry (Exceed And Excel), Wecansay Mak (Starcraft {NZ}), and Bayou (Sepoy).

“At Chairman’s this year, we bought California Gallant for $475,000 in foal to Switzerland. She’s a full sister to Houtzen. She’s unraced but a grade A mare on type and pedigree,” McCullagh said.

Houtzen (I Am Invincible) won over $2 million and four stakes races including the R.Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic. She is the dam of dual Listed winner Greenwich Village (USA) (Quality Road {USA}) who looks like a Grade 1 winning in the making.

“The other one was Canadian Spice. She's in foal to Stay Inside. A couple of days before we bought her, she had an Alabama Express foal go through the ring for $220,000.” Canadian Spice (Vancouver) won three times and placed in the R.Listed Inglis Nursery.

The purchases represent a change in strategy for Blue Gum Farm and Trilogy Racing.

“I was approached about two and half years ago. Jason and I started some dialogue and got along really well. Over the past eighteen months, the main challenge has been to cull a lot of the bloodstock. We’ve been selling a lot of broodmares and reducing the racehorse exposure,” bloodstock agent Suman Hedge said.

“It’s not just a focus on quality. There’s also been a change of philosophy too, because Trilogy and Blue Gum had a lot of horses there that were more staying types and milers, and with us coming on board, there’s been more of a shift towards the commercial side of the market.”

And with the announcement of Libertad and Coleman that focus on horses who showed precocious talent continues.

“In a sense it’s a vexing one. We all love Classic racing and love the Cups but when you are trying to run a commercial operation and you're trying to sell at Magic Millions and Easter and sales like that, the buyer focus tends to be on speed and precocity, so you've got to fit to market,” Hedge said.

Backed by a strong racing team

While there has been a consolidation process over the past two years, Trilogy Racing still has plenty of fingers in racing stock across the nation.

“Trilogy Racing has shares in north of 100 racehorses. They are also investors in the Newgate Colts syndicate, along with some other partnerships. It’s a large portfolio and is spread around the country. Jason and Mel have horses in training in Adelaide, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and also in America,” McCullagh said.

“They spread the love across multiple trainers. It's great to be a part of the direction and the vision that they have of where they want to be in the industry and they're well on the road to being there with all these new investments in the stock and personnel and processes and farms.

“As we know, our industry is such a unique one, it’s so different to any other business, so adjusting can be quite difficult if you come from another line of work. But Jason and Mel have assembled a fantastic team around them. They have the power to make a captain's call whenever they like but in terms of advice and guidance, we're all there to help them through it.”

The team recently won the Listed Denise’s Joy Stakes with Miss Freelove (Tassort), trained by Peter Snowden. Live (Zoustar), trained by Clinton McDonald, ran second in the G3 Red Anchor Stakes behind Napoleonic (Wootton Bassett {GB}). They also have 2-year-old colt The Machine Gun (Stay Inside) who runs in Saturday’s Listed Tattersall’s Stakes at Eagle Farm.