Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
In this instalment of Stable Tours, TTR caught up with Manny Gelagotis, General Manager and Assistant Trainer to his brother Peter, for an insight into the team’s spring hopes and the next wave of talent looking to make their mark.
With proven 4-year-olds such as Wetumpka (Alabama Express) and Recuperato (Farnan) leading the charge, the Gelagotis team has plenty to look forward to in the immediate future, while a team of 15 2-year-olds provides plenty of excitement for the seasons ahead.
The move to Pakenham in recent times has also helped open the door to new ownership, with Mongolian owner Mr Ganbaatar Dagvadorj adding significant depth to the stable as the Gelagotis brothers continue to build their operation and aim to remain competitive at the highest level.
“We normally have a team of about 25-30 horses, I like to think we box out of our division a bit and we try to compete as much as we can to stay relevant," Manny Gelagotis explained.
“I think we have proven that we can punch on with a good one.”
Manny Gelagotis | Image courtesy of Peter Gelagotis Racing
The move to Pakenham has been an important part of the stable’s evolution, with the operation now also welcoming significant new investment from Mongolian owner Mr Ganbaatar Dagvadorj.
“We did make the move to Pakenham to get more commercial and we now have a new Mongolian owner Mr Ganbaatar Dagvadorj and he has added some lovely horses to the stable. We actually have 15 2-year-olds which is a really good number for us.
“We have done the hard yards, proven ourselves and now to build some really significant clients from New Zealand, Australia and further afield is great vindication of the strategic move around the business.
“So we have the quality there and hopefully we can capitalise, as we have a strong stable and team.”
4-year-olds
Wetumpka, 4-year-old gelding (Alabama Express x Casino Club {Casino Prince})
“Newly gelded he produced a really above average performance winning at Sale, and we were really relieved to see it as he is a horse we have always held in the highest regard.
“He had some bad luck and some bad rides during his 3-year-old season, but his form now looks strong around the likes of Regal Award and Salty Pearl.
“He was always high up on our list of prospects and I really do think the sky is the limit, we will be patient and potentially we think he profiles nicely for the Carnival Country Series, so he may go for a heat at Seymour worth $100,000 on October 11th and look to qualify for the $500,000 final on Oaks Day.
Recuperato, 4-year-old mare (Farnan x Afiado {Encosta De Lago})
“She has been one of our flag bearers of the stable, being a Group winner as a 2-year-old, and Saturday winner as a 3-year-old. The real aim with her is to keep competing in these kind of races and she is down to run at Mornington on Saturday.
“She is a very valuable mare, we will be trying to make the most of that for her owners both by having fun racing and building her record.”
Caelius, 4-year-old gelding (Pierro x Salina {Redoute's Choice})
“He has come back well as a gelding, he is a stunning animal and I think he just lost his way a little bit last preparation, but he is a good talent.
“He made a great return at Sale and we have city aspirations with him.
Freshen, 4-year-old mare (Written Tycoon x Fresh {Fastnet Rock})
“She is a well-bred mare that is back in work. We think she can graduate to a city grade horse and hopefully down the line if we place her right somewhere in South Australia or even Tasmania, we might be able to get a bit of black type.
Bajaria, 4-year-old mare (I Am Invincible x Oregon’s Day {Domesday})
“She has taken a little time to come back up. She over-raced a little first-up at Geelong, but I think she has a good campaign ahead and should be winning plenty of races.”
Gallery: Some of Peter Gelagotis Racing's 4-year-old horses
Older horses
House Of Lords, 6-year-old mare (Almanzor (Fr) x Shez Sinsational (NZ) {Ekraar {USA}})
“She is a beautifully bred filly out of a really good New Zealand mare.
“She is a little bit delicate physically. She has had a couple runs and profiles good out of her last one, and once at 2000 metres and beyond, I think she is right on track.
“She looks like a Country Cup type mare and we will be looking to chase some black type for connections whereever that is around the country. We will look to place her the best we can to achieve that.”
Lake Forest, 5-year-old gelding (Written Tycoon x Fuhryk {Star Witness})
“He is a beautiful horse, we can call him an Inglis Digital Astute purchase now that he has done well for us straightaway.
“He should really be three from three for the stable, and the two wins have been track records on the synthetic.
“He is a big imposing horse and we are really excited about him as he goes good on the grass and showed how good he was on the synthetic also.”
Fiery Deal, 5-year-old mare (Dundeel (NZ) x Fiery Jest {Testa Rossa})
“She is a nice mare, she will hover around the benchmark races. She looks ready to win as she was a touch unlucky last time out.”
Gallery: Some of Peter Gelagotis Racing's older horses, images courtesy of Peter Gelagotis Racing
3-year-olds
Rock The Vendi, 3-year-old filly (Levendi x Rock The Lady (NZ) {Roc De Cambes {NZ}})
“She has done a good job so far, she is the only horse we have by Levendi so there is a bit of sentimental love there also.
“She has always been a touch immature, but I reckon she could be a lovely Autumn style filly.”
Coco La Boss, 3-year-old filly (Farnan x French Boss {Street Boss {USA}})
“She is a typical Farnan, a lovely jump and run type of filly.
“She is not too far away from trialling, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Mongolian Hero, 3-year-old gelding (Ghaiyyath (Ire) x Six Bells {Brazen Beau})
“We picked him up from a new client Mr Dagvadorj from Mongolia, he was in another stable and they were aiming him up for a race at Flemington. We carried on with that plan which was probably a little bit of a mistake.
“We have now gelded him, we like him and he is due to race in the next month or so.”
Gallery: Some of Peter Gelagotis Racing's 3-year-old horses, images courtesy of Peter Gelagotis Racing
2-year-olds
“We have a team of about 15 2-year-olds and there is plenty of quality there. Mr Dagvadorj really likes the Dundeels so we have plenty of them.
“We have some I Am Invincible fillies with high level pedigrees, we have a full brother to Levendi, and a nice Dundeel out of the star mare English among others.
“They are a really nice bunch, we have done early work with quite a few of them, a few have had a couple of preparations and they look like nice horses, so it’s exciting."
Unnamed, 2-year-old colt (Dundeel (NZ) x Tigeen {O’Reilly {NZ}})
Purchased for $350,000 by Gelagotis Racing and James Bester Bloodstock from the Yarraman Park Stud draft at the 2026 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
“He really looks like a classic horse of the future, he has horses like Pierro and Observer and the pedigree and he looks a really nice staying prospect for the future.”
Unnamed, 2-year-old colt (Dundeel (NZ) x English {Encosta De Lago})
Purchased for $400,000 by G Dagvadorj from the Newhaven Park draft at the 2026 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Unnamed, 2-year-old filly (I Am Invincible x Taste Of Heaven {Encosta De Lago})
Purchased for $300,000 by PGR Racing from the Yarraman Park Stud draft at the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Unnamed, 2-year-old filly (I Am Invincible x Volpe Veloce {Foxwedge})
Purchased for $400,000 by Gelagotis Racing and James Bester Bloodstock from the Longwood Thoroughbred Farm draft at the 2026 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Unnamed, 2-year-old colt (Pierro x Lipari {Redoute’s Choice})
Unnamed, 2-year-old colt (Alabama Express x Lillis {Written Tycoon})
Purchased for $300,000 by Gelagotis Racing and James Bester Bloodstock from the Yulong draft at the 2026 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
Gallery: Some of Peter Gelagotis Racing's 2-year-old horses, images courtesy of Peter Gelagotis Racing
