Cantina has been added to the list of successful homebreds for racing’s well known McGrath family after the three year-old filly broke her maiden status at Yarra Glen on Saturday.
Brian McGrath is the trainer in the family and has 20 horses in work at Cranbourne. His father is former UK race broadcaster and identity Jim McGrath, while Brian’s uncle, Joe McGrath, works for the VRC and plays a huge role in the promotional travels throughout Australia of the Melbourne Cup.
And it shouldn’t be forgotten that Brian’s grandfather, also of the identical name, was a leading rails bookmaker in Australia.
It’s no surprise the English born Brian finished up in the racing industry as a trainer, while his father dabbles in breeding a few thoroughbreds, and his uncle offers support through a syndicate of friends who race D’Jumbuck and Only Human in partnership.
Both horses were bred by Jim McGrath and are out of Carousing which he also bred and raced.
D’Jumbuck, by Rosemont Stud stallion Starspangledbanner, has won two races, both at Sandown last year.
Only Human, by Animal Kingdom, is a three-year-old gelding that has raced twice for a third and then a fourth at Sandown last week.
“Joe supports the stable, and he has a group of guys in his syndicate and they are in the ownership of a few of them which is great,” Brian said.
“He knows his breeding, but it’s my dad who is doing the breeding, but Joe is there supporting it and he knows his stuff and is just a great guy to go into bat for you.”
McGrath said his father, who is still based in the UK and has been unable to visit Australia for two years because of COVID, has a handful of mares in Victoria which he is extremely keen to breed from them.
“He has done a good job,” he said.
“Cantina is out of Red Margarita (Dalakhani x Red Bartsia) who he bought in England as a yearling at Tattersalls and was trained by David Elsworth.
“She was only fair, and then he bought her over to Australia and bred from her here.”
Red Margarita’s first two foals were by New Approach (IRE). Carousing made it to the races once, while Beauvilliers had one official trial but was unraced.
The mare’s third foal – Larrikin – was by Poet’s Voice and the eight-year-old has so far won nine races, including a city victory, from 58 starts. The gelding is raced by Jim McGrath.
Larrikin gave McGrath his first winner when the gelding won a two-year-old maiden at Geelong in July, 2016 at odds of $101.
Red Margarita also produced Inkslinger (Akeed Mofeed) and Bush Christmas (Poet’s Voice) and both are winners and still racing. Inkslinger, now with five wins, scored at Wodonga last Friday over 1100m.
After having Cantina, Red Margarita missed to Akeed Mofeed but has a colt and filly by Palentino.
“It’s been a good family to us,” McGrath said.
“You could say it is the family’s family.”
McGrath said his father had liked the cross with Palentino and hopes Cantina might be able to stretch out over a bit further as she matures.
Palentino (Teofilo x Palatine Hill) won two Group 1 races – the Australian Guineas (1600m) and the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m). He was retired as a four-year-old.
The production line of horses continues for Brian, with D’Jumbuck’s dam, Carousing, having a filly by Akeed Mofeed.
And McGrath is hoping thatumanHman Cantina, bred by Jim, in partnership with Noorilim Park Thoroughbreds, will continue to progress through the ranks.
“I thought it was a really good win,” McGrath said of Saturday’s victory.
“She did a good job and is still very green and very new. Jarrod Fry sort of said in fairness to her she showed a good turn of foot when she got clear.
“The others on the outside had that momentum on her and she repelled them and showed a good attitude.
“And we have been really pleased with her. She has got a good attitude and does really well and ate up after that run on Saturday and has got a good constitution.”
McGrath said Cantina is the first horse he has had in the stable by Widden Stud stallion, Palentino.
“We have bred back to him with a couple of mares,” he said.
“And we liked Palentino. He was a good a racehorse.”
McGrath said it was a case of being realistic with service fees which he says are pretty high at the moment.
“The freshmen sires are unproven, and their prices are so high as well,” he said.
“It’s expensive.”
McGrath said that Palentino’s sire Teofilo had shown with his multiple Group winning son Humidor that the progeny get better with time and age.
“I think the Palentinos are going to need that bit of time being by Teofilo,” he said.
McGrath said his father also had another broodmare, New Zealand Belle of Pentire (Pentire x Libra Belle). Another of them is Red Ransom mare Dianthus (Slightly Pink) that produced Try Pink (New Approach) which won three races for Brian.
Try Pink was retired in August and has now gone to stud.
“Hopefully it’s a family that’s going to keep developing, but it’s all about a bit of luck really, isn’t it?, he said.
And while McGrath said breeding is a long process, he said it’s all worthwhile when they win.
And while Jim hopes to get back to Australia in January, Joe said the racing identity was still very much in touch with what goes on here.
“He has certainly raced a few over there, but his breeding set-up is here, and he has provided a very good base for Brian to commence his career,” Joe said.
“Compared to a football coach, Brian needs new recruits and the ones that have come through his gate he has done a great job with.”
McGrath started with just two horses in the stable.

The death of Reward For Effort last week was felt through many sectors of the industry and for Hollylodge Thoroughbreds’ Daniel Nevill, the stallion played a special part in the development of his farm.
Nevill said it was perhaps fitting on the day Reward For Effort was euthanised due to complications from surgery on an ongoing deep-seated foot abscess that the stallion’s son, Scores of Fun, won his sixth race in Hong Kong.
Scores of Fun, which was named Hottie Lamottie in Australia, had one official trial in Victoria for Patrick Payne before being sold unraced to Hong Kong and then won on debut.
The now five-year-old, bred and born at Hollylodge Thoroughbreds at Avenel, won at Happy Valley last week to take his career earnings to $1.2 million.
And the long list of other Reward For Effort progeny that were either bred by Hollylodge Thoroughbreds or sold through their drafts at various sales include Layel, Sanbuck, Spin The Reward, Swinging George, Benoni, Destiny’s Republic and Inebriating.
Another Reward For Effort graduate, a colt out of Fudge Delight, was sold by Hollylodge at this year’s Melbourne Premier for $30,000 to Yargi Racing.
The colt, which ran the third-fastest time at the recent Magic Millions Gold Coast two-year-olds in training sale, was then sold for $150,000.
Hollylodge sold Scores of Fun for $15,000 as a weanling and then was purchased for $100,000 by Hong Kong’s Price Bloodstock at the 2018 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
“He has done well in Hong Kong,” Nevill said.
“He had a couple of x-ray issues and we probably made a mistake, but his half-sister by Trust In A Gust has gone to Tasmania and is down with Cameron Thompson.
“And if she wins a few races, she’ll just join the broodmare band. She is owned by a client of mine who actually raced Reward For Effort.
“They are from WA and the mare obviously resides with me.”
Nevill said the Reward For Efforts they’d bred or sold through their drafts had been good to them, but none had won a Stakes race.
“Layel was a city winner, Sanbuck was city placed, Spin The Reward was bred and retained and is a city winner and Destiny’s Republic won three in a row last prep,” he said.
“And for our clients, Reward For Effort has been good for them.”
Nevill said things had been tough for the stallion over the past months and it was distressing for a lot of people when the horse was put down last week.
“It was a sad time for everyone,” he said.
And he posted on WhatsApp: “RIP Big horse you have been a good stallion to our small farm!!”
But on a brighter note for Nevill, Hollylodge will offer 14 yearlings at Melbourne Premier next year, four or for five at Adelaide and 15 for Magic Millions on the Gold Coast.
He said they have bred from about 40 mares this year.
“I have got five mares of my own, and the rest are for clients, but I only breed down the bottom end, and I don’t like putting too much money on the line, and I’m only a little ten grand breeder,” Nevill said.
“That’s my service fee limit, and if they make forty at the sales, I think I have kicked a goal and if they make one hundred, then I’ve certainly kicked a goal.
“I have got a share in I Am Immortal and I bought a share in Dirty Work this year and I have sent a mare to Omaha Beach and I have a mare which just went in foal Kermadec.
“I only support Victorian stallions.”
Nevill said he liked I Am Immortal (Swettenham Stud) and praised Spendthrift, home of Dirty Work, for the work they are doing with their stallions.
ANZ Bloodstock News reported that Dynamic Syndications Dean Watt paid tribute to Reward For Effort, which won the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) in 2009.
Reward for Effort, who has sired eight stakes winners from modest beginnings in the breeding shed, had recently endured a tumultuous period at stud, having only been transferred from his long-time home of Chatswood Stud at Seymour to nearby Larneuk Stud in late October after Greg and Nic Willis’ thoroughbred operation was placed in the hands of administrators.
“We can’t be any more thankful for what the horse did for us here at Dynamic. It was just wonderful and it happened at the right time for us, too, because we’d just gone out on our own,” Watt told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“I had a business partner at the time and I bought my business partner out and the following day we won the Blue Diamond with him. Timing’s everything, as they say.
“Trying to find the right horse is very difficult, so when he crossed the line in the Blue Diamond was an absolute dream. Watch now; he’ll come out and have stakes winners, as is always the way.”
Watt paid for $190,000 for Reward For Effort at the 2008 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale and the colt made an immediate impression with Caulfield trainer with Peter Moody.
The son of Exceed And Excel (Danehill), the half-brother to stakes winner and Group 1-placed Consular (Royal Academy), won his first start, the Blue Diamond Preview (Listed, 1000m), in January 2009 and, after splitting Real Saga (Tale Of The Cat) and Starspangledbanner (Choisir), in the Prelude (Gr 3, 1100m), he was able to win the Blue Diamond at his third start.
“One thing that probably upset us the most was that we hit the Golden Slipper on a Heavy 10, the year Phelan Ready won it,” Watt said.
“That Exceed And Excel breed really do struggle on it and, unfortunately, we copped a Heavy 10. We hit the front at the turn, but his legs were just spinning. He ended up running seventh that year, beaten four and a half lengths. That was one that got away on us.
“(Jockey) Luke Nolen said he was on the winner, but he just couldn’t get traction.”
A suspensory injury ended plans for his spring and autumn campaigns as a three-year-old, but he returned in July 2010 “as fat as a fool” to win the Sir John Monash Stakes (Listed, 1100m) after 15 months between runs. He also won the Concorde Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) and was third to Hay List (Statue Of Liberty) in the McEwen Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m).
In a sign of how much the industry has evolved in the past decade, Watt revealed Reward For Effort’s owners struggled to find him a home for him at stud when the call was made to retire him after just ten starts, his last being when unplaced in the 2011 Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m).
“Honestly, times have changed so much. It was back when Exceed And Excel himself was a bit quiet and people were questioning the ability of his sons going to stud, so the reality was that we found it very difficult to find a home for him and we were thankful to Chatswood Stud who put their hand up and secured a portion of him,” Watt said.
“We were finding it difficult and, of course, as soon as he had numbers (racing well) the big studs came calling and they wanted to have him transferred up to the Hunter Valley.
“We couldn’t do that as it wasn’t the way the syndicate had been structured, and not that we would have done it anyway because loyalty’s a big thing in this game, so his home was always at Chatswood Stud.”
Reward For Effort, withdrawn from service on November 10 because of the abscess, is so far the sire of eight individual stakes winners led by Group 3 scorers Gold Symphony, Ability, Take Pride and Brugal Reward
Retired to stud in 2011, he commanded immediate support from Victorian breeders, covering 150 mares in his first year and more than that in his subsequent six seasons.
He was still in demand last year, covering 105 mares but it is unknown how many he served this year before being taken off the roster due to injury.
He became a prolific winner-getting sire with 339 of his progeny winning a total of 969 races so far and has accumulated $34.18 million in progeny earnings.
“From his point of view, he was a well above average horse because he was the leading sire of winners down in Victoria for many years. The reality is, of course, unless you’re standing at the highly commercial stud where you’re getting access to the best mares, it’s really hard for a stallion to make it,” Watt told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He kept upgrading his stock, which was fantastic given the mares he covered. Seriously, some of them shouldn’t have been in the Stud Book, but he did it and he made them raise their standard, and that’s always the sign of a good stallion.”
Larneuk Stud’s Neville Murdoch described the loss of Reward For Effort as “really tragic”.
“All of us at the farm and the shareholders in the horse are absolutely devastated. (Reward For Effort) really made an impression with us from the short time he was on the farm and it’s also a tremendous blow to Victoria’s breeding industry,” Murdoch said.
“Not only has he produced a lot of winners, I’m absolutely convinced the best was yet to come.”
Watt, in paying his tribute, finished with: “The flag is at half-mast here at Dynamic simply because he was a headline horse for us in the earlier days. It is sad to say goodbye.”

Swettenham Stud at Nagambie had what can only be described as a good weekend of racing that started on Friday night at The Valley when Toronado produced back-to-back winners.
It continued in a bigger way the following day in Perth when the stallion’s daughter Treasured Star won the Group 2 Western Australian Guineas (1600m) at Ascot.

The three-year-old filly was bred and raced by prominent WA breeder Bob Peters.
Swettenham’s new stallion Rubick also had success when The Guru won at Kembla Grange and followed the five-year-old’s win at Randwick to give the gelding a record of five wins, seven seconds and three thirds from 29 starts.

And Swettenham Stud principal Adam agreed it was a good weekend for his stud’s stallions.
“It really was,” he said.
“It was good to see the hard work of people coming to fruition.
“The Toronado win in Perth was so good. Mr Peters can certainly recognise good bloodlines, and I am very pleased to see that he has seen Toronado’s abilities and he is sending some lovely mares to Toronado.”
Sangster said Peters is sending more mares to Toronado on the back of what he and his team recognised as the ability of Treasured Star.
He said breeders in Perth, as well as Peters, had been good supporters of Toronado and all Swettenham Stud stallions.
He said WA bloodstock agent John Chalmers does a good job for Peters, while Sangster’s “right-hand man” Sam Matthews had the advantage of being from Western Australia knows a lot of the “influential gentleman and ladies” in the racing and breeding industry.
“It’s good that Sam knows these people personally,” Sangster said.
“Toronado is doing a really good job and he has got 40 yearlings in a pool that will be split between the Magic Millions, the Classic and Premier.
“So as a team we will be out there promoting them because we don’t consign yearlings any more ourselves. We have clients and friends who have progeny of all our stallions.
“Nearly 30 Toronado colts and geldings have gone onto Hong Kong as well, so the massive pool that has gone there as well will reap dividends in the years to come because those buyers will be very focused on the yearling market so it can only be a good thing.”
Toronado’s two winners in consecutive races at The Valley on Friday night were both at big odds.
La Spezia (Lerichi) won over 1600m at odds of $15, while Glove Are Off (Kid Gloves) won at 1200m at odds of $21.
Trained by Jamie Edwards, La Spezia has now won three races and had two minor placings from seven starts, while Kym Hann’s Gloves Are Off has won two races and had three minor placings from eight starts.
“Jamie and Kym and have always been very keen supporters of Swettenham,” Sangster said.
“It’s great all round for everyone.”
And at Sha Tin on Sunday, former galloper Victorian galloper Captain Spud, which now races as Captain Win in Hong Kong, provided Toronado with another winner over 1400m.
The Victorian bred gelding was exported to Hong Kong in June after winning three consecutive races, two at Sale and the other at Caulfield.
Sangster said breeding horses was a “slow burn”, and a lot of stallions don’t work and some don’t get commercial success, but people who had followed Toronado had achieved success.
He said the owners of Toronado – Al Shaqab Racing – had been very good in respecting the loyal Swettenham clients.
“They are very good to deal with,” he said.
After covering his biggest book of mares last year -210 – since he first shuttled from France to Swettenham Stud in 2015, Sangster said the stallion would serve few mares this year.
He said while Toronado’s fertility was good, it was a case of looking after the stallion which saw his service fee increase from $27,500 to $49,500 this season.
“It’s been a bit of a queer year in so much with the mares cycling because of the weather patterns which have been a bit indifferent,” he said.
“Biologically you can’t control that and the mares have held onto their pregnancies for quite some time and have gone overdue.
“We have foaled down a significant amount of mares, not just for ourselves but for bigger operations around the Nagambie region, and we have certainly seen a bit of a trait where mares are going over time and also just cycling as well.
“The reproduction cycling with the weather pattern will work its way out in the end and I certainly give full credit to all the Victorian breeders who come to Swettenham and all the other farms.”
Rubick (Encosta De Lago x Sliding Cube) is standing his first season at Swettenham Stud after serving 104 mares last year, 262 in 2019 and 263 in 2018.
“This time next year he will be very strong, and in two years he will be even stronger because he has got some vast books coming through, Sangster said.
“We saw it with So You Think, Shamus Award and Pierro where they have quietish years one year and then with the numbers coming through they sort of start paddling pretty quickly once again.
“So anybody who has gone to Rubick this year will do particularly well in a few years when it comes to selling commercially.”
Asked whether he’d been happy with the support they’d received for Rubick’s first season at Swettenham, Sangster said: “I would say that he has been tougher than what we expected.
“But myself this year I have sent a good percentage of my mares to him knowing the numbers coming through.”
Sangster also had success at Saturday’s Ballarat Cup meeting when three-year-old filly Decent Raine (Dissident x Royal Raine) picked up $96,250 after winning the VOBIS Gold Eureka Stockade (1400m). There was also a VOBIS Gold owner’s bonus of $23,000.
The filly, trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, was purchased for Sangster for $40,000 by bloodstock agent John Foote at the 2020 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
“She was lovely, she was great,” Sangster said.
“That was a John Foote purchase. Ciaron and Dave have done a real good job.
“We have been buying a few fillies recently, and we lease them out and give everyone a chance to be involved and they don’t have to put the capital up. I do that.”
“She wasn’t expensive, and that’s the beauty of using someone like John Foote.
“I buy the fillies, put the capital in myself and then lease them out to friends.
“If we lease them out to Flying Start Syndications, they have their emblem on the front and the Swettenham colours on the back.
“A lot of these syndicators we put their logos on top of the Sangster/ Swettenham colours.”
And Sangster said full credit goes to Rosemont Stud and trainer Peter Moody for breeding Decent Raine which won two races and $209,525 in stakes.

Cranbourne trainer Robbie Griffiths is already talking-up the prospects of his home town Cup winner King Magnus being aimed at next year’s $5 million All Star Mile at Flemington.

Griffiths, who trains in partnership with Mathew de Kock, was thrilled to win the Listed $500,000 Cranbourne Cup (1600m) with a horse that ticked so many boxes for the local racing and breeding industries.

The six-year-old is by Widden Stud stallion Magnus and was bred locally. It was Magnus’ 25th Listed winner.

And for Griffiths, the race was something of an emotional victory after spending almost a lifetime involved in racing at Cranbourne.

“For me the victory was outstanding in so many ways,” he said.

“As a young fellow, mum and dad moved to Cranbourne in 1972 when I was only three.

“I grew up in Cranbourne, did my apprenticeship as jockey there and became a trainer there and you hope that one day you connect yourself into local folklore.

“To win the Cranbourne Cup was outstanding but to do it as the inaugural TAB Cranbourne Cup at 1600m and to do it in my first year in the training partnership with Matthew and to etch yourself in the local history of the Cup all rolled into one was a very, very special day.”

The only blemish in King Magnus’ 10 current race campaign was his first first-up run at Sandown in June when he put in buck-jumping display and finished last of 13, with his official losing margin being recorded at the maximum of 99 lengths.

Griffiths suspects the possibility of a tightened girth on a small saddle may have been responsible for the rodeo-like display, but then a Sandown second and two consecutive wins at Caulfield followed.

The runs leading into the Cranbourne Cup were in higher grade races and full of merit. King Magnus finished fourth, beaten a length in the Listed Sofitel Stakes (1400m), then was beaten less than a length in the Group 3 Moonga Stakes before again going down by less than a length in a blanket finish in the Group 1 Cantala Stakes (1600m).

Interesting the Cranbourne Cup was only the third attempt – and his first success – at 1600m.

After the Cantala, Griffiths was extremely confident going into last Saturday’s Cranbourne Cup.

“I just really thought he’d win, I really did,” Griffiths said.

“Mat and I had him really ready for the Cantala and we were really confident of a cheeky run and he delivered. He loomed up and at one point I thought he was going to win us a Group 1 but got beaten in a blanket (finish).

“When you come off a Group 1 race like that you automatically think you are going to be $2.50 or $3 favourite in a country cup but full credit to Neil Bainbridge (Cranbourne Turf Club chief executive) and his team to attract a field of that calibre for the race.

“The fact that we started $10 just shows how open and high quality it was. It was really a top quality event.”

Griffiths said the timing of the Cranbourne Cup was a flow on from the Cantala and the four day Melbourne Cup carnival which allowed horses to continue to advance to other meetings including the Sandown carnival, Perth or Hong Kong.

But King Magnus is heading to the paddock for a spell.

Griffiths is huge wrap for the capabilities of Magnus who he said the stable jokingly refer to the stallion as Triple M – Magnus Means Money.

“They have been brilliant for us and we love them. They have been inexpensive to breed or buy and they have been such great money-spinners for their ownership group,” he said

“We just keep winning with them.

“And they get better with age.”

Griffiths said the stable had raced 26 by Magnus for an amazing25 individual winner.

“I think he has done great job for Victorian breeders because he is affordable and his durable and they go on all ground and the result on Saturday for those owners in a $500,000 race was fantastic,” he said.

While Griffiths said King Magnus would be aimed at similar races during autumn, he said they’ll nominate the gelding for the “fairy tale race” – the All Star Mile where the bulk of the field for the richest 1600m race in the world is decided by a public vote.

“He has come from nowhere to somewhere so he is going to have the romance vote and the fairy tale vote so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a lot of people backing him,” he said.

“I spoke to Greg Carpenter (Racing Victoria), before he won the Cup actually, about nominating him and we’ll do that and then we’ll have the normal autumn approach as well where we’ll look at the feature handicaps.

“Whether we travel to Sydney, we’ll just see what happens.”

The feats of King Magnus continue to make the racing game exciting and worthwhile for first time breeders and owners Larissa and Peter Joyce who milk cows on their 210 acre dairy farm in the Strzelecki Ranges, past Warragul in West Gippsland.

The husband and wife team were in an ownership group of six that raced King Magnus’ dam Influential Miss (Carnegie x Perilla) which won four races and had seven minor placings for Mornington trainer Pat Carey.

After the mare was retired, four of the owners, including the Joyces, decided to buy her as a breeding prospect. Influential Miss produced Influential Girl (Magnus), followed by King Magnus and then her last foal, the moderately performed Wanted Miss (Wanted).

When King Magnus bought up his first two Caulfield wins in July, his full sister, Influential Girl, also raced by the Joyces and trained by Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock, finished third on the same day.

The six-year-old Influential Girl has raced 26 times for five wins, five seconds and three thirds for nearly $200,000 in prizemoney.

Larissa said one of Influential Miss’ owners was breeder John Pratt and he used the late pedigree expert Diane Neylon to advise on matings and did the breeding for Influential Miss and recommended the stallion Magnus.

Peter Joyce said they had done well from both Influential Girl and King Magnus from the two matings with the stallion.

“Influential Miss was only small and her last win was on Melbourne Cup Day in 2010 when she won (over 1700m) and we thought she would go onto bigger and better things.

“They are not very big horses but they have big hearts and Influential Miss got a bit of weight and ran a few places in handicaps after her last win.”

Larissa said it was great for Griffiths to win his hometown Cup with King Magnus that was originally headed to the paddock after Cantala but pulled up so well that it was decided to have a crack at the Cranbourne race.

“If he hadn’t have recovered well from the Cantala, he wouldn’t have ran,” she said.

The Joyces were recently forced to retire the seven-year-old Influential Girl which last raced in August.

“She had a tendon injury and we had to retire her and we have sent her to Starspangledbanner,” Peter said.

“It wasn’t career ending but it was a 12 month injury and she would have been eight by the time she came back. And you couldn’t guarantee she was going to come back to what she was, so the decision was pretty easy to make.

“We got into Starspangledbanner just before the Cox Plate (won by his son State Of Rest) so it worked out well.”

The Joyces said Griffiths gave them a few ideas on potential stallions and in the end they opted for Rosemont’s Starspangledbanner.

With only three foals, Influential Miss’ last foal was Wanted Miss in 2016 and she failed to get into foal to Palentino at her last attempt in 2020.

The 16-year-old mare is now living a leisurely life, but bigger things lay ahead for her son.

Champion Australian galloper Prince of Sussex – now racing in Hong Kong as Lucky Express – won his most important race at Sha Tin last Saturday since being sold after winning the $950,000 The Showdown (1200m) at Caulfield for Mornington trainer Matt Laurie.

The now five-year-old gelding won the inaugural running of The Showdown in 2019, picking up a winner’s cheque of $522,500 and giving sire, Swettenham Stud’s Toronado, even greater prominence.

Toronados are highly sought after in Hong Kong, and the offer made for the Victorian bred horse by wealthy owner Larry Chung Chi Kin was too big to refuse.

Prince of Sussex’s victory last Saturday was in the Class 1 Panasonic Cup Handicap (1400m), worth $314,000.

Trainer John Size is considering the prestigious Group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin next month as an option for the former Australian galloper who was ridden to victory by Aussie expatriate Zac Purton.

Lucky Express has now had 14 Hong Kong starts for two wins, four seconds and three thirds for overall prizemoney of just more than $2 million after leaving Australia with $661,750 in the bank from his first-up fourth and then two wins from his three starts as a two-year-old.

The gelding had developed a reputation for waywardness under pressure last season, but his victory by a head-on Saturday, was described as “brilliant” and the ride of Purton as “masterful.”

“Barrier one was great and he was able to jump out well. He showed some natural speed today,” Purton said after the race.

“The pace was nice and he just tracked up behind them and he just needed a run at the right time.

 “Luckily there was room on the fence. He sprinted through really quickly like he would win by two or three lengths, but when he got there, as we’ve seen before, he still doesn’t quite know how to put them away and lifted his head up and wanted to drift out.

 “He did enough. Good effort first-up.”

Queensland born Size indicated to Hong Kong Jockey Club media that he would fully analyse Lucky Express’ performance before deciding if he would tackle the Hong Kong Mile on Sunday, December 12 at Sha Tin.

 “I haven’t even seen a replay yet, just let me absorb that and then we’ll make a plan,” he said immediately after the race.

 “It was a good run, he trialled up very nicely and he came back from his long break in very good condition.

 “He showed straight away that he wanted to win a race the first day we trialled him. It’s a tough campaign the four-year-olds do but mostly they come back and they get their rewards as five-year-olds.”

 Size previously won the Panasonic Cup with Electronic Unicorn (2001), Gem Of India (2005), Real Specialist (2012) and Western Express (2017).

Victorian bred Eight Trigrams, by Widden’s Victorian stallion Magnus and out of Demandehere (Dehere x Raise A Ransom), kicked off the Sha Tin meeting by winning the opening race.

The six-year-old gelding, trained by David Hall, started his career in Hong Kong and has had 34 starts for four wins, three seconds and two thirds.

And it was also a solid day for Victorian bred horses and stallions at Cranbourne’s metropolitan status Cup meeting on Saturday.

It followed on from the success of the four day Melbourne Cup carnival.

While Magnus produced the Cranbourne Cup winner with the locally bred King Magnus for training partners Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock, trainer Greg Eurell had more success for Larneuk Stud’s Neville Murdoch when Taut You Could won the opening race on debut – the Super VOBIS two-year-old 1000m maiden.

Murdoch pocketed $71,500 for the first price, plus a Super VOBIS nominator’s bonus of $7000 and an owner’s bonus of $23,000. 

The gelding, a full brother to the city winning O’Tauto, is by O’Lonhro (Lonhro x Taut) which stood at breeder Murdoch’s stud.

“Neville Murdoch from Larneuk Stud had the mare, unfortunately she’s not with us anymore, but everything she did have can run, and this guy has been no exception,” Eurell said in his post-race interview.

“He’s a little bit more precocious than what O’Tauto was, but at this stage, he’s doing everything right and it was the right time to bring him to the races.”

Asked about what impressed him most Eurell said:  “Probably his ability to hang on and tough it out. I said to Damian (Lane) ‘the more you ask, the more he’ll keep giving, that’s the style of horse he’s shown us all the way through.

“I think the 1000m is not necessarily his go, but he’s a good, tough competitor and he got away with it.

“I have no doubt probably 1200m, 1400m, a bit further on later in his career would be a more suitable trip for him.”

Former Swettenham Stud stallion Akeed Mofeed (GB) sired the winner of the second race – the three-year-old Cranbourne Classic (2050m) with chestnut filly The Amazonian (Saramenha). The three year-old is trained by Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr.

Toronado produced another winner for Matt Laurie when Chartres (The French House) won The Super VOBIS Handicap (1200m) for three-year-olds.

Now with two wins and a third from four starts, the gelding picked up $71,500 for first prize at Cranbourne, plus an owner’s bonus of $23,000 and a nominator’s bonus of $7000.

Warrnambool trainer Peter Chow got the money with a mare he bred by former Blue Gum Farm stallion Canford Cliffs (IRE).

Five-year-old Paul’s Regret is out of Denison Star, a mare that Chow trained to a win and eight minor placings.

Paul’s Regret has been a good money-spinner for Chow and co-owners, mainly his family, with the victory in the $150,000 Rosemont Stud Fillies and Mares Pendant (1400m) giving the mare her fourth win to take her earnings to $425,100.

Chow has bred four foals from Denison Star, with gelding Robbie’s Star (Shinzig) winning 11 races, plus six seconds and eight thirds from 72 starts.

Another of Denison Star’s foals, the gelding Hostar (Host) won 10 races and had 10 minor placings. 

Chow said he bought Denison Star as a yearling, but she was hampered by injuries and some bad luck in some races, but is performing better as a broodmare. 

“She has thrown stayers and she has thrown sprinters,” he said.

“She is very versatile and has thrown winners from stallions that are not fashionable, too.

“We have got an unraced three-year-old in work at the moment by Rebel Raider and have got a two-year-old by Host. She missed a year and has got a Highland Reel filly.

“And she has gone to Shamus Award this year.”

Chow said Paul’s Regret would have a crack at the Group 3 Summoned Stakes for mares in two weeks at Caulfield, which will be her first attempt at 1600m.

The Cranbourne victory also offered a free service for the 2022 breeding season for an approved filly or mare to Rosemont Stud stallion Hanseatic. 

Widden Stud stallion National Defense’s already impressive credentials received another massive boost with the victory of Twilight Gleaming (IRE) in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar.
The two-year daughter of Group 1 winner National Defense (Invincible Spirit x Angel Falls) became the first filly to win the Group 2 Sprint and led all the way to give American trainer Wesley Ward his third win in the 1000m race.
On Saturday, it was also another big day for Widden Stud when Nature Strip demolished his rivals in the Group 1 Darley Classic (1200m).
Nature Strip’s sire, Nicconi, has transferred to Widden in Victoria at the start of this season.
As well as the joy of seeing Nature Strip notch another Group 1 victory, Widden Stud’s Adam Henry said it was a massive result for National Defense to get a winner with Twilight Gleaming at such a prestigious meeting as the Breeders’ Cup.
“She just showed sensational speed to lead from the barrier to the wire,” he said.
“It’s not easy to do, and they came at her, and she fought really hard. She is a quality filly and was the red hot favourite at Royal Ascot and ran second after just getting run down late.
“She hasn’t been out of the top two in all of her five starts in good company and is a top-flight filly.”
Luck hasn’t always been on National Defense’s side when it comes to serving mares.
The stallion copped an errant kick from a mare in his first season in Ireland, which restricted him to a small book, and his stud duties in Australia – he is now in his third season – suffered a setback at the start of this breeding season when he was again kicked.
Henry said National Defense (GB) produced 29 live foals from his first season in the northern hemisphere, and so far, 15 of that crop had raced for five individual winners, including Twilight Gleaming. Another of his progeny has finished fourth in a Group 2 race, and another was fourth in a listed race.
“To have three black-type performers from a small crop is a pretty fair effort,” Henry said.
National Defense shuttles from to Widden from the Irish National Stud and his oldest northern hemisphere progeny are two-year-olds.
He stood his first season in Victoria in 2019 when he covered 159 mares and served 88 the following season.
National Defense’s first Australian yearlings will be offered for sale next year.
“He missed that first season coming out here after copping that kick in Ireland,” Henry said.
“He is a year behind from where he usually would be, so his oldest here are yearlings, and he has got 81 to represent him, which is nearly three times the opportunity he has had in the northern hemisphere.”

Standing at $9900, Henry said it would be difficult to find a stallion like National Defense, a winner of the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, for under $10,000.
“He’s a good looking horse with an excellent pedigree page and he has been really well received by breeders, that’s for sure,” Henry said.

Henry said Widden would consign National Defense yearlings next year on behalf of Sun Bloodstock.
“Off the back of the brilliant results in the northern hemisphere, we are really excited about the first crop of southern hemisphere yearlings being sold next year,” Henry said.

“Inglis and Magic Millions have both been really positive about his stock during inspections as they are attractive, forward-looking types.”

Henry said Widden would offer a number of National Defense yearlings via both sale companies, including a pair of colts headed for Melbourne Premier that he believes will be highly sought after.

They are out of Group 1 New Zealand Oaks winner Miss Mossman and Group 2 placed Gris Dame, herself a half-sister to dual Group 1 Maco’Reilly. “Both will be a must for inspection cards,” Henry said.

“National Defense has shown up north that he can produce a quick, early running juvenile, and that will really resonate with the Australian buying bench. His two-year-old filly Twilight Gleaming is lightning on four legs.”

After suffering the setback in September, Henry said National Defense was out of action for a considerable time but had resumed his duties.
“He’s back covering now,” he said.
“He had over 90 mares booked to him, but we couldn’t get them covered due to the incident in the covering shed.
“It’s a bit of a setback as he’s been a popular stallion with breeders. His sire line is well sought after with all the success it has had in Australia and National Defense’s dam side is very strong as well.”
Henry said National Defense’s yearlings would do the talking for the stallion at next year’s sales.
“Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone to plan in the breeding shed this season, but he’s over that now and back covering, he said.

“He couldn’t have done too much more factoring in the number of live foals and runners, winners and then black-type performers. It’s pretty impressive reading.”
Henry said Twilight Gleaming was obviously a class filly that had won a serious race worth $1 million and was targeted by trainers from all around the world.
Twilight Gleaming’s dam, the unraced Dansili mare Thames Pageant, has produced three to race and two are winners.
Thames Pageant is a full sister to the gelding Mainstream, which raced in Australia as Invictus Prince.
The now nine-year-old started his career in England with trainer Sir Michael Stoute and was then transferred to Australia, where he raced for Matthew Smith. The gelding’s best effort was running two lengths second to champion mare Winx in the 2018 Group 1 Winx Stakes (1400m).

Twilight Gleaming finished second in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot and made amends when she won the Listed Prix de la Vallee dÁuge by a neck at Deauville in France.
The filly has now had three wins and two seconds from five starts.
Bred by Pier House Stud, Twilight Gleaming was purchased for 75 thousand pounds at the 2020 Goffs’ Orby Sale on behalf of Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Stables.
Banke is a racing identity in America and this year was named chair of the Breeders’ Cup board of directors and became the first woman elected.

There is nothing like the thrill of long shot winner for any trainer or owner.
And it was exceptionally special for Coffs Harbour trainer Joanne Hardy who trains seven-year-old Toorak Toff gelding Real Time Warrior.
The gelding was bred by Rosemont Stud, which was once the home of the dual Group 1 winning Toorak Toff (Show A Heart x Orong).
After Real Time Warrior won the Country Classic (2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday at odds of $150, Hardy couldn’t be happier that she’d bought the horse that no one wanted.
Offered by Rosemont at the Gold Coast Magic Millions National Yearling Sale in 2016, Hardy had marked the then colt in her catalogue as a possible purchase with the plan to sell him at a two-year-old in training sale.
The colt opened at $5000 and Hardy made the only bid – at $6000 -and the chestnut was knocked down to her.
Good buying she thought.
Soon after she offered the colt for sale at the Magic Millions two-year-olds in training.
Hardy put a $20,000 reserve on the horse – but there wasn’t a bid.
“I bought him for $6000 at the June Magic Millions Sale and I bought him to trade through the two-year-old sale,” she said.
“I didn’t get a bid on him in the two-year-old sale. No one wanted him so I bought him home and decided to race him.
“There was not one bid. He was a good type but it was a two-year-old sale with a horse that probably needed distance and was going to be a three-year-old plus.
“I shop at those sorts of sales and you can pick them up for around your $15,000, $20,000, $25,000 and it’s good buying at that.
“There were a lot of Asian buyers at the sales that year and they had $100,000 to spend on something that they wanted to go now and he didn’t fit that bill.”
Hardy said the colt was also a very early lot in the sale, which also didn’t help.
She admits that she was surprised to originally pick-up the colt for $6000.
She had him on her list as a nice type of horse and had him pinned as a stayer who wasn’t going to attract big money.
“He was a good size, good conformation and had good X-rays,” Hardy said.
“He was a nice moving horse who was probably going to get over ground and needed time.
“They opened up the bidding at five grand and couldn’t get a bid, so I thought he was a nice horse for that type of money, so I put my hand up for six and he was knocked down to me.
“I was the only one who bid for him. I was the only one who ever wanted him.”
Hardy said some friends took some small shares in Real Time Warrior and raced the horse with her.
Now with nine wins, two seconds and four thirds from 45 starts, the gelding picked up his biggest pay day on Saturday with a cheque for $61,250 to take his career prize money to $183,170.
“For a $6000 horse who is just shy of $200,000 he is going all right,” Hardy said.
The next assignment for Real Time Warrior is the Taree Cup on November 21 and then the Tuncurry Cup on December 6 when the harder tracks are more suitable.
And with those juicy odds on Saturday, Hardy admits that one of the owners had a $100 win bet on Real Time Warrior at $141.
“He said he went down and had a look the horse before the race and he was nodding his head, so he said the horse was saying yes he was going to win, so he went and had another $50 on him,” Hardy said.
“He’d had a couple of beers and said what was another $50?
“He said it was the most money he’s ever won in his life.”
Hardy, who generally has 12 to 15 horses in work, didn’t think Real Time Warrior was a $150 chance.
“It was really nice and I wish it could happen every week,” she said.
“I was a little bit surprised, but he was the horse in the race with the most starts and wins, and there were other horses in the race that were up and comers.
“His form was more exposed than others and that’s the reason why he probably blew out like he did.
“But he did have a three kilo claim which bought him into the race really well and I think people overlooked that.”
Real Time Warrior is out of Sidereal Time (Nureyev x Traverse City).
Toorak Toff now stands in Tasmania in an arrangement with Rosemont Stud.
Hardy and her partner David Birch operate Clare Park Thoroughbreds, just outside of Coffs Harbour.