VOBIS Platinum bonanza set to ring in the new year

With the curtain set to be raised on the yearling sales season in a matter of weeks, owners and trainers will be given ample opportunity to line their pockets with two VOBIS Platinum bonanzas scheduled for the first two months of 2026.

A total of 10 VOBIS Platinum races will be held between the dates of Thursday, 1 January and Wednesday, 7 January, providing connections with the perfect chance to accrue vouchers to spend at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Yearling Sale later that month.  

More than 120 eligible lots by VOBIS Sires stallions are set to go through the ring at the Bundall complex, and with over $2.5 million in vouchers yet to be redeemed, buyers looking to spend their VOBIS Platinum windfall will not be short of options at Magic Millions’ flagship auction.   

The same can be said of buyers looking to invest at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale and Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, with 104 eligible lots by VOBIS Sires stallions heading to Riverside Stables in February and 230 lots nominated for both the VOBIS Sires and VOBIS Silver schemes at Melbourne’s leading yearling sale held at Oaklands in early March. 

A second VOBIS Platinum bonanza will take place in February to bolster the coffers of buyers heading into those two auctions, with 29 VOBIS Platinum races scheduled across the 28 days of February. 

Headline lots carrying that all-important VOBIS Sires eligibility at the upcoming Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale include a Tagaloa filly out of eight-time Group 1 winner More Joyous, a Diatonic filly out of Memsie Stakes (1400m) heroine Snapdancer and a Pierata half-brother to champion sprinter Imperatriz.

All three will be offered by global powerhouse Yulong, who stand each of the aforementioned sires on their star-studded stallion roster in Nagambie. 

Harry King, in the sales and nominations team at Yulong, is effusive in his praise for the benefits of the VOBIS program, which he has witnessed being utilised across all facets of the industry.

“VOBIS Platinum, as with the Gold and Silver programs, is a national leading initiative which continues to add commercial value to VOBIS qualified sires,” King said.

“We’ve had plenty of clients use their VOBIS vouchers on Yulong-consigned yearlings, particularly at the Inglis Premier Sale, and it’s not just big players – we’ve seen plenty of smaller breeders and syndicators using them to stay involved.

“It creates a strong reinvestment loop, which is exactly what the industry needs. You’re seeing money stay within Victoria, and owners and buyers can be more confident leading into a sale knowing there’s a genuine reward if they get the right horse.

“Even though our stallions are still relatively young, the likes of Grunt, Tagaloa and Alabama Express are all leaving countless VOBIS winners. In terms of breeders alone, the past two seasons we’ve seen an increased uptake in vouchers used to offset service fees, which has assisted smaller breeders when looking to send multiple mares to the roster.”

Talented mare Miss Roumbini, a $550,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling graduate who carries the Yulong brand, is one of many top-class horses to have taken advantage of the plethora of VOBIS incentive schemes on offer.

Crowned VOBIS Horse of the Year in 2024, having landed the lucrative VOBIS Gold Eureka Stockade (1200m) on last year’s Ballarat Cup card, Miss Roumbini finished a gallant second to Sepals in the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) during this year’s Spring Carnival. 

With Yulong retaining a share in the valuable daughter of Zoustar, that result was particularly pleasing for King, who is a firm advocate of targeting the Premier Race Series. 

“On top of the already healthy prizemoney on offer in Victoria, these races have become a major part of how we plan a horse’s campaign,” King added.

“And with the added appeal of the entire VOBIS scheme which offers up to $30 million in additional prizemoney, bonuses and vouchers each season, these races are now a serious commercial focus for us, as they should be for all industry participants.

“In 2025 alone, we’ve seen well over $375,000 in VOBIS bonuses paid out to the progeny of our sires, with Grunt and Tagaloa generating over 70% of that return from only a handful of qualified winners. When you put those results together, they highlight not only the strength of the VOBIS program but just how exceptionally well our stallions are aligned to maximise it.”

Since its inception, a grand total of $6.42 million in VOBIS Platinum vouchers has now been won by the connections of eligible winners of the more than 250 VOBIS Gold races programmed across Victoria each season.

Of that figure, over $3.8 million has been redeemed so far with more than $2.1 million re-invested at the sales on eligible weanlings, yearlings and two-year-olds. 

Other recent VOBIS success stories of note include comeback kid Apulia, who defied an absence of almost a year to land the Mittys VOBIS Gold Star (1500m) at The Valley on Ladbrokes Gold Cup Night during the Cox Plate Carnival. 

Having accrued a healthy $35,000 in bonuses on that occasion, as well as $30,000 in VOBIS Platinum vouchers for co-owners Lindsay Park Racing and Revelstone Stud, Apulia went on to land the Listed Chester Manifold Stakes (1400m) on Crown Oaks Day at his next start before heading west and contesting the Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m).