Racing fans were once again privy to another memorable weekend of racing across Sydney and Melbourne as Cascadian’s Australian Cup win highlighted another superb weekend of Group 1 contests.

This week the attention turns to Royal Randwick with 4 high-quality Group 1s sighted as the Grand Finals of Australian Racing.

The TJ Smith, Doncaster Hcp and Sires Produce Stakes all look to be excellent races, while the Derby is also a high-quality affair.

Last weekend BTX owners were once again entertained with Yes Lulu’s gallant 3rd in the Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes undoubtedly the highlight.

This week the team is a little bit quieter, with potential runners throughout the week from Sunday onwards.

Yes Lulu now has 2 black type placings at 2

Yes Lulu Runs Gallantly In Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes

High-class filly Yes Lulu ran very well over the weekend behind high-quality fillies Tobeornottobe and Ameena down the Flemington straight in the $200,000 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes.

The field split into 2 groups down the ‘straight 6’ with Yes Lulu trailing the eventual winner every step of the way. Tobeornottobe is a high-quality filly trained by the Griffiths De Kock racing team, with her form into the race reading suitably with a second placing on debut behind Hayasugi in the Blue Diamond Preview, and a fourth-place effort again behind Hayasugi in the Blue Diamond Prelude.

Second-place getter Ameena is also a high-quality galloper, the beaten $2.20 favourite scored impressively on the Caulfield Heath two weeks ago. The form references read well for Yes Lulu who will now have the option of running once more as a two-year-old and attempting to break her duck. Otherwise, she will be put away with potential targets for her 2024 spring including the lucrative Sydney Princess Series, last year dominated by the Ciaron Maher-trained Tiz Invincible.

Until Valhalla ran encouragingly on return

Until Valhalla’s Comeback Run Extremely Encouraging

Until Valhalla returned in a high-quality Easter Monday contest at Warwick Farm over the 1200m. The contest included eventual winner $3.1M yearling Kandinsky Abstract who scored by a half head over the Hawkes-trained Shines.

It was a hot tempo in the race, headed by Darby Racing’s Flying Destiny. With our girl battling on strongly for Tyler Schiller to run 4th. Both Schiller and assistant trainer Joh Gerard-Dubord commented after the race with Schiller stating “She was very good today, she jumped well enough and she travelled really well. Her last 100 was her best. I thought she was going to weaken out but she picked up late.” That encouragement was carried on by Gerard-Dubord who stated “That last bit gives you plenty of confidence, up in trip on a softer track she’ll be very competitive.”

The team will now look for a 1400m contest in the city over the coming weeks before reassessing the direction of her campaign after her 2nd start. Plenty of exciting opportunities to come for the daughter of Snitzel.

Stayer’s Pack Runners Go Head To Head On Sunday

Stayer’s Pack members Ahab and Joffrey have busy weeks this week with Joffrey nominated for a Wednesday hurdle trial at Yarra Valley, as well as a Sunday maiden at Sale. Where stablemate Ahab is also nominated for Sunday’s Sale contest over 1717m. The $37,000 contest lines up well for two horses that have struggled over the shorter distances. However as the pack name suggests, stretching the horses out distance will continue to improve their chances. Owners are implored to be patient as the team enjoys the journey of progressing the horses from younger immature horses, then progressing to potential staying and hurdling prospects in the future.

Josh’s Saturday Preview

The Grand Finals of Australian Racing have reached us with Sydney’s premier race meetings along with the Golden Slipper and Everest carnivals pulling together some of the best contests in recent years.

With 4 Group 1s on the card, there undoubtedly are 3 stand-out races.

We Know He Can Run But Can Another Wil Swim? 

The downpouring that has greeted Sydney and Greater New South Wales has put Saturday’s first day of The Championships in jeopardy. With a high possibility that the meeting will be shifted back a week and run from next Saturday onwards. The Randwick track on Thursday night rated a Good3 before the downfall of rain but is expected to worsen dramatically with the expectation for the Randwick track to be in the Heavy range by Friday morning.

Should the meeting go ahead it is yet to be seen, but if it does, the question remains whether or not the meeting’s swimming pool-like track is suitable to Doncaster Hcp race favourite Another Wil. The progressive son of Street Boss is the talking point of the autumn thus far having soared up the ranks from a benchmark 70 to arguably Australia’s strongest handicap.

Last Day To Boost Your Pedigree

The Australian Easter Yearling Sale begins Sunday and runs through Monday, featuring arguably the strongest lineup in the history of the sale. The famous yearling sale features the progeny of Australasia’s dominant stallions as well as the bloodlines of some of the world’s greatest bloodlines. This year the highlight of the sale undoubtedly is the first live foal of Champion racemare Winx. The daughter of Pierro is consigned as Lot 391 from the Coolmore draft and is due to be sold just after 2 pm on Monday. While she will grab the majority of the headlines, there are a number of consigned lots with relatives running in Group 1s on Saturday. Those include half-siblings to Militarize, Golden Mile, Madame Pommery, Kimochi, Magic Time and Mazu. Should any of these horses win, vendors can expect the value of their siblings to rise exponentially.

I Wish I Win won last year’s TJ Smith on a Heavy9

Race Of The Day?

Three high-quality fields have been formed for 3 of Australia’s most iconic races. The T.J. Smith Stakes is undoubtedly the second-best Australian sprinting race and this year is no different. Star mare Imperatriz finally makes the trip up the Hume Highway, where she will take on a host of new rivals including last year’s victor I Wish I Win, proven Group 1 winners Mazu and Private Eye. As well as a host of rivals searching for their first Group 1s with Aft Cabin, Buenos Noches and Sunshine In Paris among a host of other potential chances.

The Doncaster also has a claim to being the race of the day. 9 individual Group 1 winners are headed by rising stars Another Wil, Celestial Legend and Lady Laguna who are all well in at the weights. As are last start winners Southport Tycoon and Lindermann. While the top of the weights has heavy hitters like Obamburami, Think About It and Militarize.

Finally, the Sires Produce is shaping up as an open contest. Golden Slipper trifecta Lady Of Camelot, Coleman and the highly talented Storm Boy, take on fellow rising stars Traffic Warden and Manaal. While new form references enter through the likes of Duvana and Fearless.

Jon Bon and Kettle Hill Enjoying The Paddock

Talented BTX Racing gallopers Kettle Hill and Jon Bon have both been granted well-earned rests following their summer/autumn campaigns and will now reset before being earmarked for spring campaigns.

Kettle Hill had 9 runs this preparation over a monster 6 month period that resulted in 2 impressive wins for the son of Gleneagles with his prizemoney earnings now soaring over $300,000. The 7YO had a slow start to his campaign and his Australian career, before scoring under Declan Brown McMonagle at Moonee Valley, and Dylan Gibbons at Rosehill. There are a number of options for Kettle Hill over the spring with multiple lucrative races run from 1600m-2000m in both Victoria and New South Wales.

Jon Bon had 4 starts this autumn across Sydney and Melbourne posting one win from his 4 attempts. The son of So You Think was pushed hard to improve this preparation with the Waterhouse and Bott team keen to test him while he was still a 3YO. Jon Bon started with a 5th and a 4th at Newcastle, before scoring at Hawkesbury at start 3. He was then taken to Melbourne for a throw at the stumps in the $500,000 Alister Clark Stakes.

The stable will bring him back and potentially be a touch more conservative with the 4-year-old. So You Think’s progeny traditionally improve over time and the team will acknowledge this. Targeting confidence-boosting opportunities with nominations to compete in black-type racing towards the back end of the spring.