The All Aged Stakes is the headline act of an extremely busy day across the country. The final 2 Group 1s of the Sydney Autumn Carnival signal the beginning of the Adelaide and Brisbane Winter Carnivals, with black-type racing in 4 states and the $5M Quokka run at Ascot in WA.

There are major lead-ups to key Group 1s in Adelaide and Brisbane, as well as the Caulfield Cup qualifying Mornington Cup in Victoria. What a day of racing. We don’t know where to look.

Yes Lulu and Until Valhalla Prepare For Next Runs

Fillies Pack star Yes Lulu has remained in training, her final target of the preparation being the 1400m Anzac Day Stakes to be run at Flemington next Thursday.

The daughter of Yes Yes Yes who himself was placed at Group 1 level over 1400m in the Golden Rose gives Ciaron Maher the confidence to step the filly up in distance. Yes Lulu has performed credibly at all three of her race starts, yet to miss a place, including two black-type placings.

The Anzac Day Stakes is an extremely well-respected race by breeders and the race includes a littering of high-class alumni. Such winners include the eventual Group 1 winner and stallion Merchant Navy. The race has also been won by Group 1 performers Long John, Chaillot and Vasillator.

Fillies Pack matriarch Until Valhalla is continuing her recovery from her first up run. The filly has been reported by the Sydney base to be in good order. Assistant trainer Joh Gerard-Dubord reports the daughter of Snitzel is “She is in good order. She led Group 1 performer Nugget in her gallop on Tuesday. She’s a filly who can lose condition so we have her fairly fit and we will be pushing to run her on Thursday week. Just give her confidence and make her feel good before we go to the Kensington track.” Until Valhalla will likely head to the Kensington track on Anzac Day.

Stayers Pack Has Hurdlers And Runners Galore

The continual racing and ownership experience of the Stayer’s Pack is in full flow. All four of the pack members have been seen on the track in April. Diamondiferous, Ahab and Joffrey are all nominated for upcoming hurdle trials. The pack’s first debutant Ahab shaping as the best racing prospect in the short term. Ahab most recently rand 4th at Kyneton on the 11th of April and has been nominated for a 2400m hurdle trial, Diamondiferous and Joffrey have also been nominated for hurdle trials, the former trials in an hour as of the time of writing over 2400m, while the latter trials over 2800m today as well.

Jiffy coming off a disappointing debut is the only horse with no future racing plans secured in the short term. He is likely to be extended in distance or sent to the hurdle trials like his stablemates.

Nikolsky Set For Adelaide Carnival

Rising South Australian filly Nikolsky continues to develop in a quest to target key 3YO filly targets. The daughter of Smart Missile has been nurtured in her quest to reach the racetrack. The Clarken and O’Shea team have been in sublime form this season and the BTX team is hoping she can continue on with the team’s momentum.

The team will update owners shortly on her plans and when she takes to the trials.

Kettle Hill Back In Training

Ciaron Maher gelding Kettle Hill has returned to training in Victoria and the team will shortly decide if he is to be transported to Cranbourne to continue his training. The son of Gleneagles has been the most fruitful of the BTX currently owned horses and the team will decide as his training progresses which states he targets. The current idea is that he will target lead-up races for higher-profile horses throughout June, July and August.
The team will advise all owners shortly on his next movements but we can’t wait to have him back.

Josh’s Saturday Preview

There’s Racing Everywhere this weekend. Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide all host black-type races, plus Perth hosts the $5M Quokka. What a weekend.

Race Of The Day?

It’s a tough call on the race of the day, the All Aged Stakes obviously presents as an extremely high-profile affair as do many of the races at Randwick and Mornington. However, I think the race of the day is undoubtedly down to 2 options.

In a carnival where the highlights have undoubtedly been the match races that seem to have been presented each week, Saturday is no different.

The Quokka at Ascot is just one of those races, with the rematch of Overpass and Amelia’s Jewel presenting as an enthralling contest in the second running of the race.

The second race that could be the race of the day is up in Brisbane. A listed contest over 1000m the Ladbrokes Ascot Quality sees Prince Of Boom take on one-time Coolmore stallion prospect Zarastro. The pair both have black-type wins to their name and return to the races this Saturday with potential Group 1 prospects on the horizon.

Stallion Fees Beginning to be Announced

It started off with Coolmore and Windsor Park Stud announcing that Paddington would travel down under for a fee of $35,000, and as the Autumn Carnival and Sales Season came to its crescendo breeders learned the value of their stallions.

Waikato Stud announced their fees with Proisir being announced at a fee of $80,000. Then following this Japanese warrior Panthalassa was announced as the new addition to the Yulong roster, with multiple fee changes. Then Cambridge Stud announced their dual Group 1 winning son of Frankel, Chaldean will shuttle from Juddmonte Farm.

The industry is looking forward to further fees being announced, especially the key stallion farms in the Hunter Valley.