News

Our Magic Millions and New Zealand Bloodstock yearlings have started their sales preparation and our yearling team are working hard as they continue the education of our class of 2025.

Our faith in Hello Youmzain was repaid in spades during his racing days and the good times keep rolling for our shuttle sire in the second phase of his career.

He was successful in the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup before we purchased the son of Kodiac with our great friends at Haras d’Etreham and we subsequently celebrated his victory in the G1 Royal Ascot Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

Hello Youmzain has made an outstanding start to his Northern Hemisphere stallion career with 18 individual winners, including the G3 Prix des Chenes victor and G1 Prix de Jean-Luc Lagardere placegetter Misunderstood and Electrolyte, triumphant in the G3 Prix Eclipse.

And now, he has made a fast start in the Southern Hemisphere with his son Hello Romeo following up a debut second over 1000 metres at Bendigo by going one better over the course and distance for trainers Ben, Willand JD Hayes.

“He had the advantage of having a run at the track and running well. On that day he hit the front and star-gazed a little bit and was just a bit green and raw still,” Ben Hayes said. 

“He had trained on nicely and did everything right at home. 

“It’s nice to get the first winner for Hello Youmzain and we really loved this horse at the Karaka sale.”

Hello Romeo was a shade slow before mustering pace along the fence to make the running and lengthened stride comfortably for rider Koby Jennings to coast home by a length and three-quarters.

“He won impressively and there are a lot of options for him, but we’ll see how he pulls up first and then make a decision whether we press on or put him aside for the autumn,” Hayes said.

The colt was bred by Jomara Bloodstock and purchased by Lindsay Park for $150,000 out of Halmark Stud’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale.

He is the first foal of the Shooting To Win mare Julieta, who had another son of Hello Youmzain last season and is due to foal to him again.

Julieta is a half-sister to Humidor, the three-time Group 1winner of the Australian Cup, Makybe Diva Stakes and the Memsie Stakes.

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El Castello crowned his unbeaten start to his three-year-old season with a sublime victory in the G1 Spring Champion Stakes.The Cambridge Stud-bred three-year-old posted a resuming maiden success last month before a midway win and then stepped up to black type company to land top honours in the G3 Gloaming Stakes.The son of Castelvecchio had no trouble bridging the gap to the highest level in the 2000 metre age group feature at Randwick in the hands of regular rider Josh Parr.“He’s just a very good horse and the preparation went perfectly, everything worked out and I still think he improves again,” trainer Anthony Cummings said.El Castello was quickly into stride to lope along near the pace and held a strong gallop to the post after striking the front 250 metres from home.“He switched off in the middle stages and he’s always up for the challenge,” said Cummings, who is now considering a tilt at the G1 VRC Derby.“We’ve got to get him home and make sure that he’s okay and tick a fair few boxes before we do that, but that is the plan.” The Randwick horseman purchased El Castello out of our draft at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for A$220,000 with his dam the Fastnet Rock mare Word Games.She is a half-sister to Fiveandahalfstar, who Cummings prepared to claim top-flight titles in the BMW Stakes and the VRC Derby and also trained his sire Hotel Grand to win the Spring Champion and the G1 Randwick Guineas.Word Games produced a half-sister by Almanzor to El Castello last season and recently produced another filly by our son of Wootton Bassett before visiting Chaldean.

Debutante provides Karaka boost

Sea Poem provided a significant pedigree update to a youngster in our draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s upcoming National Yearling Sale.

We bred the daughter of Pierata, who was an impressive debut winner at Geelong and her half-brother by Sword Of State will be offered as Lot 223 at Karaka.

The Ben, JD and Will Hayes-trained Sea Poem was sent out favourite in her 1200 metre assignment and the money proved on the mark with the filly a comfortable winner under Blake Shinn.

“Blake found a nice spot for her and I could see she was travelling really well on the corner,” stable representative Rahis Baig said.

“It was a good result, we’re very happy and she’s a beautiful looking filly.”

Sea Poem settled in fourth spot before she improved wide near the turn and held a strong gallop to score after hitting the front 300metres from home.

“She did everything right and I presented her a bit early when the pace came out of the race and she did a good job,” Shinn said.

Sea Poem was purchased for A$160,000 by Lindsay Park and Jamie McCalmont out of our draft at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

She is the second winner for the Street Cry mare Prose Poem, who was purchased on our behalf by agent John Foote for 65,000gns at the Tattersalls Mares’ Sale.

A sister to multiple stakes winner Fencing, she is a daughter of the G1 Frenck Oaks winner Latice and the family of dual Group 1winner and sire Lawman.

Prose Poem produced another colt by Sword Of State last season before visiting our new stallion Chaldean.

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Progressive filly Hitabell credited her stallion Embellish with his latest black-type success when she proved in a league of her own at Wanganui.

The three-year-old headed south from her Cambridge base for the Listed The O’Leary’s Fillies’ Stakes and produced a top performance to become our resident sire’s third stakes winner.

The Stephen Marsh-trained Hitabell was quickly into stride to cross the field and lead from a wide barrier.

Jockey Courtney Barnes urged her clear into the straight and she held a strong gallop for her second victory from four appearances.

“She pinged the gates and travelled really nicely and kicked very well,” Barnes said.

“We did get a couple of soft sectionals which helped and at the top of the straight I knew she’d be hard to beat.”

Marsh said the G2 Eight Carat Classic at Ellerslie on Boxing Day was now a likely target.

“She’s a really nice filly. She won very well on debut, then had those couple of runs at Ellerslie and was probably unlucky not to win one of them, and now she’s come out and led all the way in a black-type race.

Hitabell is a daughter of the late Stravinsky mare Anahita, whose last foal is a juvenile filly also by Embellish, and she was a half-sister to the multiple Group 2 winner and Group 1 placegetter Shikoba.

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Well-related mare Dazzled is making the most of her extended racing career with an impressive open handicap sprint success over 1300 metres at Ellerslie.

Our daughter of Pierro, who failed to get in foal this year, was coming off a runner-up finish in Rating 75 company at Tauranga and handled the rise in class with aplomb.

The Stella Artois 1500 Championship Final and the Westbury Stud Royal Descent Stakes are now among future options for Dazzled.

“She went to the stallion twice, unfortunately she didn’t get in foal, which means we can keep racing her all the way through,” trainer Lance Noble said.

“Potentially we may go to the final, but there’s also a 1400 metre fillies and mares’ race on Boxing Day as well which might suit.

“We haven’t really stepped her up further than 1300, sowe’ll just see. It will be one of the two.”

A cool ride from Warren Kennedy enabled the mare to post her latest victory at Ellerslie in fine style.

Last season’s champion jockey allowed Dazzled to drift back to second last before improving near the turn and unwound powerfully wide out on the track.

“She seems to go better when she gets a bit of room and Warren rode her very well, when she gets to the outside she can really letdown. It was very pleasing,” Noble said.

Dazzled is the last foal of the late Lucky Unicorn mare Capital Diamond, a member of the Eight Carat dynasty who was a gifted performer who won three races and finished third in the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas.

Her first foal was the G2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes winner Gift Of Power, who also triumphed twice at Listed Level in the Wellesley Stakes and Levin Stakes.

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Tavistock’s son Actaeon starred in a new role at Moonee Valley where he made a winning debut over ground and set up possible stakes opportunities.

His three previous victories had come up to a mile and the way he ran out 2040 metres at the first time of asking for trainer Symon Wilde has brought the G3 Hobart Cup and G3 Launceston Cup into play.

“That would be perfect for him, he’s going really well,” winning rider Daniel Stackhouse said.

Acteon sat off a slow early pace before circling runners tobe in front at the to of the straight and the five-year-old powered clear towin by a widening three and three-quarter lengths.

“He’s been racing well and I wanted to get going early on him to build into it and he was really tough,” Stackhouse said.

We sold the son of Tavistock for $30,000 on behalf of breeder Andari Ltd to Wilde, Pinhook International and John White Bloodstock.

Out of the King Of Kings mare Cinnadream, he is a brother to the G2 Championship Stakes winer Tavidream from the family of two-time Group 1winner and sire Tarzino.

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The well-related Tycoon Prince put the writing on the wall at his previous start and he made good on that threat over 1150 metres at Te Aroha.

The Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray-trained three-year-old had finished runner-up at Pukekohe earlier this month and our strapping homebred and raced son of Written Tycoon went one better in style.

“He drew better this time and I said to Ryan to take a sit, he’s got good gate speed, and he finished it off well,” Murray said.

“He likes good ground so he should go on with it over the summer.”

Tycoon Prince broke quickly from the gates to settle in fourth spot before working into the clear at the top of the straight and responded well to rider Ryan Elliot’s urgings to prove too good in the run home.

He is the first winner for Vanity Queen, an English-bred mare we purchased at the Tattersalls Mares’ Sale with agent John Foote signing on our behalf at 125,000gns.

She was successful as a two-year-old and is a half-sister to the Listed Newbury Fillies’ Trial Stakes winner Volume, who also placed at Group 1 level in the English and Irish Oaks, and dam of the G1 Curragh National Stakes winner Quorto.

We sold Vanity Queen’s colt by Almanzor to Foote for$260,000 at Karaka earlier this year and she had a younger sister last season before visiting Embellish.

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Trainer Lance Noble will be looking for suitable upcoming black-type options for our progressive mare Frostfair.

The four-year-old has fashioned an excellent record and her latest victory romp over 1400 metres at Pukekohe was her third win from just seven appearances.

“She’s a big mare who has taken time, she’s never been out of the first four and we’ll look for a bit of black type next,” Noble said.

She was a touch tardy from the barrier and settled off the pace before rider Warren Kennedy angled her away from the fence before the turn.

Frostfair powered between runners in the straight to waltz home by 3.3l.

“She’s really coming along the right way and won with a lot of authority, she put the race to bed pretty quickly,” rider Waren Kennedy said.

We bred the daughter of Written Tycoon, who is out of the Commands mare Thames Court, a talented performer whose three victories included the G3 Alexandra Stakes and she was also a multiple black-type placegetter.

Thames Court’s Pierro colt was purchased by Busuttin Racing at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale last year for A$80,000.

Her Capitalist filly sold for $200,000 to Stephen Gray, Wattle Bloodstock and Toking at Karaka earlier this year and the mare is due to foal to Embellish.

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