Our shuttle stallion Hello Youmzain has hit the front at the perfect time in the race for first season stallion honours.

His sons Ashoka and Happy Youmzain finished runner-up and fourth respectively in the juvenile event at Ellerslie to propel their sire to the top of the freshman premiership.

Hello Youmzain is now all but guaranteed to follow the lead of his associate sire Almanzor, who won the title in the 2012/22 season, and be crowned champion with his current progeny earnings nearing $240,000.

Both Ashoka and Happy Youmzain were on debut for trainer Tony Pike, and he’s confident they will be future feature race contenders.

“Ashoka came back late and probably got a bit lost when he got into the clear and Happy Youmzain didn’t have much luck as he was three deep and just peaked late, I like them a lot,” he said.

“It’s nice to have some ammo for the good three-year-old races next season.”

Another hot prospect in Pike’s care is Hello Youmzain’s runaway last-start winner Cream Tart.

“She’s a promising filly and went straight out for a month in the paddock before she comes back for the fillies’ series and a path to the 1000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) so we’ll see where she gets to,” he said.

Hello Youmzain has produced five individual winners so far this term, including our Listed Champagne Stakes winner Lucy In The Sky who is also a member of Pike’s Cambridge stable.

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El Arish again showed his liking for northern headquarters when he proved in a league of his own at Ellerslie.

A maiden winner on the course in the spring, the son of our resident Embellish had finished a sound fifth on his return last month and then never gave his older rivals a look in over 1600 metres.

“He’s a nice horse and his last start was really good and just got collared the last bit,” stable representative Dylan Johnson said.

“He’s got a lot of upside, he’s easy to handle and always puts himself up on speed.”

El Arish crossed from a wide gate to sit in second spot and when jockey Craig Grylls gave him his head, the three-year-old romped clear.

He was a $30,000 yearling buy at Karaka, where he was offered by Landsdowne Park, for Toro Bloodstock and is a brother to multiple winner and G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas runner-up Talisker.

Their dam is the Redoute’s Choice mare Glenkinchie, who is out of a half-sister to the five-time Group 1 winner Racing To Win.

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Platinum Diamond provided our shuttle stallion Hello Youmzain with his sixth individual Southern Hemisphere winner when she triumphed at Wanganui.

The Lisa Latta-trained filly may also be given the opportunity next time out to emulate our own Lucy In The Sky, successful in the Listed Champagne Stakes, and become a second black-type winner for the stallion.

“We’ll look at the Castletown Stakes, we’ll just wait and see how she pulls up,” Latta said.

Fourth on debut at Hawera, Platinum Diamond drifted back before picking up ground across the top and she finished willingly for rider Bruno Queiroz down the middle of the straight to open her account.

“She has showed a fair bit at the trials, and we’ve taken her along quietly as she was a late foal and went shin sore earlier on,” Latta said.

Platinum Diamond was bred by Beaufort Downs and was purchased out of their draft for $90,000 at New Zealand Bloodstocks National Yearling Sale.

She is a daughter of the Thorn Park mare Spritz who is a half-sister to the dam of the G2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes winner and multiple stakes black type Aotea Lad.

Well-related filly Diamond Show did us proud at Hawkesbury where she put her rivals away with a minimum of effort.

The daughter of resident sire Almanzor had been building to something special and she duly delivered with a sparkling performance over 1600 metres to justify her short odds.

We bred and sold Diamond Show who has been patiently handled by trainer Brad Widdup and had opened her current preparation when fifth on the Kensington track at Randwick before finishing runner-up at Kembla Grange.

She went one better in style on her home track over 1600 metres, coming from the back of the field in the hands of Kerrin McEvoy to put a space on her opposition.

Congratulations to Sydney owner John Cordina, who purchased Diamond Show under his Summertime Holdings banner for A$340,000 out of our Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale draft in 2023.

A half-sister to Listed Taranaki Oaks Prelude winner Miss Ella, the filly is a daughter of the Zabeel mare Zenella who finished runner-up in the G1 Queensland Oaks.

All five of her foals to race have been successful and we sold Diamond Show’s unraced brother for A$100,000 at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

The mare produced another Almanzor colt last season and is in foal to Chaldean.

From the famed Eight Carat family, Zenella is a half-sister to the G2 Blazer Stakes winner Forever Loved with the G1 Australian Guineas winner Feroce the most recent top-flight winner on the pedigree page.

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Genuine four-year-old Roadcone never gave his rivals a look in at Sandown to add to his burgeoning record.

The son of Almanzor now has four wins and six placings from 12 appearances with his latest success an all-the-way victory over 1600 metres.

“He is still quite a physically immature horse. I don’t think he’s ever going to be a really big and strong individual,” said Katherine Coleman, who trains with Peter Moody.

“I think it’s all still ahead of him. We’ll just keep building him through his rating races and go from there.”

In-form apprentice Luke Cartwright allowed Roadcone to bowl along in front and they forged clear in the straight to triumph by two and a-quarter lengths.

“It is really special, and Luke has been doing work for us behind the scenes and it’s good to see him rewarded and again, that was a lovely ride,” Coleman said.

“Luke looked at me a little bit funny when I said, if he begins as well as he did at Pakenham, you might find yourself in front and I’m not sure what he thought of that pre-race.

“When the horse jumped as well as he did, there were no questions as to how it was going to pan out from there. Knowing he had that light weight (51kgs) on his back, it was a pretty confident watch.

Roadcone was bred by Bob Emery and is a son of the So You Think mare On The Ball and was purchased at Karaka by former top trainer Murray Baker for $120,000.

He finished fourth in his Te Rapa debut for Baker’s former training partner Andrew Forsman before relocating to Victoria.

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Jockey Declan Bates tipped the Symon Wilde-trained Imamanzor as a three-year-old to follow after their success at Horsham.

He combined with our homebred son of resident sire Almanzor, who relished the good surface to win in fine style over 1400 metres.

“It looked a good race for him and he was too good,” Bates said. “He’s a big boy and he’ll improve again with that.”

Imamanzor was wide early before settling outside the leader and, after striding to the front on the turn, held a strong gallop for his second career victory from eight starts.

“I was happy to roll forward with him and he travelled well,” Bates said.

“He took me to the lead at the top of the straight and he felt like he had plenty left in the tank.”

Imamanzor is a son of the More Than Ready mare Imanana, whose dam Imananabaa was a quality sprinter whose five wins featured success in the G1 Railway Handicap.

Imanana has produced four winners with Imamanzor sold to Grand Syndicates for A$35,000 at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

We sold her Sword Of State colt to Richard and Will Freedman for $100,000 at Karaka earlier this year and Imanana had a filly in 2024 by our Group 1-winning son of Snitzel.