2025/26 Season Review
63 TOTAL WINS
29 METRO WINS
10 STAKES WINS
17 STAKES PLACINGS
8TH VIC METRO
First and foremost, we would like to thank our loyal owners and clients, together with our hardworking staff, for their
continued support and contribution to another outstanding season for the stable.
The 2025/26 season produced 63 winners, including 29 Victorian metropolitan victories, 10 Group and Listed wins and
a further 17 stakes placings. Headlined by Splash Back’s brilliant Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara victory, six of our 10
stakes wins came at Group 1 or Group 2 level – an outstanding achievement from our boutique team.
Farewell to Our Queen – Magic Time
Magic Time winning the Group 3 Cockram Stakes at Caulfield
During the season we said goodbye to our Queen, Magic Time, who is now embarking on the next chapter of her
career as a broodmare at Yulong.
She began her final season in typically brilliant fashion, winning the Group 3 Cockram Stakes at Caulfield before
finishing third in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes. On Champions Day at Flemington she was courageous in defeat, going
down by just a head to superstar Giga Kick in the Group 1 VRC Champions Sprint.
Magic Time gave us so many unforgettable memories. Remarkably, after winning her maiden on the Pakenham
Synthetic, every subsequent start of her career was at stakes level.
She retired with more than $4.5 million in prizemoney and a record of 27 starts for 8 wins, 3 seconds and 4 thirds,
including two Group 1 victories, one Group 2, three Group 3s and a Listed win. She leaves an enormous hole in the
stable, but we could not be prouder of everything she achieved.
Group & Stakes Highlights
Splash Back – A Group 1 Breakthrough
Splash Back – Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara winner
French-bred mare Splash Back enjoyed a breakout season. Following two city wins at Caulfield and Flemington the
previous season, she finished second in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes at Morphettville before a close fifth,
beaten just 0.81 lengths, in the Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes at Flemington.
She then claimed her first stakes victory in the Group 2 Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley and followed it with a second
in the Group 2 Tristarc Stakes at Caulfield. After a break she ventured to Sydney, where she was an unlucky seventh,
beaten only 1.57 lengths, in the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes.
Her Queensland campaign began brilliantly with victory in the Group 2 Victory Stakes at Eagle Farm before she
produced the crowning moment of her season with a superb win in the Group 1 Tattersall's Tiara at the same track.
From progressive city mare to Group 1 winner – what a season.
She’s A Hustler
She’s A Hustler – Group 2 Zipping Classic at Caulfield
She’s A Hustler continued her rise this season. She opened with a win at Flemington before heading to Moonee Valley
to record her first stakes victory in the Group 3 Tesio Stakes, followed by a gallant second in the Matriarch Stakes at
Flemington on a heavy track.
She then produced a gutsy victory in the Group 2 Zipping Classic at Caulfield, defeating multiple Group 1 winner Light
Infantry Man. Her autumn campaign took her to Sydney, where she finished fourth in the Group 1 Queen of the Turf at
Randwick, before a third in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes in Queensland.
Her impressive career record now stands at 15 starts for 7 wins, 4 seconds and 1 third. We are certainly looking
forward to seeing both Splash Back and She’s A Hustler return in the spring.
More Stakes Success
Cilacap again made a very good start to the season, running third in the Listed Anniversary Vase at Caulfield. We
were thrilled to see her win the Group 2 Queen of the South Stakes at Morphettville, giving the stable back-to-back
victories in the race following Zloties’ success the previous year.
Miraval Rose continued her stakes success with a third in the Listed Chautauqua Stakes at Moonee Valley before a
fantastic win in the Group 2 Rose of Kingston Stakes at Flemington.
Miraval Rose – Group 2 Rose of Kingston Stakes at Flemington
Ruska Roma – Listed Twilight Glow Stakes at Caulfield
Ruska Roma scored her first stakes victory in the Listed Twilight Glow Stakes at Caulfield – the same race Miraval
Rose won two years earlier.
Zakouma stamped himself as a stayer of the future. Following city wins at Caulfield, Sandown and Flemington, he took
out the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington, securing a Golden Ticket into the Melbourne Cup. We are
extremely excited to have our first runner in the Melbourne Cup, and Zakouma will begin his campaign in the Listed
Heatherlie Stakes at Caulfield – an important starting point for horses preparing for the Cups.
Zakouma – Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington
Other Stakes Performers
Niance 3rd – Group 2 Schillaci Stakes, Caulfield
De Bergerac 2nd – Listed Fisher Stakes; 2nd – Listed Hilton Nicholas Straight Six; 3rd – Listed Santa Ana Lane Final, Flemington
Royal Insignia 3rd – Listed Regal Roller, Caulfield
King Zephyr 2nd – Listed Weekend Hustler, Caulfield
Profligate 2nd – Listed Anzac Day Stakes, Flemington
Jadzia 2nd – Group 2 Ottawa Stakes, Flemington
Chillies 3rd – Listed VRC St Leger, Flemington
Our Stakes Season by the Numbers
10 Group & Listed wins and 17 additional stakes placings from 88 stakes starts.
CLASS STARTS – 1ST – 2ND – 3RD – WIN % – PLACE % – PRIZEMONEY
Group 1 – 18 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 5% – 16% – $2,043,400
Group 2 – 25 – 5 – 2 – 2 – 20% – 36% – $1,451,255
Group 3 – 20 – 2 – 1 – 0 – 10% – 15% – $421,000
Listed 25 – 2 – 5 – 5 – 8% – 48% – $552,375
TOTAL 88 – 10 – 9 – 8 – $4,468,030
Season Winners
We finished the season with 63 winners: 60 in Victoria, including 29 metropolitan and 31 provincial winners, together with one winner in South Australia and two in Queensland.
Victorian Metropolitan Performance
186 STARTERS
29 WINNERS
15.6% WIN STRIKE RATE
$4.16m PRIZEMONEY
22 SECONDS
16 THIRDS
36.0% TOP-3 RATE
8TH METRO PREMIERSHIP
29 wins from 186 metropolitan starters delivered a 15.6% winning strike rate, with 67 top-three finishes (36.0%).
Victorian Metropolitan – 29 Wins
1. De Bergerac – Flemington
2. Takeko – Moonee Valley
3. Silver Magnate – Sandown
4. Magic Time – Group 3 Cockram Stakes – Caulfield
5. Miraval Rose – Caulfield
6. She’s A Hustler – Flemington
7. Splash Back – Group 2 Stocks Stakes – Moonee Valley
8. King Zephyr – Sandown
9. De Bergerac – Flemington
10. Miraval Rose – Group 2 Rose of Kingston Stakes – Flemington
11. She’s A Hustler – Group 3 Tesio Stakes – Moonee Valley
12. Wings Of Desire – Caulfield
13. Ruska Roma – Listed Twilight Glow Stakes – Caulfield
14. She’s A Hustler – Group 2 Zipping Classic – Caulfield
15. Angland – Caulfield
16. Written By – Cranbourne
17. Headbanger – Cranbourne
18. Zakouma – Caulfield
19. Dirty Look – Caulfield
20. Zakouma – Sandown
21. Dirty Look – Sandown
22. Zakouma – Flemington
23. Carriedo – Sandown
24. Bonus Season – Sandown
25. Parvenu – Caulfield
26. Zakouma – Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes – Flemington
27. De Bergerac – Flemington
28. Queen Peta – Sandown
29. Riverina Lulu
Interstate Winners
South Australia Cilacap – Group 2 Queen of the South Stakes – Morphettville
Queensland Splash Back – Group 2 Victory Stakes – Eagle Farm
Queensland Splash Back – Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara – Eagle Farm
Victorian Provincial – 31 Wins
1. Ghemme – Pakenham
2. Eco Force – Bendigo
3. Ruska Roma – Seymour
4. Mahers Landing – Geelong
5. Castellito – Kyneton
6. Empire Of Pain – Kyneton
7. Ludlum – Seymour
8. Chillies – Cranbourne
9. Marine Empress – Werribee
10. Tuscaloosa Gem – Pakenham
11. Peeaitchdee – Pakenham
12. Perfect Picture – Pakenham
13. Carriedo – Geelong
14. Rorkes Drift – Pakenham
15. Parvenu – Cranbourne
16. Profligate – Pakenham
17. Tuscaloosa Gem – Pakenham
18. Upstage – Pakenham
19. Avenue Montaigne – Pakenham
20. Upstage – Ballarat
21. Geeseven – Pakenham
22. Biologics – Werribee
23. Geeseven – Seymour
24. Mahers Landing – Pakenham
25. Ludlum – Seymour
26. Somersault – Geelong
27. Queen Peta – Cranbourne
28. Representative – Ballarat
29. Outsidethesquare – Ballarat
30. Praise Her – Pakenham
31. Shapenapit – Bendigo
The stable also recorded three metropolitan doubles during the season, including a stakes double, together with two
provincial doubles.
Consistency at the Highest Level
BACK-TO-BACK STAKES SEASONS
Following an outstanding 2024/25 season that produced 69 winners and 10 Group & Listed victories, the stable again
recorded 10 stakes wins in 2025/26.
Importantly, the quality of those victories continued to rise, with six of this season’s 10 stakes wins coming at Group 1 or
Group 2 level, highlighted by Splash Back’s brilliant Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara victory.
The stable has now produced 20 Group & Listed victories across the past two seasons – an achievement we are
extremely proud of from our boutique team.
Looking Ahead to 2026/27
With Group 1 winner Splash Back, She’s A Hustler and Melbourne Cup-qualified stayer Zakouma heading an exciting
group of established horses, complemented by a promising group of younger horses coming through the stable, there
is plenty to look forward to in the new season.
We are also looking forward to seeing our progressive horses continue to develop and make their mark, including
Riverina Lulu, Queen Peta, Aroused, Headbanger, Profligate and Jadzia.
There is also plenty of excitement surrounding a talented group of unraced three-year-olds who have been given the
time they need to develop. In addition, we have a lovely crop of well-bred two-year-olds coming through the stable,
and we hope some of them will emerge as the stars of the future.
Once again, we sincerely thank all of our owners and clients for their continued support and trust in the stable, and our
staff for the enormous amount of work they put in behind the scenes every day. None of these results are possible
without them.
We look forward to sharing the 2026/27 season with you.