Emirates Park toast brilliant weekend on the racetrack with fine stakes treble
Emirates Park celebrated a weekend to remember, breeding three individual stakes winners within 24 hours.
The success got off to an impressive start when the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Charm Stone (I Am Invincible), who Emirates Park bred and sold, won the Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at The Valley, which was then backed up when Manaal (Tassort) and Marhoona (Snitzel) sported Emirates Park’s green and white silks to victory in respective black-type contests at Rosehill the following day.
“It’s satisfying, not just for myself but for Hussain [Lootah] and Nasser [Lootah],” the operation’s bloodstock manager Bryan Carlson told ANZ News. “It’s a huge passion for them. They love their racing, whether it’s in their colours or not, what they do it for is to produce quality horses and see them run and win. To get a Group 1, Group 2, and a Listed winner all in 24 hours really shows the quality of horse we breed at the farm and the results we’re getting.”
Manaal followed up her last-start win in the Sheraco Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) with a triumph in the Golden Pendant (Gr 2, 1400m), adding more allure to her CV which already includes Group wins at two, three and now four.
“It’s just great to see her back,” Carlson said. “Last preparation luck wasn’t with her, bad barriers, wet tracks, different reasons, so we gave her a long spell. Her last two starts she’s just been glowing in the mounting yard, and her mindset is right where it needs to be.”
The daughter of Tassort (Brazen Beau), who stands at Newgate in partnership with Emirates, is out of the US-bred Listed winner Red Lodge (Midshipman), who Emirates Park picked up for $500,000 at the Keeneland Breeding Stock Sale in 2018. On Sunday, she was covered by Newgate Farm’s Golden Slipper (Gr 1,200m)-winning stallion Stay Inside (Extreme Choice).
“She was the first American mare we bought and she’s produced Manaal, so hopefully we can go back and buy some more,” Carlson said. “We’ve had a lot of success with American mares, even Marhoona’s great granddam was American. It’s something we’re actively targeting those early two-year-old stakes-winning mares up there that we can bring down here and breed from.”
Meanwhile, Golden Slipper winner Marhoona marked her return from a break with a gritty first-up victory under 58 kilograms in the Heritage Stakes (Listed, 1100m) against the three-year-olds, breaking the so-called ‘Slipper curse’ in the process.
She became just the second Golden Slipper winner in the past eight years to add to her resume, with Fireburn (Rebel Dane), who won the juvenile Group 1 in 2022, the last triumphant to do so.
Carlson outlined some lofty targets for the daughter of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), including the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington on November 1.
“She had been working well, especially over the last two weeks, so to get her back and win like that first-up was great,” Carlson said. “We’ll look at the Roman Consul Stakes next, and if all goes well, on to the Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington.”
Carlson also revealed that Marhoona’s dam, the 16-year-old Salma (Encosta De Lago), who has not produced a foal since the filly, was covered by Darley’s multiple Group 1-winning champion Anamoe (Street Boss) last week.
But her CV before the Slipper winner is exceptional. Salma’s first foal, Trojan Harbour (Harbour Watch), was a Listed winner in South Africa, while her second named foal, Salateen (I Am Invincible), was a Listed winner and Group 2 placed. And next in line Hilal (Fastnet Rock) was a Group 2 winner who was placed at the top level.
“She hasn’t had a foal for different reasons, nothing in particular, but hopefully this time we get her in foal. She’s a little tricky. She’s always been a lovely type and to produce what she has is exceptional. Even the daughter who’s not a stakes winner [Salaasel], I thought she was Group-class too, could have made five stakes winners.”
Charm Stone was sold by Emirates Park to Sheamus Mills Bloodstock at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $1.55 million and she became the first Group 1 winner out of Najoom (Northern Meteor). The daughter of Northern Meteor (Encosta De Lago) is heading to Newgate Farm’s star stallion, Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), this season.
“It was very satisfying,” Carlson said. “Those types of fillies are hard to sell, because they’re hard to buy and hard to breed. When we sold her, it was a commercial decision, we’ve got to be seen to sell as well as race our own. We’ve still got four sisters to her and Najoom herself. It’s a family that’s going to go from strength to strength. One of our aims is to protect our families and breed quality.”
With success in both the ring and on the racetrack, Emirates Park is placing greater emphasis on racing longevity for its fillies, with both Manaal and Marhoona expected to go to stud in 2026, though the latter may stay in training pending her spring campaign.
“Over the past few years we’ve had some great mares and fillies, but for different reasons they’ve retired early,” Carlson said. “We’re trying to breed sound, quality horses — and a big part of that is letting them race on, especially if they’re still performing at Group level.”
Looking ahead, Emirates Park is planning another American buying mission, with Carlson confirming they will be active at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and Fasig-Tipton’s equivalent.
“We’re looking every week and we will go back to the Keeneland and Fasig sales in November,” he said. “I’m a huge fan of American stallions, we’ve got a lovely Gun Runner yearling this year out of One More Honey who we’ll retain. The American market is very feasible for us, a good middle market, a good top end.
The weekend’s success reflects Emirates Park’s dual focus on producing commercial yearlings and racing high-quality fillies who can eventually return as valuable broodmares.
“We’re just trying to win Group races and add these fillies to the broodmare band,” Carlson said. “And whether it’s in the ring, the paddock, or on the racetrack, we want to breed families that stand the test of time.”