Victoria welcomes new kids on the block

The state of Victoria will welcome a host of new stallions for the 2026 breeding season and with stallion parades just around the corner, here are eight that readers can keep an eye on in the coming weeks and months.

 

Darley’s Northwood Park will welcome Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) and Australia Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) hero Observer (Ghaiyyath) to the roster, where he will stand at an introductory fee of $33,000 (all fees inc GST).

 

The soon-to-be four-year-old is a Godolphin homebred and landed the Moonee Valley Vase (Gr 2, 2000m) and Autumn Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m), and placed in the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) alongside winning the pair of Group 1s during his three-year-old season.

“Observer was a metropolitan-winning two-year-old, a multiple Group 1-winning three-year-old, by a champion and out of a sister to a champion,” Godolphin’s managing director, Andy Makiv said.

 

Standing alongside his sire Ghaiyyath (Dubawi), who will be shuttling to Northwood Park from Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland, Observer is the best-performed son of his sire to retire to stud to date with a Timeform rating of 116.

 

Observer is out of a full-sister to Pierro (Lonhro), champion two-year-old and successful sire, and he will be the first Guineas winner from the Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) sire line to stand in Australia since Night Of Thunder. 

 

Speaking of shuttlers, Victoria will have two new editions to that bracket, with both Diego Velazquez (Frankel) and Laurel River (Into Mischief) coming over from the northern hemisphere.

 

The former was bred by Epona Bloodstock and purchased by Coolmore’s MV Magnier and White Birch Farm for 2.4 million guineas during Book 1 of the 2022 Tattersalls Yearling Sale.

 

Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the son of Frankel (Galilleo) landed the Juvenile Stakes (Gr 2, 1m) as a two-year-old before going on to Group 1 glory as a three-year-old in the Prix Jacques le Marois (Gr 1, 1600m) at Deauville.

 

However, having run in the Ballydoyle silks in each start prior to his elite-level success, Diego Velazquez would win the Jacques le Marois in the colours of the Sangster family, with Swettenham Stud principal Adam Sangster acquiring the colt beforehand alongside his brother Sam in a timely deal.

 

“As an industry, we have all been waiting for a fast son of Frankel to stand in Australia, and to purchase the most precocious son of his generation who won the stallion-making European mile was a stroke of genius from my brother Sam,” Sangster said.

 

“The [Group 1] victory certainly helped facilitate standing Diego Velazquez in Australia for Sam and his partners, as we at Swettenham are very selective in who we stand so that breeders can have the greatest chance of a return on investment.”

 

Confirmed to be standing at a fee of $27,500 for 2026, having stood the northern hemisphere breeding season at the National Stud for a fee of £17,500 (approx. AU$33,300), Diego Velazquez is the 11th and final foal out of the stakes-winning mare Sweepstake (Acclamation), meaning he is a three-parts brother to Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Gr 1, 2400m) scorer Broome (Australia) and multiple Group-race winner and Group 1-placed Point Lonsdale (Australia). 

 

Another of Victoria’s new shuttlers will be Group 1 winner Laurel River, a son of seven time U.S Champion Sire, Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday) standing at Woodside Park for an introductory fee of $22,000.

 

A son of the Spendthrift Farm stalwart, Laurel River began his racing career with Bob Baffert, breaking his maiden at start number two and finishing his time in the US with a victory in the Pat O’Brien Stakes (Gr 2, 7f).

 

Predominantly a sprinter-miler to this point, Laurel River was transferred to Dubai-based handler Bhupat Seemar and the colt scored easily in the Burj Nahaar (Gr 3, 1600m) at Meydan before his only start beyond a mile resulted an utterly dominate display in the US$12 million Dubai World Cup (Gr 1, 2000m), streaking clear for an eight-and-a-half lengths success. 

 

Laurel River was subsequently named Longines World’s Best Racehorse in 2024, with a World Thoroughbred Rating of 128, equal to Coolmore’s Derby-winning shuttler City Of Troy (Justify) that year.

 

“He was an outstanding racehorse, when you are rated 128 and equal-best horse in the world, you are at the top of the tree,” Woodside’s stallion nominations manager Mark Dodemaide said.

 

“He profiles like Street Cry. They both started their careers with half a dozen runs in Southern California before going to Dubai, they both won the Dubai World Cup at their tenth start and were forward, on speed horses. Whilst his racetrack credentials are undeniable, being a son of a super stallion was irresistible to Woodside.”

 

A brother to the stakes-placed winner Castlewarden, Laurel River was a homebred for Juddmonte Farms and is out of the Empire Maker (Unbridled) mare Calm Water, herself a sister to Grade 1 winner Emollient and a half-sister to stakes winner Hofburg (Tapit).

 

Other exciting additions to the Victorian stallion ranks include Yulong’s record-breaking Vinrock (I Am Invincible), and Blue Gum Farm’s duo of Group 1-winning sprinter Libertad (Russian Revolution) and Group-winning juvenile Coleman (Pierata).

 

Vinrock, a son of I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) that will stand for a fee of $22,000, was unbeaten as a two-year-old, becoming his champion sire’s first Australian juvenile Group 1 winner and also the first horse in 44 years to land both the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m).

 

“He was unbeaten as a two-year-old, and he’s a hell of a type, so he’s going to be very well-received when he gets to stud,” Vinrock’s trainer Matt Laurie said following the colt’s Group 1 victory.

 

Bred by Rosemont Stud and sold to Laurie and Wilannah Park Bloodstock for $300,000 at the 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, Vinrock is out of the Group 2-winning mare Girl Gone Rockin’ (Redoute’s Choice), herself a half-sister to Group 1 performer Syreon (Flying Spur) and out of the multiple stakes-winning New Zealand mare Sorrento (Just A Dancer). 

 

“He’s a son of I Am Invincible, and from a high-quality Redoute’s Choice mare like Zoustar, Anamoe and Super Seth, which gives him a pedigree that will really resonate with breeders, and we’re excited to welcome him to the farm,” Yulong’s chief operating officer, Sam Fairgray, said.

 

Meanwhile, Blue Gum will offer both Libertad and Coleman. The former, who is to stand for a fee of $9,900, was an undefeated Group-winning juvenile who would go on to defeat Overpass (Vancouver) in November’s Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) as a five year old in what would be his final appearance on the track.

 

Coleman, who enters at a fee of $7,700, was crowned as Timeform’s highest-rated two-year-old for the 2023-24 Australia season, winning both the Magic Millions Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) and Chairman’s Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) before placing in the ATC Sires’ Produce and Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) – where he was beaten just a short-head by winner Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon).

 

Both Libertad and Coleman were part-owned by Jason and Melanie Stenning’s Trilogy Racing, with Jason and Melanie also owning Blue Gum alongside Sean and Cathy Dingwall.

 

Bred by Kulani Park, Coleman was purchased by Matt Laurie and Justin Bahen for $550,000 at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, while Libertad was a $210,000 purchase for Annabel Archibald out of Nolen Racing, who had landed the colt for just $40,000 out of his breeders Rheinwood Pastoral’s draft at the 2022 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

 

“Coleman’s two-year-old form speaks for itself, and above all, he is an outstanding physical specimen,” Jason Stenning said. “It takes a very good horse to consistently produce the times he did.

 

“We are extremely proud to stand the first Group 1 winner to race in our silks. Securing Libertad, despite strong competition, marks a significant win for the farm as we continue to strengthen an already respected and successful stallion roster.”

 

Our final two highlighted stallions are Lovatsville’s Espionage (Zoustar) and Larneuk Stud’s Griff (Trapeze Artist). The former was a star juvenile and landed both Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) and Kindergarten Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) during his opening campaign for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. He is introduced at a fee of $11,000.

 

Initially purchased for $1 million out of Gerry Harvey’s Baramul Stud by the James Harron Bloodstock Colt Partnership, Espionage was then acquired by Coolmore in a deal before his three-year-old season and they have retained an involvement ahead of his stallion career.

 

Griff, meanwhile, landed the stallion-making Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) during his three-year-old season for Ciaron Maher and was also a city winner as a juvenile. He finds himself introduced for a fee of $7,700.