Plenty to celebrate at the Victorian Breeding Awards

Image: Inglis’ Sinead Flannery and James Price with Leanne Smith (middle), joint winner of the Service to the Industry award (Credit, Supplied)

Held at Luminare in South Melbourne, the 2026 awards celebrated the breeders, farms, stallions, broodmares and industry participants behind another successful and eventful year for Victoria’s thoroughbred sector. The strength of a community is revealed in times of adversity. In a year when bushfires devastated parts of the Victorian thoroughbred industry, the resilience, generosity and unity of the community shone through. That pride in Victoria’s industry was a defining theme of the evening, as its achievements, people and collective spirit were recognised and celebrated.

Janice McKenna’s and late husband, Colin McKenna’s culmination of a lifelong dedication to breeding was evident at Saturday night’s Victorian Breeding Awards with their legacy collecting three major honours following the historic achievements of Melbourne Cup winner Half Yours (St Jean).

McKenna was crowned the Leading Victorian Small Breeder for the second consecutive year, with her season headlined by Half Yours’ memorable Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) and Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) double.

Colin had a deep desire to not only to win some of the biggest races, but to breed a Melbourne Cup winner. It was an emotional moment for Janice and connections when 374 days later, a gelding they had bred won the Melbourne Cup. Half Yours was ridden to victory by Jamie Melham who has a very special relationship with the McKenna’s. 

Half Yours was also named the Champion Victorian Bred Racehorse, while his late dam, the placed Desert King (Danehill) mare La Gazelle was awarded the Champion Victorian Broodmare award.

Half Yours was sold as part of a dispersal in November 2024, less than a month after Colin’s passing, when Belmont Bloodstock and McEvoy Mitchell Racing purchased the gelding for $305,000. 

The McKenna’s also bred VOBIS Horse of the Year Flying Done (Kermadec) out of stakes placed Testa Rossa (Perugino) mare Flying Tessie. 

Flying Done won three races and placed on another three occasions during his ten-start three-year-old campaign, earning $88,600 in VOBIS Silver and Gold bonuses and a further $60,000 in VOBIS Platinum vouchers.

Swettenham Stud’s Toronado (High Chapparral) claimed the prestigious Champion Victorian Sire award for the second time.

Toronado enjoyed another successful season, with his progeny continuing to produce leading performances across Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong and further cementing his standing among Victoria’s premier stallions. A top ten sire on the Australian General sires list, Toronado finished the Australian season with a phenomenal 167 individual winners including 7 stakes winners and was fourth on the Hong Kong sires table with another 13 winners, two at stakes level.

Darley’s Northwood Park-based shuttle stallion Blue Point (Shamardal) was named VOBIS Sire of the Year.

His progeny collected more than $732,000 through VOBIS Silver and Gold bonuses and VOBIS Platinum vouchers during the season.

Godolphin secured the VOBIS Nominator of the Year award, with its results headed by Steel Move (Blue Point), winner of both the VOBIS Gold Stockade (1200m) and VOBIS Gold Carat.

Rosemont Stud’s Extreme Warrior (Extreme Choice) was recognised as the Victorian First Season Sire following an exceptional start with his first small crop of two year olds.

Like his own sire, Extreme Warrior’s crops may be limited by quantity, but quality is certainly evident. Headed by Eternal Warrior, winner of the Merson Cooper S. (Listed, 1000m) Extreme Warrior recorded four winners from just nine starters with the stallion’s early results heralding a bright future.

Yulong Investments was named the Kentucky Equine Research and Barastoc Champion Victorian Breeder after producing a strong group of stakes performers across the country.

Yulong’s successful season included Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express), Grand Prairie (Written Tycoon), Miraval Rose (Grunt), Hedged (Capitalist) , Alibaba (Alabama Express), Cherry Bomshell (Lucky Vega), McWoody (Alabama Express) and Brave Monarch (Brave Smash).

Dual Group 1 winner Tentyris (Street Boss) received the Magic Millions Champion Victorian Bred Three-Year-Old award following a season highlighted by two high-class performances down the Flemington straight.

The colt’s speed and elite-level record established him as one of the leading members of his generation and a significant representative of the Victorian breeding industry.

Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Streisand (Magnus) was crowned the Inglis Champion Victorian Bred Two-Year-Old. She heard the Inglis gavel in Melbourne as often as she won being a graduate of both the Great Southern Sale, sold for $22,000 to Northmore and Waterford, and the Melbourne Premier Sale where she realised $100,000 to the bid of Shane McGrath Bloodstock and Clinton McDonald Racing. 

The promising juvenile was bred by Don and Elizabeth Byrne’s Eldon Park Stud and is a daughter of the late Victorian stallion Magnus (Flying Spur).

Her success provided further recognition for a sire who has made a sustained contribution to Victorian breeding throughout his stud career.

The Lindsay Park training partnership of Ben, Will and JD Hayes retained the Racing Victoria VOBIS Trainer of the Year title.

The trio successfully programmed a number of eligible horses throughout the season, with Kindhearted (Frosted), Apulia (Fiorente) and Hydrobomb (Shamus Award) among the stable representatives to collect valuable VOBIS bonuses in addition to their race prize-money.

Rosemont Stud stallion manager Matt Taylor received the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association Rising Star Award.

Taylor has played an important role in the development of Rosemont’s stallion roster and was recognised for his knowledge, leadership and commitment to mentoring younger staff.

The Inglis Service to the Industry Award resulted in a rare three-way dead-heat, with Bucklee Farm’s Leeanne Smith and Three Bridges Thoroughbreds’ Peter and Pauline Liston sharing the honour.

Each has devoted decades to the Victorian breeding industry while developing and operating respected boutique thoroughbred farms.

Their contribution extended beyond their own breeding operations, with the award recognising their commitment, experience and service to the broader industry.

The evening again highlighted the depth of Victoria’s breeding sector, with honours spread across large commercial farms, boutique breeders, stallion operations, trainers and emerging industry leaders.

McKenna’s collection of awards was particularly significant, with Half Yours’ Cups double providing one of the defining achievements of the Australian racing season.

The gelding’s success in two of the country’s most coveted staying races ensured both he and his breeder were prominent among the award recipients.

The posthumous recognition of La Gazelle added further emotion to the evening, acknowledging the broodmare’s lasting contribution through a horse who claimed Australia’s most famous race.

Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria (TBV) executive officer Carrie Hu said the awards provided an opportunity to acknowledge the extensive planning, investment and dedication required to produce successful racehorses.

Hu said the achievements celebrated at the awards demonstrated the quality of horses consistently produced in Victoria and the work carried out behind the scenes throughout the year.

“Behind every winner tonight there’s years of planning, investment and commitment,” Hu said.

“The Victorian breeding industry continues to produce top-class horses that compete and win at the highest level, from the stallion-making Coolmore Stud Stakes to the race that stops a nation, the Melbourne Cup.

“These results are built on the passion and dedication of our breeders, farms and everyone working tirelessly every single day of the year.”

“On behalf of TBV, I congratulate all of tonight’s winners and finalists and wish everyone a successful breeding season ahead,” she said.

Full list of winners

• Racing Victoria VOBIS Nominator of the Year: Godolphin
• Racing Victoria VOBIS Sire of the Year: Blue Point
• Racing Victoria VOBIS Trainer of the Year: Ben, Will and JD Hayes
• Racing Victoria VOBIS Horse of the Year: Flying Done
• Inglis Champion Victorian Bred Two-Year-Old: Streisand
• Magic Millions Champion Victorian Bred Three-Year-Old: Tentyris
• Breednet Champion Victorian Bred Racehorse: Half Yours
• Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association Rising Star Award: Matt Taylor
• Inglis Service to the Industry Award: Leeanne Smith, Peter Liston and Pauline Liston
• Kentucky Equine Research and Barastoc Champion Victorian Breeder: Yulong Investments
• Avenel Equine Hospital Champion Victorian Broodmare: La Gazelle
• Yulong Stud Leading Victorian Small Breeder: Janice McKenna
• Sportsbet Champion Victorian First Season Sire: Extreme Warrior
• IRT Champion Victorian Sire: Toronado