Arabian Summer confirmed for Chairman’s sale

Group 1 placegetter Arabian Summer (Too Darn Hot) is another addition to this year’s Inglis Chairman’s Sale, for which entries will close on Friday.

High-class as a two-year-old, a Group winner at three and a Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) placegetter as a four-year-old, Arabian Summer has earned her connections over $1.5 million already from just 15 career starts, which have netted five wins and five minor placings to date.

The daughter of Darley’s shuttle sensation Too Darn Hot was an electric juvenile, finishing second behind subsequent Group 1 performers Coleman (Pierata) and Eneeza (Exceed And Excel) at her first two starts in the Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) and Ottawa Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) respectively.

She would then win her next two starts - and four of her next five, all at two – with her only unplaced juvenile effort coming when finishing fifth behind Storm Boy (Justify) in the $3.5 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m). As a late juvenile Arabian Summer won the $1 million Magic Millions National 2YO Classic (1050m).

She trained on at three to win the Peter Le Grand Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield and finish third behind Group 1 winners Private Harry (Harry Angel) and Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) in the $3 million Sunlight Plate (1100m) on the Gold Coast.

Arabian Summer continued to mature into her four-year-old season, finishing a close-up third behind Baraqiel (Snitzel) in the Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) at Moonee Valley. She was last seen running third in the Kirin Ichiban Sprint (Gr 3, 1100m) at Flemington on November 1.

The mare will be offered in the Segenhoe draft at Chairman’s on Thursday May 7 at Riverside. “She’s very good looking and I know the family intimately, we have her mother [Maraam] on the farm," Segenhoe’s Peter O’Brien said.

“Arabian Summer is extremely consistent, lightning quick and will be an incredible addition to anybody’s broodmare band.’’

Inglis Bloodstock sales manager Harry Bailey added: “She has a sexy profile. She is a pretty mare and has incredible natural speed, but the pedigree also makes incredible appeal – a Too Darn Hot mare, who is out of a Street Cry mare, in turn out of a Lonhro mare – she is bred to be a good broodmare!"

To enter your mare into the Chairman’s Sale, contact a member of the Inglis bloodstock team or click here.

Inglis Digital announce Australian Broodmare Sale Sessions

The Inglis Digital April (Late) and May (Early) Sales will both be extended by a day to facilitate dedicated Inglis Digital Australian Broodmare Sale Sessions. The new online sessions will consolidate race fillies and broodmares for sale on their own day, giving vendors and buyers access to a significant market to buy and sell. The regular Inglis Digital catalogues for those sales will close out from 10am on the respective Wednesdays as per usual, with the additional Inglis Digital Australian Broodmare Sale Sessions closing out on the following day. “The traditional Australian Broodmare Sale has been discontinued, but this new structure is even more user friendly and cost effective for buyers and sellers,” Inglis Digital’s Nick Melmeth said. “Our new platform allows us to close out Digital sales over an extended period, so, subject to the volume of entries, we will sell race fillies and broodmares in these two sales on the Thursday and close out the balance of the other stock as normal on the Wednesday. It is effectively the same structure but gives people an extra 24 hours to work on the breeding stock, allowing for additional time for inspections, evaluations and vetting. The idea has already been met enthusiastically from vendors, a number of whom will be looking to consolidate stock in one or both of these sales, with a view to facilitating inspections from interested parties.’’ Entries for the Inglis Digital April (Late) Online Sale, featuring the Australian Broodmare Sale Session, close on Wednesday, April 22. Bidding opens Friday, April 24. Meanwhile, in a further update to the sales schedule, the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale has been pushed back by one day and will now be conducted on Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6 at Riverside.

Streisand on course to bid for Diamond/Slipper double

Blue Diamond (Gr 1, 1200m) heroine Streisand (Magnus) will bid to make history when she lines up in Saturday's Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Rosehill. The daughter of Magnus (Flying Spur) landed the Blue Diamond Prelude (F) (Gr 2, 1100m) at Caulfield before then taking out the Group 1 feature just two weeks later, defeating the re-opposing Chayan (I Am Invincible) on both occasions. "We've met her twice and beaten her twice," trainer Clinton McDonald said of Chayan. "I feel my filly is the best filly in the land at the moment and she's probably the best two-year-old, because she's been the most consistent from the spring to the autumn. She's had five starts for two seconds, two wins and an unlucky fifth on the track where you couldn't make ground. She's been consistently good the whole way through." Courtza (Pompeii Court) is one of only five two-year-olds to win both the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper, scoring for McDonald's father Ross in 1989, while McDonald's grandfather on the maternal side, Bon Hoysted, also prepared Manikato (Manihi) to achieve the feat in 1978. "I followed a bit of the same path as dad did with Courtza and we're going straight to the Slipper [from the Blue Diamond], but we feel that she's got the race smarts and the race sense to be able to do that. It was a slow tempo [in the Blue Diamond], but she still sat wide and sprinted off it, so I think she's in it right up to her ears. She can race on speed, she can race back, she goes on wet and dry. She's got no chinks in her armour."

Baraqiel in running for William Reid start

Group 1 winner Baraqiel is set to contest Saturday's William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Caulfield after having missed a start in the Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) on March 7 due to a 24-hour virus. The William Reid Stakes is traditionally run at Moonee Valley and winds up the Group 1 action in Melbourne for the season, however, with Moonee Valley out of action until the 2027 Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) due to reconstruction, Caulfield are hosting the 2026 running of the Group 1 sprint. "He literally had a 24-hour virus," co-trainer Troy Corstens, who trains in partnership with his father Leon and Will Larkin, said. "He left a little bit of feed, which is very unlike him, so we knew straight away something wasn't right. So, you check all extremities. Was there a bird in his feed? - No. Was there anything else wrong? No. Did he have water? Yes, but then his temperature was just on the edge. So, we took a blood, and it showed it wasn't right. His markers were up a little bit which told us he wasn't spot on. He was a tiny bit dull in the eye, which one of the staff picked up on straight away, and in the end, we couldn't run him. We don't take chances, especially going into a Group 1 like that, you need to be spot on. If they're not, you can run them and then flatten them and then it's preparation over." Baraqiel, who ran fourth in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) first-up this campaign, ticked over with a victory in a jump-out at Flemington last Friday. "He trialled last week and we were really pleased with it. He seems great," Corstens said.

Getta Good Feeling to take final step towards Oaks

Flemington-based trainer Danny O'Brien will take her final steps towards the Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) when she takes in Caulfield's Alexandra Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) on Saturday. Having won the Inglis Sprint (1200m) last time out over 1200 metres, the daughter of So You Think (High Chaparral) will be taking a step back up in distance at the weekend in order to prepare the filly for the 2000-metre Classic at Morphettville on April 25. "It's three weeks between runs. She steps to the mile, but that shouldn't be a problem as she has plenty of fitness," O'Brien said. "She'll run three weeks after this and then there's two weeks to the 2000-metre Group 1 over in Adelaide. It's a pretty straight forward set-up for her. It wasn't unexpected [her win in the Inglis Sprint]. Her form in the spring had been very good at 1200, 1400 [metres] and a mile. We just thought she didn't stay the 2500 metres of the Oaks, so that's why we gave her that opportunity first-up in the $1 million race and she had class on most of them in the race and she delivered. Up to the mile on Saturday, she's got plenty of fitness underneath the belt there from a long spring, so it shouldn't be an issue."

Aeliana’s time to shine in Ranvet

The Chris Waller-trained Aeliana (Castelvecchio) will get her chance to land another big Group 1 this weekend when she steps out in the Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Rosehill. The four-year-old mare has run second behind stablemate Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) in both starts so far this campaign, in the Apollo Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and latterly in the Verry Elleegant Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), but will not have that rival to tackle on Saturday. Aeliana is a solid $1.65 favourite to land Saturday's Ranvet Stakes, 12 months on from landing the Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m). "She has come back stronger, and her first two runs have been fantastic," Waller said. "She's got the best form heading into a Ranvet. This time last year, she ran second by a nostril on the same day in the Rosehill Guineas to Broadsiding and came out with an emphatic Derby win. She is where she needs to be."

Hayes concedes tough task for Evaporate

Co-trainer Ben Hayes has admitted that Evaporate (Per Incanto) faces a tough task in Saturday's George Ryder Stakes (Gr 1, 1500m) where he will take on star mare Autumn Glow. The latter is bidding to stretch her unbeaten run to 11 in this weekend's Group 1 and, despite Evaporate having run a last-start second in the All-Star Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) behind Tom Kitten (Harry Angel), Hayes feels he could be playing for second again before a crack at the Doncaster Mile (Gr 1, 1600m). "It's going to be a hot race, but it will let us know where we're at and then he will probably head to the Doncaster with 54.5 [kilos]," Hayes, who trains in partnership with his brothers JD and Will, said. "He's won over $3 million and hasn't won a Group 1, so it's a pretty good effort. Not many do that. He's a Group 1 horse that just hasn't done it yet. It was super [his last-start second]. He towed the field up to [Pride Of] Jenni, chased her. Tom Kitten sat off him and just got him late. But I loved the way he kept kicking. He has always been a genuine horse."

Reserve Bank on the comeback trial

The Goodwood winner Reserve Bank (Capitalist) will make his reappearance on Saturday when the four-year-old entire lines up in The Galaxy (Gr 1, 1100m) at Rosehill. Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, the son of Capitalist (Written Tycoon) has not been seen since his win at Morphettville on May 10 but has taken in two trials in recent weeks, a sixth placing at Caulfield Heath before a runner-up finish over 900 metres at Rosehill on March 10. Having been set to take in a spring campaign, stable staff became concerned about the entire's behaviour. "I walked in at four o'clock one morning and the girls said, 'come and have a look at this'," Price said. "He was absolutely shaking like a leaf on the spot, which was really unusual. We couldn't work it out initially. We thought it might have been a vertebrae problem, but it turned out to be Ross River virus based on his blood picture. The horse is going super, but I can't picture how he wins a Galaxy from that inside gate [barrier two], first-up after a long time. He's a four-year-old bull. I'm just looking for him to run well and please, and then I'll work out a program. He just needs to go to the races to bring him on.”

Grafterburners to head to Galaxy with less than ideal prep

Eagle Farm-based trainer Kelly Schweida admits that Grafterburners (Graff) hasn't had the ideal preparation heading into Saturday's The Galaxy, but is hoping the colt can run a big race. The cancellation of two sets of recent trials means Grafterburners has missed some work ahead of the Group 1, however Schweida has gotten a couple of gallops into the stakes-winning colt. “It hasn’t been the ideal last couple of weeks I must admit, it’s been a bit of a nightmare,’’ Schweida told Racing NSW. “He had a trial three weeks ago and he was supposed to trial last Tuesday and they called them off, then on Thursday they called them off again. He’s a little bit fortunate that he doesn’t need three or four runs to hit his straps. I had to weigh all that up. Unfortunately you don’t know until you get there if you’ve done the right thing or not." Grafterburners won all four of his starts in the spring, including the Gold Edition Plate (Listed, 1200m) and Magic Millions Sunlight Plate (1100m). “I gave him a good gallop on Tuesday morning instead of trialling him, I thought if I trialled it might have been too much with a float trip down," Schweida said. “Someone asked me what’s it like. I said it’s a bit like having a tattoo of an ex-partner, there’s not much you can do about it you’ve just got to cop it and wear it for now.”

Skyhook to line up in Darby Munro

Dual stakes-winning colt Skyhook (Written Tycoon) will tackle Saturday's Darby Munro Stakes (Listed, 1200m) at Rosehill as trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou target Group 1 glory with the three-year-old. The pair have their immediate sights set on next month’s Arrowfield Sprint (Gr 2, 1200m) on Day 1 of The Championships, and this weekend's Listed contest is the son of Written Tycoon's (Iglesia) first outing since running fifth in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) on November 1. “We’ve been happy with his trials, a bit of rain around won’t worry us,’’ Alexiou told Racing NSW. “He’s going as well as he can going first-up into a race like that. The Arrowfield isn’t a Group 1 but it’s a well credentialed race worth a bit of money and would look good on his CV if we can get to the stage where we can knock over a big one with him. We feel he is that class of galloper and if we can get through these first two runs with him, and he’s in A1 form, we’ll push forward to one of those weight-for-age Group 1s in Queensland.”

Maher to have two in Alister Clark

Ciaron Maher will run a pair of horses in Saturday's Alister Clark Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) at Caulfield. Explosive Jack (Jakkalberry) won the Tasmanian Derby (Listed, 2200m) for Maher in 2021 before going on to claim the Australian Derby in Sydney and the South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) in Adelaide, and Maher is hopeful that Dad And Dave (Time Test) can continue his progress after taking out the Tassie Derby last time out. "He's got that Tassie form, and he's had a little bit of time since then," Maher said. "But this race will shape where we go. Potentially Sydney and potentially on the Explosive Jack path to Adelaide and Brisbane after that. He [Explosive Jack] did the lot, but this horse is probably not as robust at the same time as Explosive Jack, but we'll see how he goes. He's in pretty good order, all the same." Dad And Dave will be joined in the Alister Clark by Amazake (Maurice), who will be looking to break through for his maiden win. "I just like the way he went through the line at Pakenham," Maher said. "It's a more testing track there, and he hit the line pretty well. Being a three-year-old, he's got plenty of time to knock off a maiden, but he stays OK and can burn around in the Alister Clark."

Sydney Cup winner Arapaho retired

Dual Group 1 winner Arapaho (Lope De Vega) has been retired with trainer Bjorn Baker citing "wear and tear" as the reason for calling time on the gelding's racing career. Making the announcement on Thursday, Baker described Arapaho as "an outstanding ambassador for our stable" and a "tough and genuine" racehorse. "The decision to retire him has been made with his best interests firmly in mind," Baker said on X. "He is feeling a little wear and tear in his joints, and at nine years old, it's the right call to step him away from racing rather than take any risk." Arapaho arrived in Australia in 2021 after having begun his career in France and, having landed the Tancred Stakes (Gr 1, 2400m) in 2023, he added the Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) at the age of eight last year. Arapaho's most recent appearance was a midfield finish in the 2025 Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) and altogether he raced 50 times for ten wins and ten placings with prize-money earnings of more than $4.3 million.

Back-up meeting scheduled for Sunshine Coast

Racing Queensland has confirmed that a back-up race meeting has been programmed for the Polytrack at Sunshine Coast Turf Club on Sunday, March 22, in the event the club’s race meeting on its course proper on the day is unable to proceed. In the event there is a deluge of rain which causes the course proper to become unsuitable for racing, a back-up meeting on the Polytrack will be introduced. This transfer, if required, would need to take place prior to 3pm, Saturday, March 21. Trainers should note that should the back-up meeting not be required then it will simply be deleted and there will be no fees applicable for any nominations/acceptances. The back-up race meeting’s program can be found here.

HK: Invincible Ibis draws well as Newnham eyes Derby redemption

Mark Newnham could scarcely have hoped for a better lead-in to the Hong Kong Derby (Listed, 2000m) and was in buoyant mood after Invincible Ibis (Hellbent) was handed the plum draw at Thursday’s barrier draw. Fresh from a career-best quintet at Happy Valley in the penultimate meeting ahead of Sunday’s blue-riband contest, the Australian handler’s charge gained a significant edge in drawing gate three. Newnham, who came within a short-head of Hong Kong Derby success at the first attempt last year with the mercurial My Wish (Flying Artie), was asked if Invincible Ibis, to be ridden by Hugh Bowman, now has a good chance of providing him with a first Derby win. “He certainly does,” Newnham said. “The draw’s going to help him enormously. It just means that Hugh’s got options to put him where he wants to be, not where he’s dictated to by the barrier. With gate three, he can determine that on the pace of the race. We’ve had a good look at that race. It’s a lot different going around the two bends. From the 1800-metre start, they go on a long straight line for a bit. But with the short run to the first turn here, there’s pressure on horses that are drawn wide and getting trapped wide into the first corner. From the good draw, he’s going to find a nice position without having to push forward or drag back. The way he finished off on the 1800 metres [in the Hong Kong Classic Cup], he does look like he’ll run the trip. We can only prepare him as well as we can, and he’s going there in good order.”

HK: Vincent To seeks Derby success at second attempt Release

Owner Vincent To Wai Keung will make his second bid for Hong Kong Derby glory this Sunday with his promising runner Top Dragon (Pierata). To’s first Derby representative, Grand Dragon (Istidaad), contested the 2010 edition but finished 12th as a longshot. A total of 16 years later, To believes he has a genuine contender in the 2000-metre feature. Trained by Chris So, Top Dragon has been one of the most consistent four-year-olds this season. The gelding arrives in peak form, having finished second in the Class 2 Year Of The Horse Cup Handicap (1600m) last start. He will jump from barrier one, a draw that delighted To and his family. “Of course, the draw alone won’t decide the Derby,” To said. “But as an owner, it’s already a joy just to have a runner in the race. The Derby really means a lot to me. You know, even after a decade in ownership, you’re never guaranteed a Derby horse. This time, unlike with Grand Dragon, my runner won’t be dismissed as having no chance. He’s an honest type, and with some luck, I believe he can put in a forward showing. Little Paradise and Invincible Ibis look to be our main dangers on Sunday. I’ve encouraged my sons to take an interest in racing, and today I asked Ronald to draw the barrier. It was wonderful to see him pull gate one. My family has also submitted our ballot application. We are all looking forward to this Sunday’s meeting as it’s a special occasion for us.”