Jacaranda (AUS)
2 f Home Affairs – Gracie’s Lass by Redoute’s Choice
O: Coolmore (Mgr: T V Magnier), P Shanahan, Westerberg (Mgr: M Ryan) & Wynaus (Mgr: D Smith)
B: Greg Perry
T: Ben, Will & JD Hayes
S: 2025 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale V: Vinery Stud P: Tom Magnier, $300,000
W: Seymour Toyota Maiden Plate, 1100m, January 15, Seymour
The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained Jacaranda (Home Affairs) turned plenty of heads at Seymour on Thursday when producing a memorable debut with a 5.8-length success in the Seymour Toyota Maiden Plate (1100m).
Ridden by Mick Dee, the juvenile filly – who was becoming the fourth individual winner for Coolmore’s first-season sire Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) – proved much the best in the three-runner contest as she extended smartly to beat South Yarra Miss (Maurice).
There was a further half-length back to the third-placed Insolence (Street Boss).
“I’ve got to thank the Hayes boys, I believe this is their first winner since the devastation up there on the farm,” Dee told Racing.com.
“I think their spirits are pretty high, but hopefully this lifts the spirits even more. I was just a pilot today, she did everything of her own accord.”
Jacaranda has an entry for both next month’s Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and March’s Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m), and Lindsay Park’s Flemington assistant trainer Rahis Baig believes the filly could go a long way.
“She’s been really good. All throughout, she’s shown a lot of ability and talent, and it’s good to see her translate what she’s done at trackwork and her trials,” Baig told Racing.com.
“I think we’ve got a good horse on our hands, and connections will be very happy with that. She’s definitely shown us above-average talent, and in her trials, she looked very sharp, so we were very confident coming into the race today.
“The way she won, she looked really good, and the way she stretched out towards the end, it looks like she’s got a lot of talent, so these sorts of races will probably be the ideal targets for her.
“The horse will tell us, in the next couple of days, how she’s pulled and then the plans will be made, but the logical options would be heading towards the big races in February and March.”
A $300,000 Inglis Easter purchase for Tom Magnier from the Vinery Stud draft, Jacaranda is a half-sister to both dual Group 1 winner turned stallion Artorius (Flying Artie) – who won the Blue Diamond Stakes – and Group-winning three-year-old Sixties (Flying Artie).
Bred by Greg Perry, she is the sixth winner from as many foals to race out of the unraced Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) mare Gracie’s Lass, herself a half-sister to Group 1 winner Delectation (Shamardal) out of US stakes winner Grace And Power (More Than Ready).
A half-brother to Jacaranda by Pinatubo (Shamardal) sold to Anthony Freedman Racing and Julian Blaxland Bloodstock for $120,000 on day one of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Home Affairs stood the 2025 breeding season for an unchanged fee of $82,500 (inc GST).