Group I Australian Racing – The Season That Was

Tara Madgwick - Sunday June 27

The Group I Tatts Tiara at Eagle Fam last Saturday won by Tofane was the final Group I contest of the Australian racing season, so we’ve had a look through the stats to see where the best of the best have come from.

We had 59 individual Group I winners of 75 Group I races and the multiple Group I winners were: Verry Elleegant (NZ) (5), Arcadia Queen (2), Behemoth (2), Eduardo (2), Explosive Jack (NZ) (2), Hungry Heart (2), Kolding (NZ) (2), Montefilia (2), Ole Kirk (2), Nature Strip (2), Probabeel (NZ) (2), Sir Dragonet (IRE) (2) and Tofane (NZ) (2).

Verry Ellegant was the dominant performer in Australia this season by quite a margin! - image Steve Hart

So based on that, Kiwi bred mare Verry  Eleegant is the only choice for Australian Horse of the Year for 2021.

Aus Bred

Australian bred horses accounted for the lion’s share of Group I winners as seen in the table below.
 

Advertisement

Country of origin

Number of Australian G1 winners

Australia

38

New Zealand

10

GB/ Ireland

8

USA

1

Japan

1

South Africa

1



The Price of a G1 Winner

Not as expensive as you may think with three Group I winners purchased for less than $10,000 at public auction in Media Award ($5,000 at Inglis Melbourne Gold), Behemoth ($6,000 at MM National Yearling Sale) and Savatoxl ($8,000 at Inglis Vobis Gold).

G1 SAJC Australasian Oaks winner Media Award was bought as a yearling for $5,00

Most expensive Group I winners were Ole Kirk ($675,000 at Inglis Premier), Personal ($640,000 at Inglis Easter ) and Captivant ($550,000 at Magic Millions).

Group I Sires

Stallions with more than one Group I winner were:

Frankel (GB)  (3) – Hungry Heart, Converge, Mirage Dancer
Shamus Award (3) – Duais, Media Award, Mr Quickie
Written Tycoon (3) – Ole Kirk, Odeum, Frankel
All Too Hard (2) – Forbidden Love, Behemoth
Camelot (IRE) – Russian Camelot, Sir Dragonet
Exceed and Excel (2) – Bivouac, September Run
Not  a Single Doubt (2) – Shout the Bar, Instant Celebrity
Ocean Park (2) – Koldin, Tofane
Street Boss (USA) (2)- Anamoe, Elite Street
Savabeel (2) – Probabeel, Mo’Unga

Broodmare sires with more than one Group I winner were:

More Than Ready (USA) (4) – Media Award, Celebrity Queen, Bivouac, Forbidden Love
Redoute’s Choice  (4) – Arcadia Queen, Anamoe, Savatiano, Artorius
Red Ransom (USA) (3) – Odeum, Homesman, Selino
Zabeel (3) – Think It Over, Johnny Get Angry, Inspirational Girl
Galileo (2) – Personal, Tofane
General Nediym (2) – Mr Quickie, Hey Doc
O’Reilly (2) – Shout the Bar, Mo’Unga
Oasis Dream (2) – Sir Dragonet, Twilight Payment
Street Cry (IRE) (2) – Cascadian, September Run

 

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Friday December 20
Here is the full list of 71 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
No Shock in Supernova
The good times keep on rolling for connections of winning machine Here To Shock(NZ) (Shocking) who plundered the inaugural A$1 million Supernova at Pakenham over his favoured 1400m distance for trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes.
Is He the Next Via Sistina or Buckaroo?
The Fastnet Rock x Galileo cross is a formidable one and has produced this spring’s elite Group I winners Via Sistina (IRE) and Buckaroo (GB) with another lightly raced import bred the same way in Gilded Water (GB) going two for two in Australia with a cavalier win at Randwick on Saturday.
Verdi's Gritty Goldman wins Pakenham Cup
One-time Melbourne Cup favourite Goldman has bounced back to winning form for the first time in more than 18-months when leading throughout to score in the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) on Saturday.
Arriving Home Goes Two for Two – Three-Quarter Brother for MM 2025
Talented I Am Invincible filly Arriving Home does her best work on the line and we saw it when she scored on debut at Warwick Farm earlier this month and again when she got there in the last stride to win at Randwick on Saturday.
Josh Herd awarded 2025 Sunline Trust Scholarship
Manawatu’s Josh Herd has been announced as the 2025 recipient of the Sunline Trust International Management Scholarship.
Stakes Racing Catalogue Updates Last Week
A dozen stakes updates in the past week into catalogues for yearlings coming up.
Zoustar Mare Wins for Te Akau - Half-Brother for K1
Consistent sprinting mare Egyptian Queen was rewarded for a string of solid performances at Te Rapa on Saturday, powering away with the Lodge Real Estate 1200.
Another Stakes Win For This Burly Enigma - Leave The Whip At Home
Enigmatic is a word often bandied about in racing but it certainly sits well upon the ample shoulders of Cannonball, a big odds winner of the Listed Magic Millions Falvelon at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Sires With Winners - Thursday December 19
Here is the full list of 36 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.