We racing fans are rightly excited about this year's edition of Flemington's famous and historic sprint - it's an absolute ripper!
The annual cavalry charge is on, spearheaded by Godolphin’s wondrous colt Tentyris ( Street Boss) attempting to create a piece of Australian thoroughbred history.
Since Flemington’s iconic straight course saw its first runners in the early 1860s, it has been acknowledged as the ultimate test of courage and speed.
In 2026 Tentyris faces fourteen high class rivals all determined to get their name on the revered Newmarket honour roll - three of them his fellow three year olds headed by the flying grey filly My Gadiola ( I Am Invincible) who seeks to finally turn the tables on Tentyris with her massive weight advantage. As always, it's a fascinating race of many chances and promises to be a spectacle we'll be talking about in years to come!
It would be remiss not to mention two very special mares with a strong hand in the race - and they both hail from the famous paddocks of South Australia’s Mill Park stud
The first is the Blue Hen My Madonna ( Prego), the ancestress of both Tentyris and the Newmarket topweight Baraqiel.
The second is Bahamas, a G1 Oaks placed daughter of the incredible Teofilo, from Mill Park's stakes winning Black Hawk mare St Trinians. Bahamas will have two sons racing this weekend - the well fancied Newmarket contender Angel Capital (Harry Angel) on Saturday and the Adelaide Cup favourite Berkeley Square (Territories) on Monday. What a golden achievement that is for any broodmare.
Here's my Newmarket best guess!
Top Tip CABALLUS
Caballus has raced three times at G1 level and hasn't placed in any of those races - so why on earth am I putting him on top? Because it's a handicap and those were WFA affairs. Also, because two of those races were at Moonee Valley, which didn't suit him - (in the Moir Stakes he got motoring late when it was all over) and the last was at Flemington on a sloppy track which he hated.
The five year old son of I Am Invincible is a genuine fast track horse and the best win of his career to date was his explosive three length romp at Doomben (carrying 60kg) in the G3 George Moore Stakes last December. True, the opposition was ranks below these but he was giving second and third 4/5kg and still annihilated them. Not only that, he ran 1.07.95, just 0.12 outside Jonker's track record and that's fast!
His return in the G2 Expressway to finish runner up to last year's Newmarket heroine Joliestar was impressive, and followed on from a ridiculous near thirteen-length trial win ( spectacular - but doesn't say much really, except that he's feeling mighty goodl)
The Bjorn Baker trained Caballus loves the Flemington straight six and won the G3 Rising Fast here on Derby Day over Newmarket rival Geegee's Mistruth (Disneck was also in the field as were Libertad who would win the G1 Winterbottom, and Hedged - runner up in this year's G1 Oakleigh Plate)
In all, four stakes wins account for the majority of his six victories in just nineteen starts and the lightly raced gelding seems to be reaching his peak now.
Caballus was a $1 million 2022 Inglis Easter yearling, falling to the bid of Tom Magnier no less, when he was purchased from the Bhima Thoroughbreds draft.
The handsome Vinnie colt was broken in and educated at Coolmore and initially raced for the global giant and partners - but just a year later he was picked up by Derby Racing via Inglis Digital for $315,000 and placed in the Baker stable.
After initial success in the G3 Eskimo Prince for Caballus, things weren't going to plan - time for the ultimate gear change! Equally as important, the horse had a wind operation and since then he's been on an upward curve.
Bred by Reg Ryan, Caballus was the fifth foal and is the best of six winners from six to race from the G3 placed Commands mare Calming Influence. He was followed by two Zoustar colts Zoned Out ( exp HK) and Stability who is yet to race.
Calming Influence produced a filly by Ole Kirk in 2024 who will be offered as Lot 244 at the upcoming Inglis Easter sale by Alma Vale Thoroughbreds.
Calming Influence has a Zoustar filly on the ground and was returned to Ole Kirk.
Her sire, Danehill's champion son Commands, from the incomparable Eight Carat family, was a fantastic stallion imparting brilliant speed and his famous brand of toughness to progeny capable over most distances but primarily sprinters and sprinter/milers.
A mere handful from the laundry list of notable performers by him are Melody Belle ( 14 x G1) Appearance ( 4 x G1), Commanding Jewel, Epaulette, Holler and the globe trotting sprinter Soul.
Commands is the broodmare sire of too many good horses to list!
With Commands you get, more than anything, a winner's mentality.
And most of his progeny loved and excelled at Flemington.
The second dam of Caballus is the 8 x winner ( inc Listed) and tough stakes performer Calming by the mighty speed sire Zeditave, dam of 10 to race for 9 winners and half sister to the dam of World Wide Bloodstock's great sprinter War Artist ( Orpen)
Bred in Australia, a G1 winner in South Africa and runner up in the G1 Golden Jubilee in GB, War Artist won Group races in Germany, France and the UAE.
Not bad for a $57,000 MM Gold Coast Yearling buy!
Calming and Royal Solitaire (Brocco) the dam of War Artist, were daughters of the winning Rubiton mare All Kisses, a half sister to the flying Rancher filly Rancho Miss (Listed Eyeliner Stakes, grand dam of Fastnet Rock's Stakes winning HK sprinter, G1 placed Captain Sweet) ) and the G2 WATC Sires Produce winner Sanhedrin's Pride ( Sanhedrin)
The next mare along the female line of Caballus is the Perth juvenile winner Miss No No by Nonoalco by Northern Dancer's sire Nearctic.
A Champion Miler in France and GB, he sired Noalcoholic who stood at Blue Gum Farm in Victoria where he threw a heap of good sprinter/milers in the late 80s / early 90s including G1 winners Rechabite, Vitalic and Sober Suit. Notably his fastest son Alannonn was a half brother to the second damsire of Caballus, Zeditave - and would go on to sire the legendary Aussie speedster Falvelon.
The cosmopolitan family of Caballus goes back through Irish, American and French-,bred mares to Silver Jill (FR). Caballus descends from a half sister to her famous G1 Arc winning daughter La Sorrelina (by My Babu's damsire Sayani) and the line goes back the Blue Hen Ellen Middleton, who won the very first running of the Yorkshire Oaks in 1849.
Hers is a stem of the original 7 family and thus is connected to all the subsequent branches of the tribe. The specific line from which Caballus hails comes from a little mare born in 1906, who had little racetrack talent and the odd name of Snoot! - but she was to become ancestress of American Flag ( second damsire of Raise A Native), Blue Swords ( damsire of Hail To Reason) Jim French, Arazi and a number of Japanese champions to name a few. The unprepossessing Snoot is also the ancestress of Aussie turf legend Northerly!
Caballus is bred
Danzig 4m x 4m
Obviously his own damline is linked to Danzig and his son Invincible Spirit, who also carries Rockefella x 2, and to Bletchingly / Lunchtime in Canny Lad.
Zoffany provides the Raise A Native blood and descends from Sunstep, the ancestress of Zeditave, whose dam Summoned was by Raise A Native son Crowned Prince. Sunstep's tribe traces to matriarch Chelandry, the ancestress of I Am Invincible. This family blood also features strongly in Rubiton.
Linebreeding to My Babu and his relations Cagire, Klairon and Turn-To is a big feature of this pedigree.
Zoffany's sire Our Native has a lot in common genetically with Nonoalco, and Nonoalco is related to Vinnie's fifth damsire Cardinal - theirs is also the family of Blue Hen Somethingroyal who through her son Sir Gaylord tops and tails the pedigree.
Some might remember the 2002 Newmarket winner Rubitano, what a great sprinter he was - by Rubiton out of a mare by Zeditave's sire The Judge - I think of him when I look at this pedigree!
The whole thing is a recipe for - not so much dazzling acceleration a la Tentyris - but brutal sustained speed. I can see Caballus with 55kg on his back travelling on pace, and being tough to run down.
Caballus and Froggy Newitt will launch from barrier 1.
Next Best TENTYRIS
No other horse in the race has the spinetingling turn of foot that Tentyris is gifted with. It is awe inspiring and rare, and he is a special colt. But is he a freak? Because that’s exactly what he will be revealed as, if he can win this.
Godolphin's glamour son of Street Boss will need to replicate the feat of Racing Hall Of Famer Ajax, because the last 3YO to lug 57kg ( 9 stone) to victory in the Newmarket - in 1938.
It's not very realistic to compare horses racing almost ninety years apart, but stats can be compelling - and it does underline the gravity of the task facing Tentyris.
Even if he wins, he won't be emulating the likes of the Widden - bred Ajax who went on to amass a haul of big race wins over all distances, and smash race records on a regular basis
The chestnut son of Heroic retired aged six having won three each of the Memsie, Futurity and Underwood Stakes, the Cox Plate, the Newmarket, the AJC Sires / Champagne, the Caulfield and Rosehill Guineas, the All Aged, the list just goes on and on. Ajax retired to stand at Widden with the record of 46 starts for 36 wins ( 18 of them consecutive) and 9 placings.
He became a prolific and successful sire before his export to the USA and through a number of his daughters the great horse sits there in the pedigrees of many a fine galloper today
Tentyris is on a different career trajectory but he has earned his impost and it's exciting for racing that Godolphin are backing him to create history, kudos to them. He’s a dual G1 winner down the straight. The Lightning win was elite.
The only question is how much the weight is going to blunt the force of that dazzling sprint. He's a big strong colt, but he's only three. He had 57 in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes and came with a barnstorming finish there - against his own age.
Tentyris and Newmarket rival Baraqiel who carries topweight of 57.5kg are close relations - what a tribute to the quality of their ancestress, the Mill Park matriarch Our Madonna (Prego)
The Anthony and Sam Freedman trained Tentyris is a homebred for Godolphin and is the second foal and second winner for Deity, a fast metro winning daughter of Newmarket hero Exceed And Excel, out of the champion Divine Madonna by Hurricane Sky.
Deity is a half sister to stakes winning Maternal (Street Cry) who died in 2025 leaving just one daughter, a winner by Lonhro still racing - and stakes placed La Pieta (Redoute's Choice) exported to GB in 2015.
She produced a filly to Blue Point in 2022 named Parcae who is unraced and in the Freedman stable.
This season saw the arrival of another daughter and an exciting three quarter sister to Tentyris - by Darley's great son of Street Boss, Anamoe. Deity was then covered by their champion sire Too Darn Hot.
Tentyris is bred
Northern Dancer x5m,5m
His great family is that of My Madonna, a three time winning daughter of the imported and influential Be My Guest son Prego (IRE) who stood at Arrowfield and was a half brother to the flying filly Pure Of Heart.
Pure Of Heart became the dam of the ill fated speedsire Lion Hunter, who still wields great influence through his daughters - as does Prego! Among many fast stock thrown by Prego was his Newmarket Hcp winner Primacy, while his sire Be My Guest appears in many great sprinting pedigrees.
Bred by Kevin Quinn Bloodstock, My Madonna was bought by Mill Park through a mixed sale in Melbourne and took up stud duties for the Watson family on their magnificent limestone - rich acres in 1996.
She produced 12 foals for them before her death in 2012. The jewel in the crown of this Blue Hen was her daughter Divine Madonna - the second dam of Tentyris.
She also produced the G3 VRC Standish Hcp winner Blessum by Umatilla as well as Baraqiel's dam Angel Of Mercy.
Divine Madonna was one of the great sprinter-milers of her time, amassing more than $2 million in stakes and four G1 wins, including the VRC Emirates Stakes and Toorak Hcp in open company.
This family has always loved Flemington!
The 1200m is to the advantage of Tentyris, he improves second up and he loves the straight.
The star colt has already assured his future - he's got it all and then some. The looks, the rare talent, the attitude, the blossoming tail male dynasty, the blue chip female line and a couple of big “sire-making” G1s. But this would be next level. This would be truly a historic victory.
Can the big boy do it? Tentyris and Mark Zahra will bid for a place in racing folklore from barrier 12.
Roughie SEPALS
Sepals drew a horror gate in the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes for his first attempt at G1 level, and he absolutely monstered them!
He was a modest $80,000 Inglis Classic purchase from the Vinery Stud draft for his trainer Cliff Brown, who races him with a loyal group of owners.
Cliff trained Sepal's dam What's New (by the excellent sire and broodmare sire Casino Prince), and she was a bit of a star - winning two legs of the Singaporean Triple Crown and unlucky not to win the Derby in the trainer’s time there .
What's New was awarded Singapore's Champion 4YO honours, and Sepals was her first foal - so she's come right out of the gates with an absolute ripper!
Sepals, a son of the ill-fated Calyx is dynamic fresh and though he has only started once at 1200m ( 4th at his racetrack debut) the high pressure of this race and the straight run at this track (where he is a three and a half length G3 winner at 1400m) I reckon will suit him.
The lightly raced four year old is a winner of five of his nine starts and ended his last campaign with a 1.3 length second to Autumn Glow in the Golden Eagle, Evaporate third - pretty handy formline.
His sire Calyx had elite speed. Coolmore's exciting son of Kingman was sadly lost as a result of injury in 2025.
The winner of Royal Ascot's time honoured Coventry Stakes at two, Calyx raced only four times.
He was in fact the very first winner for Kingman, who has gone on to a stellar career.
Sepals truly has a pedigree to bring joy to pedigree nerds!
Sepals is bred:
Danzig 5m x 5m,5m
Green Desert 4m x4m
Mr Prospector 5m x 5f sex balanced (and sex balanced 6m x 6f, 6m)
Blue Hen Hope 4f x 4m sex balanced
Over his deeply Classic damline speed has been imprinted, and over that is created an outstanding duplication - Sepals is bred on a 3x 43 cross of close brothers in blood.
Kingman is a son of Green Desert's breedshaping son Invincible Spirit out of a daughter of Blue Hen Hope (by Arc winner Dancing Brave) - and his second damsire Oasis Dream is by Green Desert out of Hope herself.
We know the Green Desert sireline reacts favourably to close linebreeding (e.g. our own G1 winner and sire Hellbent) but it's the duplication of Hope that is the major X factor here in combination with another great matron, Lalun and her sire Never Bend.
Lalun is present everywhere - through Mill Reef (sex balanced), Shirley Heights and Riverman.
Never Bend's daughters Courtly Dee and Bend Not are grand dam and dam of Green Desert and Straight Strike respectively - and additionally both sires carry lines of Royal Charger (three quarter brother to Never Bend's sire Nasrullah).
Hope by Dancing Brave is from the wider 19 family to which also belongs Lalun, and was out of a Mill Reef mare!
Dancing Brave by Lyphard was the highest rated racehorse of all time on the International Classification, until the advent of Frankel.
He was noted for his dazzling turn of speed. He wasn't as great a sire as he was a racehorse but now has cemented his place in history with stallions like Dubawi and Kingman descending from his daughters.
There’s a bit of Aussie in there too! Navajo Princess, the dam of Dancing Brave was foaled by Olmec, a stakes winning daughter of the great Australian two year old Pago Pago.
Sepals is also Intensely linebred (sex balanced) to Nijinsky, and his three quarter brother The Minstrel.
Sepals is one of those horses with X Factor which appear from (relatively) modest pedigrees - such horses are often sprinters, and sometimes they win Newmarkets!
Sepals with 56kg and Dan Stackhouse on board will be up around the speed - they jump from barrier 4.
Blowout: WODETON
I'm liking this scenario for Wodeton, as Waller's classy, perennial G1 placegetter drops to 50kg and hits Flemo for the first time - where he trialled brilliantly in preparation for this.
He hasn't been the punter's pal, but nor has he ever failed to give his increasingly frustrated followers a run for their money - except in the Caulfield Guineas where we found out he probably doesn't get a mile.
He produced arguably the run of the race in the Golden Slipper, went so close again in the Sires and was the horse who ran second, because someone had to, to the rampaging Beiwacht in the Golden Rose, with superstar Tempted in his wake.
He was three quarters of a length off Tentyris in the Todman at two and resumed this prep with a strong third in the G3 Eskimo Prince to Everest runner up Tempted, who went on to get her well earned G1 in the Surround Stakes. He's got a featherweight and loves a firm track. Could this be the moment for Wodeton to shine?
From the moment he was delivered at Segenhoe Stud by the Exceed and Excel mare Fiera Vista, the spotlight of expectation was on the colt, who runs for Coolmore and partners, with his breeder Fairway Thoroughbreds retaining a share in his ownership.
He created a buzz when he appeared at the 2024 MM Gold Coast Yearling sale as part of the Segenhoe draft, falling to the $1.6 million bid of Coolmore's Tom Magnier, and duly placed in the care of the mighty Waller stable.
The beautiful colt was the second foal for his lightly raced, stakes winning dam.
Fiera Vista produced Wodeton in 2022 and followed him up with a colt by I Am Invincible who is named First Act - another high profile Magnier purchase at the Gold Coast at $1.15 million.
Fiera Vista missed to Dundeel, and was sent to GB to be covered by Too Darn Hot - she is now back in Australia and delivered a Hottie filly, before being returned to the sire sensation.
Fiera Vista raced nine times and won twice including the Listed Morphettville Guineas 1800m when she romped home by three lengths.
Bred and owned by John Camilleri under the banner of his Fairway Thoroughbreds, Fiera Vista is one of only two daughters left by the Encosta de Lago mare Empress Jade, who sadly died shortly after her export to Japan in 2017.
As a half sister to legendary three times World Champion Sprinter and dual Hong Kong HOTY Silent Witness (El Moxie) and to the brilliant, multiple Group winning sprinter miler Sister Madly by Redoute's Choice, the untimely loss of Empress Jade was a real shame.
As is the case with many great NZ families Wodeton’s descends from a daughter of the mighty broodmare sire Foxbridge, Lady Reynard - a three quarter sister to the Foxbridge -sired Lady Ridicule who became dam of the 1960 Melbourne Cup winning mare Hi Jinx.
The line goes back to the1860 import Juliet (GB) through her prolific daughter Sylvia ( dam of 1883 Melbourne Cup hero and champion sire Martini-Henry and an even greater sire in Goldsborough)
Sylvia's daughter Wood Nymph, a full sister to Martin -Henry is the tail female ancestress of Wodeton's family line.
The immortal Australian racemare Wakeful was bred 5f x 4f to Juliet.
Too many great horses descend from Blue Hen Sylvia to list, but one notable individual of recent times was superstar racehorse and sire So You Think.
The great Australian Wootton Bassett experiment has been fascinating to follow. The late champion has certainly had a major impact but hasn’t utterly dominated as he does in the NH. Echoes of his sire Iffraaj, and of Almanzor. The sireline is quite unique in its ability to produce extreme speed / extreme stamina. But when any of them get a good sprinter, lookout.
The strikingly handsome Wootton Bassett was the only stakes winner from his multiple Listed placed dam, Balladonia and the jewel in her crown.
Wodeton is bred
Northern Dancer 5m x 5m,5m,5m Danzig 4m x 4m
More Danzig is one of Wootton Basset's best nicks. In particular Wodeton’s damsire Exceed And Excel is an exciting match!
That’s due to Wootton Bassett's second damsire the influential Danzig son Chiefs Crown - this individual is from the tail female line of Exceed And Excel (23-b), and both sires are strongly linebred to the tribe.
The damsire of Chief's Crown Secretariat, is a son of Bold Ruler out of a mare by Discovery (23-b), and Wootton Bassett is bred 5f x 5f to Secretariat.
This ties in beautifully with Wodeton's dam who brings sex balanced duplications of Sir Ivor, by Secretariat's half brother Sir Gaylord out of Blue Hen Somethingroyal
Wodeton profiles a lot like Cylinder - bred on the same Exceed And Excel /Chief's Crown cross! - in the way his career has progressed.
That colt capped off his racing days with a famous win over the great mare Imperatriz in the Newmarket.
Through his dam Wodeton has lines to the related sires Foxbridge, Doutelle, Exbury, Umberto, Aureole, Alcide and Round Table (twice) - this is the family of his tail male ancestor Gone West, and a very big activating factor in his pedigree.
Much of the speed in Wodeton's elite damline comes through linebreeding to the Marchetta family My Babu, Klairon and the half brothers Agricola and Alycidon all present. Klairon's is the tail male line of Ahonoora carried by Iffraaj and is the source of much of his brand of speed.
With just 50kg Wodeton and Wayne Lordon get the chance to wind up a big finish and they fly from barrier 15.
