The final G1 of the Adelaide carnival is upon us, let's see if we can find the winner in a very open edition of this historic race!
Until 2007, the two great sprint handicaps of Australia's southern Autumn carnivals were the Newmarket at Flemington and the Goodwood at Morphettville.
The VRC Newmarket is older being first run in 1874 and no one would argue its premier status - but the Goodwood, inaugurated by the SAJC in 1881 and won by the intriguingly named D.O.D, has always been a great race in its own right.
The two races received G1 status just a year apart, the Newmarket Hcp in 1979 and the Goodwood Hcp in 1980 - a recognition of its importance on the national calendar as a top tier contest of speed!
Who was D.O.D? The entire was sired by the excellent imported stallion Panic, who began his career in Tasmania and proved to be one of the greatest sources of stamina Australasian breeders had yet seen. Himself a runner up to Tory Boy in the 1865 Melbourne Cup, conceding him three stone, Panic sired many fine stayers, such as the 1863 Melbourne Cup hero Nimblefoot - and he became the damsire of Hall Of Fame mare, mighty Wakeful.
What was his son D.O.D, a half brother to a VRC St Leger winner out of a VRC Oaks winning dam, doing winning this race?
Well it makes more sense that this stoutly bred animal was beating them home in the Goodwood when we learn that upon its inception in 1891 until 1896, the race was run over a mile.
After a hiatus of three years it returned as the big sprint we know and love.
Some names of early winners are weird ( The Despised was another one), some are poignant.
Warworn saluted in 1944, needing no explanation. Thank goodness the folks living through those dreadful times could at least be cheered by a day at the races again, after WWII halted South Australian racing in 1942/43. They probably all backed it too.
There are many names of horses on the honour roll that were far from champions, but beloved by the punting public in their day - grand old campaigners like Cellarman, Quiet Snort, Leica Planet, Jolly Old Mac, Bomber Bill, Let Go Thommo, Super Elegant, Smokin’ Joey, Super Elegant, Keeper and Euclase to name a few.
In 2007, after 121 years as a handicap, the race conditions were changed to set weights and penalties and it was renamed simply, The Goodwood. It began to attract great horses like Takeover Target, who won just two years later and of course the queen of queens, Black Caviar, who graced the Morphettville turf in 2012.
Her win was the third of four consecutive victories by females from 2010 -2013, and the girls were back on top in 2023 (3YO Filly Royal Merchant) and in 2024 when Benedetta led home an all - female trifecta!
One of only two horses to win two Goodwoods was also a mare, Musket Belle in 1911-12. This fine daughter of Carbine's son Pistol was out of a humble NSB mare.
The excellent Pistol stood in SA and got 41 stakes winners, among them another Goodwood winner in 1918, Pistolarie.
The only other dual Goodwood winner in its long history is Mostyn in 1894 - 95.
In its handicap era, the legendary sprinter Aurie's Star won the Goodwood of 1940, having taken out two Oakleigh Plates and the VRC Newmarket in previous seasons.
Champion Royal Gem won in 1946 - remarkably, this great horse also won a Caulfield Cup, VRC Newmarket, Caulfield Guineas and Underwood Stakes. At stud in America he would sire the 1953 Kentucky Derby hero Dark Star.
Matrice scorched the turf to win in 1956. The big chestnut went on to sire the Goodwood winners Crown Lad and Kiltrice, and the Newmarket winner Manihi - who would of course go on to give us the burliest and fastest chestnut of them all, Manikato!
Notable Goodwood winners of recent years are Santa Ana Lane, Trekking, Vega Magic and Black Heart Bart.
Last year the classy Capitalist colt Reserve Bank was too good for roughie Sir Sway ( Sir Prancelot) and favourite Giga Kick ( Scissor Kick) when the champ was returning from an injury layoff.
This year it is the impressive 3YO colt Tycoon Star who follows the same path into the race.
The Goodwood of 2026 carries prizemoney of $1m, and gun 3YO filly Extragalactic (Deep Field) is fancied to repeat Royal Merchant's feat of just three years ago - that victory was also on a genuinely soft track, which doubtless further advantages the horses down in the weights. However, Royal Merchant was a far more seasoned filly at the time of her Goodwood triumph than Extragalactic, which perhaps sounds a wee note of caution.
Lacking for nothing in seasoning is the other three year old filly in the field, Perth raider Talkanco (I'm All The Talk), coming off an absolutely outstanding third in The Quokka to G1 hero Jigsaw and Rey Magnerio.
Big Rey was to carry saddlecloth number 1 in this year's Goodwood but the wonderful son of Magnus has been withdrawn, leaving us with an extremely open affair.
Working against both the fillies is the fact that in the last 35 years only two horses of their age and sex have actually won The Goodwood.
Stretan Angel went close two years ago, Instant Celebrity was a distant runner up in 2021 to the flying Savatoxl, Lonhro's Lyre was third in 2020, I'll Have A Bit was third the year before that, Missrock the year before her, and so on. It's tough for them to win.
On the other hand, mares have done well, particularly in recent years and three will contest the 2026 edition - the new favourite Flying For Fun, Talkanco's fellow Perthian Super Smink and New York Lustre.
Formlines converge from everywhere in the field of fifteen runners which also includes G1 winner Desert Lightning.
The track is a Soft 7 at time of writing - and probably not going to improve much from that, with a few passing showers forecast up to and including Saturday!
Top Pick : TYCOON STAR
Tycoon Star has drawn gate 16 but with his racing style and the likelihood of better ground out wide by the time The Goodwood is run, it may not prove to be the disadvantage it seems.
The gifted son of Written Tycoon has taken a liking to Morphettville as many of his sire's get do, and there's a lovely symmetry around his lead up win in the G2 Tobin Bronze Stakes, for his sixth dam was a full sister to that legendary galloper!
Tycoon Star will now attempt to repeat the deeds of last year's Goodwood hero Reserve Bank ( by Written Tycoon son Capitalist) and filly Royal Merchant who both won the Tobin Bronze as their lead up to G1 glory.
The Ben, Will and JD Hayes trained colt has always shown great talent, winning the G3 Maribyrnong plate on debut and placing in the G1 Blue Diamond at two, then taking the G3 McNeil Stakes last spring.
He was always going to improve with maturity and has strung together three impressive runs this prep. Two narrow and unlucky defeats at shorter trips led up to his decisive last start victory over the exciting filly Extragalactic who is again a highly fancied rival here.
From 14 starts, Tycoon Star has won three races and placed in five ( all at stakes level) for earnings of $869,710.
There is a lot riding on a G1 win for Tycoon Star, who was purchased by Yulong for $350,000 from the Milburn Creek draft at the MM National Weanling Sale, and consigned by the racing and breeding giant to the 2024 MM Gold Coast where Lindsay Park paid $400,000 to secure him.
Yulong retain an interest, and they also purchased Tycoon Star's dam Miss Equiano for $310,000 at the MM National Broodmare Sale in the same year.
Tycoon Star was the first foal from the stakes placed daughter of shuttle sire Equiano. Her second, a colt by the exciting young sire Home Affairs, is named Marffiano and is also in the Lindsay Park stables - he debuted in fine style when he won the Vobis Gold Rush for at Bendigo this month.
For Yulong, Miss Equiano has produced a 2024 colt and a 2025 filly, who sadly died after birth, by Written Tycoon and she is back in foal to their flagship sire.
The French-bred Equiano was a blindingly fast son of Acclamation who twice won the G1 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. He has been a stud success ( triple G1 sprinter The Tin Man and G1 Breeders Cup Turf Sprint heroine Belvoir Bay his best) but didn't set the world on fire in Oz, his best performer here being the very good dual Sydney Listed winning speedster Taksu.
Miss Equiano is one of five foals for two winners from the winning Not A Single Doubt mare Miss Panama who passed away in 2022. She has an unplaced full sister Miss Pasek who is showing promise as a broodmare with her first to race a winner. Miss Pasek is currently in foal to Written Tycoon's dual G1 winning son Southport Tycoon and has a 2025 colt on the ground by his grandson Profiteer.
The third dam in the pedigree is the stakes producing Princess Shorna (Last Tycoon), a daughter of Egrette (Bletchingly) who counted among her progeny the G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Kenwood Melody.
Next dam Jewel Bronze ( Arctic Explorer) is full sister to the great Tobin Bronze, and sister to several stakes producing mares including the SA Oaks winner Persian Bronze who foaled the colt Brilliant Invader to Vain. He was a very good sire and also became a noted sire of Olympic level sporthorses!
Their dam Amarco by Masthead won the VRC Oaks, and this great family (a branch of 7-e) descends from the legendary Sister Olive, who won the Melbourne Cup as a three year old filly, through her SA Derby winning daughter Mount Of Olives who also beat the sprinters in the CF Orr Stakes! Another member of this family was the great Comedy King, who also deployed that versatility to win a Melbourne Cup, an All Aged Stakes and a Futurity Stakes before becoming a leading sire.
We want tough, sound and brave racehorses, this family exemplifies all those qualities.
Tycoon Star is bred
Last Tycoon 3m x 4f sex balanced
There are two bigtime Blue Hens working in synchronicity in his beautiful pedigree.
The first is Best In Show, grand dam of Try My Best, the sire of duplicated Last Tycoon and grandsire of Acclamation, and ancestress of Redoute's Choice.
The second is Schiaparelli, from whom Last Tycoon descends directly via her daughter Cutaway. Another daughter, Barley Corn, appears in the pedigree of Acclamation, while her son Masthead sired Tycoon Star's Blue Hen ancestress Amarco. Masthead was a three quarter brother to Cutaway ( Fairway) being sired by the Fairway son Blue Peter and Blue Peter is also a linebreeding subject here.
Tycoon Star is also linebred to the related sires Milesian and Petingo, with the latter siring Pitcairn (Equiano's broodmare sireline) - a relative of Danzig, Bletchingly and Rockefella who all exert their influence, and as they are also members of the wider 7 family to which Tycoon Star belongs their contribution is especially potent!
Tycoon Star is surely bred to be a star. He now drops considerably in the weights to just 54.5 kg, and Luke Currie takes the reins on the handsome colt for the first time.
Luke and Tycoon Star will look to be rocketing home from barrier 16.
Next Best : NEW YORK LUSTRE
It was very encouraging to see New York Lustre return from a long lay-off with her excellent third in the G3 John Hawkes at this track, because her prior experience at Morphettville was frankly - a nightmare!
The daughter of Manhattan Rain was marooned in the barriers prior to the running of the G3 Proud Miss Stakes last April for a full ten minutes, as attendants tried to cope with mayhem in the stalls. During that time she was repeatedly kicked by panicking horses on either side of her. It was the perfect storm of stressors for a flight animal - and horses have very long memories!
Fortunately the mare was eventually freed without serious injury - though obviously took no part - but the experience doubtless left her (and her connections looking on helplessly) more than a little shaken.
Now she’s back! Though lightly raced for her age, one thing New York Lustre has proven to be, is a born racehorse. She knows where the post is.
After extended time off to recuperate in the care of her patient trainer Envers Jusofovic, the professional six year old came through that first up test with flying colours - now, the test of G1 company.
From just 15 starts she has won six (five of them in a row early last year) and placed in five more, for earnings of $482,620.
She is a G3 winner and twice G3 placed in excellent company (including beating the current Goodwood favourite Flying For Fun) and drops from the 58.5kg she carried on resumption to 54kg.
New York Lustre likes to be around the speed and has drawn to get a good run. She is only once unplaced on soft tracks.
New York Lustre is a homebred for prominent Victorian breeder and owner Mike Howard, and she was conceived during the time her excellent sire Manhattan Rain stood at Blue Gum Farm, an operation with which he is closely associated.
Her dam is the winning Darley-bred Shamardal mare Copper, and New York Lustre is her sole stakes winner from two to race, both winners. Sadly Copper passed away in 2021 while in foal to Harry Angel. She was a half sister to the G2/3 winning sprinter Viridine from the Anabaa mare Patina, herself a half sister to stakes winner Jerezana ( (Lonhro) who would become the dam of the G1 winning sprint mare Zapateo (Brazen Beau) and G2 winner Osborne Bulls ( Street Cry).
Note, Zapateo placed in The Goodwood on a rain affected track! She is retained by Godolphin, has a NH conceived colt by Dubawi and is in foal to Anamoe.
This is the immediate family of Saddler's Silk by Barathea, with Perth G2 winning mare Cashel Palace another classy stakes performer from the tribe.
It descends from Portview ( Handy Proverb) the dam of the stakes winning sprinter Barawin, a full sister to Saddlers Silk. Barawin left only one daughter and she became a stakes producer in NZ.
The family descends from the superb Luskin Star daughter La Caissiere who won the Flight, Wakeful and Surround Stakes. Her daughter Dashing Eagle by Danehill also did the Flight / Surround double and collected the 1,000 Guineas for good measure.
New York Lustre's ancestress is that filly's half sister Cashing In by the great broodmare sire Salieri, and she would also become grand dam of Bel Esprit's great rival, the flying filly Brief Embrace.
This family is a branch of 4-n (St Marguerite) descending from a daughter of Roquebrune, who was the dam of the great sire Rock Sand.
New York Lustre is bred
Northern Dancer 4m,5m,6f x 5m,6m,6m sex balanced
Mr Prospector 5f x 5m sex balanced
She is linebred to Blue Hen Fairy Bridge via Sadlers Wells and Fairy King and to Lalun via their damsire Bold Reason and Never Bend twice, through daughters ot Riverman.
Hail To Reason is an overarching presence in this pedigree appearing vis sons Bold Reason x2, Halo (x2 daughters) and Roberto, and the dam of New York Lustre herself descends from his family, that of the aforementioned GB One Thousand Guineas winner St Marguerite (4-n).
As mentioned above, Lustre's line comes via Roquebrune, the dam of Rock Sand carried and sex balanced by Man O’ War, War Relic, Hourless and Tracery - all these individuals are very prominent in Manhattan Rain's illustrious damlines.
The great sire Gallant Fox descended from a half sister to Roquebrune and his son Omaha sired the ancestress of Nijinsky, which also packs a punch!
New York Lustre enjoys having a woman rider aboard, and on this occasion she has Kayla Crowther taking the reins.
This dynamic duo will launch from barrier 9.
Roughie: TALKANCO
There are few tougher, gamer three year old fillies going around than this beauty. For me, Talkanco is the superior filly here, and her Quokka run was sensational!
I do wonder if this will be a run too far this prep, but she had a little freshen before the Quokka and it looks like sprinting might prove to be her forte, though she is stakes placed up to a mile.
The champion WA juvenile of her generation has endured a frustrating run of placings at three for trainers Dan and Ben Pearce. Is she up to this, we'll find out - but she has more than earned her crack at it and you can guarantee she will give her absolute all, as she does every time.
Still just a veteran of 13 starts, Talkanco has won 4 races and placed in 7 for earnings of $1,154,640. The highlight until that rip-roaring Quokka third was her G2 Karrakatta triumph last season.
Talkanco is a homebred for Ian Riley and races under his Woodbridge Thoroughbreds banner with a group of co-owners which includes Pearce Racing.
Interestingly, Riley said early on that his star filly would be a sprinter not a sprinter-miler, and it seems he is being proved right. But how good a sprinter might she be?
Her sire, the ill fated Stratum son I'm All The Talk won the G3 Skyline Stakes at two and burst out of the blocks at stud in WA before his early demise, with each of his three stakeswinners being a daughter.
One of them, All Banter, is a dual Listed winner and recently won a stakes race at Oakbank before contesting the G1 Robert Sangster Stakes in which she was unplaced. Talkanco is a far superior galloper, can she do better?
She is the third foal and first daughter to race from the very speedy California Dane mare Calianco - representing a precocious and well-known Australian family.
All three of Calianco's progeny to date are winners and she has more in the pipeline having produced a colt by Marine One last spring ( now named Oneco) and a filly to Rich Enuff this season, before being served by Capitalist.
The filly is a full sister to Calianco's second foal, the talented Richanco - the gelding also races out of the Pearce stable, and has notched up six wins in 15 starts and $239,530 in stakes.
Talkanco is bred
Danehill 4m x 3m
Canny Lad 5f x 4f
Northern Dancer x 5m,5m
Talkanco's broodmare sire California Dane passed a phenomenal turn of foot to his progeny like G1 winners Rebel Dane and Platinum Witness.
It's interesting that Rebel Dane is the sire of a stakes winner on a cross with Quiet American,who is second damsire of I'm All The Talk.
Talkanco's third dam, the stakes winning juvenile Balcanny is by the incredible Canny Lad, a stallion appearing more and more often as a linebreeding subject in successful pedigrees, particularly of fillies - as he does here.
This successful pattern is of course often due to his presence on the damline of Redoute's Choice and his relatives!
Talkanco can count among her close relations multiple Group winning sprinter Blur and the classy colt Shrewd Rhythm, who won a Blue Diamond Prelude and Vain Stakes and stood briefly at stud in WA before being shipped out of Australia.
That proved to be a massive loss to local breeders when his daughter Sky Rumba foaled the freakish sprinter and G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Portland Sky, from a WA bred mare - his keenly anticipated first foals hit the racetrack this season.
Shrewd Rhythm's full sister Dancescape was also a stakes winning juvenile and she is the dam of Hong Kong sprinter Flying Ace, who has been a serious competitor at the top level in that tough jurisdiction.
This family traces directly in maternal line to one of the most revered mares in the entire studbook, Selene. This branch of her female line comes through the mare New Moon, most often present in Australasian pedigrees through her descendant Star Way, the damsire of Encosta De Lago.
This pedigree also brings together the relatives Mr Prospector and Seattle Slew and creates intensive linebreeding to the La Troienne family.
Talkanco is one of a handful of elite fillies to complete the Gimcrack / Karrakatta double, the last being the future champion Amelia's Jewel in 2022.
Talkanco went so well for Lucy Fiore in The Quokka, the first time the star hoop had ridden her. Lucy's back on here riding at 51.5kg and will be flying the flag for the WA saddlesitters on this wonderful filly!
Lucy and Talkanco will look to get a cosy run with gaps appearing at the right time as they make their bid from barrier 2.
Blowout: MIDTOWN BOSS
Six year old Midtown Boss did not contest a stakes race until the age of four. He had only once ( on debut, when fourth) been out of a placing in the eleven starts leading up to that moment ( he was fifth, as favourite, in the Wangoom Hcp on that occasion)
Midtown Boss is now the veteran of a mere 16 starts which have netted 4 wins and 6 placings for earnings of $303,650.
He is used to carrying - and winning under - big weights, and has only 54kg on his back here second up which has previously been his best run, though it's been some time since that stat was tested. He can handle soft ground but wouldn't want it heavy.
The Matt Laurie trained galloper shares some similarities with New York Lustre and perhaps it is not coincidental that they also share Manhattan Rain in their pedigrees ( he is the damsire of Midtown Boss) - as that stallion's son Jigsaw recently went to a new level and became a dual G1 winner at the age of seven!
This despite other of his progeny winning top juvenile races including the Golden Slipper, a race in which he himself placed before winning the G1 ATC Sires at two. The blueblooded son of Encosta De Lago and half brother to Redoute's Choice is a rather remarkable stallion, now domiciled at Geisel Park Stud in WA where he relocated in 2022, after stints at Arrowfield and Blue Gum Farm.
Talking about remarkable stallions, what about the sire of Midtown Boss, Street Boss? Celebrated as a source of incredible and sustained speed, he also recently sired the surprise G1 ATC Derby hero Green Spaces!
Midtown Boss is bred on the same Street Boss / Encosta De Lago cross as G1 Newmarket winner The Quarterback. The mightiest son of Street Boss, Anamoe, was one of two stakes winners for his sire out of a Redoute's Choice mare, and he also has two stakes winners out of Snitzel mares so Manhattan Rain's damline is obviously a plus.
Midtown Boss was an $80,000 buy for Eales Racing Syndications from Nooralim Park at the 2021 MM Adelaide Yearling Sale. His page has received significant updates since then as he is a close relation of stakes winners Skyhook and Anders, while Street Boss has gone from strength to strength.
His dam Midtown was bred by Arrowfield and placed once in six starts. She is a half sister to the dam of Anders ( now at stud) and stakes winner Ostraka.
Midtown is dam of three to race to date for two winners, her latest to the track being a year younger full sister to Midtown Boss named Manhattanenge who has raced twice.
She was followed by another Street Boss daughter in 2023, a Farnan filly in 2024 and a Stay Inside filly last season before Midtown visited Cylinder for her next foal.
Their dam Glamour Stock (JPN) was an unplaced daughter of supersire Sunday Silence and a half sister to Canadian Champion 2YO colt Exciting Story plus three other stakes winners from the unraced Valid Appeal mare Appealing Story.
Retired from breeding in 2023, Glamour Stock was imported from her homeland in 2008 and produced nine foals for Arrowfield.
Her daughter Glamorous Miss (Redoute's Choice) is dam of So You Think's G2 placed daughter So Glamorous and has two daughters by Pinatubo named Tantalize and Volcanic Vixen bred by Fernrigg Farm which are yet to race. Her current yearling for the stud is another So You Think filly and the mare is now in foal to Shinzo.
Madame Andree ( War Emblem) did not race but has been the star producer for the family to date with three stakes winners for Arrowfield including G3 San Domenico winner Anders ( Not A Single Doubt) who is domiciled at Widden Stud and has already produced his first stakes winners this season. His half brother Ostraka ( Pariah) won the G3 Silver Eagle while filly Caffe Florian ( Snitzel) won the Listed Gosford Guineas and placed in the Derby Munro this season.
Arrowfield retain Madame Andree's winning daughter Madame Pauline (Redoute's Choice) dam of the super talented Skyhook .
Madame Andree produced two more Snitzel fillies, Beautiful Life foaled in 2024 and the youngest born last season before she was served by The Autumn Sun.
This North American family descends from a Hail To Reason mare Charming Story, a half sister to the dam of G1 Kentucky Oaks heroine Optimistic Gal out of the intensely inbred Dame Fritchie and is a branch of the The Apple / One I Love (9- f) tribe to which belong Hussonet, Ekraar, Slew O Gold, War Pass, Coastal, Nathaniel, Admire Vega, Soviet Star, Roaring Lion, Sovereignty and many, many more including our turf immortal Makybe Diva!
Midtown Boss is bred
Halo 5f x 4m
Halo's sire Hail To Reason x 5m,5f, and sex balanced via son Bold Reason carried by Encosta De Lago
His ancestress Dame Fritchie was bred 3 x 2 to Bull Dog and she is from the family of his great son Bull Lea, who sired Iron Liege. Street Boss descends from a daughter of Iron Liege while his damsire Ogygian is tail male to Sun Again (also 9-f)
The 9-f tribe is duplicated x 4 in Djeddah, sire of Blue Hen Lalun, a linebreeding subject in this pedigree and her influence is boosted by the presence of Djeddah's sire Djebel who also sits on the maternal line of Street Boss.
Meanwhile on the maternal line of Midtown Boss we have the sire American Flag, carried by the paternal ancestor of Street Boss, Mr Prospector, and a close relation of Blue Swords carried by Hail To Reason - so this is a tightly knit pedigree!
Machiavellian plays a key role, for he provides the line of Almahmoud daughter Natalma as well as half sister Cosmah ( Halo's dam) and brings a line of Hoist The Flag who descends from a daughter of Djebel's sire Tourbillon and is from a branch of the same 5 family.
Midtown Boss looms to my way of thinking as one of the roughies with a really decent chance of getting his nose in the frame!
The backmarker should get an economical enough run if he can get the breaks at the right time.
Dan Stackhouse and Midtown Boss will go for Goodwood glory from barrier 7
