The last G1 race for three year-olds in Australia this season, the $750,000 Group I BRC Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Eagle Farm this Saturday has a capacity field of eighteen ( four emergencies).
Ciaron Maher’s Bivouac filly Fireball Miss will attempt to become just the third horse to complete the Roses / Oaks double, while the Chris Waller trained Panova is looking for her second G1 Oaks win after taking the SAJC Australasian Oaks in Adelaide last month..
Who will be crowned the 2026 queen - and will she too join her sisters in the Land Of The Rising Sun? Click here to read about past Queensland Oaks winners, with many in recent times now calling Japan home.
Top Pick: SOVERATO
Sometimes good things come in cheap packages. Soverato was a $10,000 purchase for Simon and Katrina Alexander’s Kasa Bloodstock from Rich Hill Stud’s draft in the 2024 edition of the National Online Yearling Sale.
The price tag was modest, but the filly herself is a beautiful and athletic type stamped strongly by her G1 winning sire Vadamos (FR), who had two G1 starts in Australia for fourth placings in the Cox Plate and Mackinnon Stakes (now the Champions Stakes).
The son of mighty Monsun commenced service at Rich Hill in NZ and Ireland in 2017, and was well supported by breeders who were rewarded with elegant and classy foals.
After Soverato had trialled impressively in NZ, she was purchased by OTI Racing who head her large syndicate of owners, and placed with Chris Waller.
Soverato has had eight starts to date for two wins, two seconds and $153,700 in earnings.
She has a lovely turn of foot this filly, and used it to advantage in winning her second and third starts over 1500m. Soverato stayed at that distance when contesting her first black type event, the G2 Phar Lap Stakes, where she was one and a half lengths fourth to Sixties.
With that solid fitness base it was time to tackle 2000m in the G2 Adrian Knox, where she came from well back, hit the front at the 300m and was over run by Profoundly, who went on to run second to Ohope Wins in the G1 ATC Oaks.
Settling closer than previously, Soverato was five lengths behind that pair in the Oaks in fifth place and was outstayed late, but was far from disgraced.
The filly had a little freshen before stepping out to run on well in The Roses at Doomben for sixth.
Soverato is the least fancied of the three Waller fillies contesting this Oaks, and sits on the third line of betting. It seems a bit counter-intuitive - because she is by a son of Monsun - to say that she might not be a 2400m horse, at least not at this stage.
2200m might be more in her wheelhouse, on good ground and on a big track where she can balance up and use her acceleration.
Of course her Monsun is revered in this part of the world as the sire of three Melbourne Cup winners - Protectionist, Almandin and Fiorente - and no doubt many mare owners who supported his son Vadamos were dreaming about a foal who might one day arrive at the famous first Tuesday!
But though he certainly has sired good stayers, Vadamos surprised a little with his ability to get fast horses.
His best is La Crique, a dual G1 miler in NZ and a G2 winner at 1400 and 2100m.
Island Life won the G3 ARC Sunline Vase 2100m, and Real Class reigned supreme in the G2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes at 2000m ( she was later unplaced in this race though)
Art De Triomphe won the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes at 1200m, while Grace's Secret was a Listed 1000m winner in NZ!
The Vadamos sons Klabel and Devastate are classy sprinters; Kronenbourg won the BRC Brisbane Hcp 1600m, and With Your Blessing was also a G3 winning and G1 performed speedster.
Vadamos is closely related to dual G1 winner Valixir and to G1 Breeders Cup hero Val Royal. The damline is elite, but both those stallions met with limited success in Australia. The genetic powerhouse that was Germany's thoroughbred king Monsun - a noted sire of sires - and the extreme prepotency of his Arc winning damsire Peintre Celebre by Nureyev, gave Vadamos the ingredients to go beyond the achievements of those close relations.
Monsun died in 2012 aged 22 as a four time champion German sire and the most successful stallion in the history of modern thoroughbred breeding in that country.
Completely blind in the last few years of his life, the great sire rose to global prominence the hard way. His first books of mares were small and contained no daughters of high flying international families, yet from them greatness sprang forth. It was late in his breeding career before Monsun received notable support from international breeders, who recognised that he was indeed something very special.
A G1 winner himself, Monsun combined two of Germany’s most successful sirelines, as a son of German Triple Crown winner Konigsstuhl ( 3 x time champion sire), out of a mare by Surumu, 6 x champion sire. He exemplified the ideal of the German thoroughbred – sound, tough, brave, honest and even tempered.
In sharp contrast to the almost complete dominance of Phalaris line stallions in the world today, Monsun was a tail male descendant of Blandford. His pedigree was completely free of Northern Dancer and Mr Prospector. He was the perfect outcross, and the benefits of that were proved with a vengeance. He was also a great upgrader of mares and a great broodmare sire. He really did it all!
The progeny of his son Vadamos have demonstrated a love of Queensland tracks. Monsun blood generally indicates swimmers but most - though not all - also enjoy firm ground.
Soverato is proven on dry tracks, and her damlines also bring bucketloads of toughness and soundness to the equation.
She is a daughter of the Casino Prince mare Princess Biscotte ( unplaced in 3 starts), a half sister to stakes winner Formidable (Tianchi Monster HK ), from Marscay's G1 producer Biscotte (who also raced just thrice )
Casino Prince is the damsire of last year's Queensland Oaks winner You Wahng.
Biscotte earned some fame as the dam of CF Orr Stakes hero and “Northerly - conqueror” Barkada.
Biscotte's dam Strawberry Fair was by another great broodmare sire Whiskey Road and she was a G1 winner of the STC Coolmore Classic.
Biscotte's three quarter brother in blood Galaxy Fair was her only stakes winner, but through her daughter Tainebury (Centaine) a hugely successful and G1 producing female line from Strawberry Fair was established in South Africa.
The next dam on the page is Avellino ( Todman), a stakes winning sprinter and daughter of Better Half by the great Better Boy.
Better Half’s grandson Best Western (Bletchingly) claimed his G1 in the ATC Spring Champion Stakes but was also an extremely fast sprinter. Best Western became a noted broodmare sire. Redding and Ivory's Irish were two G1 Derby winners out of Best Western mares who became very good stallions.
This family is a branch of 2-b descending from Gay Peg by the excellent Lawmaker son Lawrence going back to Magpie's daughter Merry Chatter. From her we travel back in time through old Kiwi lines.
We arrive at the WRC Telegraph Hcp heroine of 1891 Lullaby, grand dam of the 1901 Stradbroke Hcp winning mare Satisfaire!
All of the famous NZ “ The” family descend from Lullaby.
They include Cox Plate winner The Phantom and his HOTY full brother The Phantom Chance, The Grin, The Dimple, The Jewel ( second in this race), The Chosen One etc etc. countless fantastic horses and star 3YOs.
Another great from across the ditch to descend from Lullaby was the Melbourne Cup legend Kiwi!
Cup champion Doriemus and Cox Plate winner Surfers Paradise hail from this tribe, while an American branch of this family is enjoying a scintillating hot streak in recent times.
Japan's current globetrotting superstar Forever Young and his close relation the 2024 US Champion 3YO Sierra Leone, as well as the former Japanese HOTY Zenno Rob Roy, all belong to this great family.
Soverato is outcrossed within five generations.
She is bred on Monsun's great nick Danehill /Danzig.
She is linebred to Blue Hen Almahmoud ( via Cosmah, dam of Halo who sired the fifth dam of Vadamos, and her three quarter sister Natalma (x 2 in Danehill, his direct ancestress) also carried by Peintre Celebre, Flying Spur ( x 2, including a Northern Dancer mare) Try My Best and Whiskey Road.
Mahmoud, sire of Almahmoud, was tail male to Blandford.
Whiskey Road was bred 5f x 5f to Mahmoud, descending from his daughter Boudoir.
Remembering that Monsun is Blandford tail male tracing back to his grandson Persian Gulf by Bahram - Vadamos also has a line to Persian Gulf's half brother Precipitation carried through his dam.
Better Boy descends from a Blandford mare and his sire My Babu carries Badruddin (Blandford x Mumtaz Mahal, three quarter brother to Mahmoud.) My Babu appears in Soverato's dam via sons Better Boy and Milesian, the latter descending from a daughter of Blandford. Milesian is carried by Kenmare, who sex balances the tail male ancestor of Vadamos, Big Game.
Duplications of Star Kingdom, who traces to a daughter of Blandford's sire Swynford are a sex balancing key, especially via Marscay's sire Biscay - his damsire is the Big Game son Markapura.
All this ties in beautifully with the great sire Kalamoun, to whom Soverato is sex balanced 6m x 6f via his sons Bikala and Kenmare. This grandson of Grey Sovereign ( Nasrullah) was a descendant of Nasrullah's full sister Rivaz out of Mumtaz Begum ex Mumtaz Mahal. Their half sister was the dam of Royal Charger - tail male ancestor of Almahmoud's grandson Halo.
Soverato is also linebred to Blue Hen Irish Lass, as she is the second dam of both Bikala and Last Tycoon - that's a power packed nick.
Irish Lass descends from Schiaparelli, by Swynford's son Schiavone, a half brother to studbook matriarch Selene.
Though Selene lines are of course everywhere in the pedigree, this individual is of special interest as Schiavone's three quarter brother Sansovino sired the ancestress of Monsun's great grandsire Tamerlane.
And so it goes on. Another great nick lies with the Argentinian- bred ancestress of Vadamos, Rustom's Legend by Rustom Pasha - a son of Blue Hen Cos - sex balancing that mare who was the fifth dam of Better Boy.
There are so many more fascinating patterns at work in the breeding of Soverato, I haven't even mentioned the American lines ( especially Bull Lea) anyway it's one to bring delight to the pedigree nerds!
Soverato and Ryan Maloney have drawn well and will launch from barrier 8.
Next Best: PANOVA
Favourite at time of writing is Chris Waller's gutsy Trapeze Artist filly Panova, arriving as a freshly minted G1 winner having posted a highly impressive victory in the 2000m SAJC Australasian Oaks at Morphettville.
She missed The Roses, with her trainer feeling that she needed a little breather from a busy travelling schedule. It was the recipe for success with the Waller-trained Egg Tart who did the Australasian / Queensland Oaks double.
Trapeze Artist daughter Pinito was runner up in last year's Oaks to You Wahng. His daughter Piggyback is a gifted stayer, and the four time G1 winning son of Snitzel - twice a track record setter in G1 WFA sprints - is proving to be a classy and versatile sire of smart juveniles, sprinter-milers and middle distance types.
Panova revealed elite potential last spring in winning the Listed Reginald Allen Stakes and the G3 VRC Carbine Club Stakes, but didn't hit best form this prep until she got up in distance and onto a firm deck at Morphettville.
She is now a veteran of 9 starts which have yielded 3 wins and 2 seconds for earnings of more than $1 million.
The filly was a $325,000 Magic Millions purchase from the draft of Kenmore Lodge (as agent for her breeder John Ramsey of Turangga Farm), and races for B2B Thoroughbreds.
She is the first foal from Love Me Quietly, a winning daughter of Tale Of The Cat’s 3 x G2 winner Trusting from a family nurtured at Turangga Farm through several generations.
Trusting ( out of Zabeel's Sandown Classic winning daughter Legible) sired only one stakes winner but as a broodmare sire he likes the Snitzel cross which produced this season's classy colt Mathias ( winner of the ATC Frank Packer Plate and BRC Grand Prix Stakes)
Not too many mares get a G1 winner with their first foal and the future for Love Me Quietly looks bright! She has a gelding by Castelvecchio named Baciami who has just commenced racing. The mare has a yearling filly by The Autumn Sun which has not appeared at a sale, and delivered a colt by Ozzmosis last spring before returning to Trapeze Artist.
Love Me Quietly is a half sister to G3 MVRC Australia Stakes winner Charge ( Zoustar) and his well performed brother Sunfall, and to the good performers Falcon Turbo (HK) and Hot Diggity Boom, all produced by the winning General Nediym mare Queen Of The Falls.
While Love Me Quietly is her only daughter to have raced, there are two fillies by the sadly missed Spirit Of Boom foaled in 2022 and 2025 in the paddocks at Turangga, and the mare was served by him again before his untimely passing.
Queen Of The Falls is out of Danehill's talented G3 Carlyon Cup winner Niagara Falls and is a half sister to G2 Riesling Stakes heroine Elite Falls.
The next dam on the page is Sir Tristram's G2 winning sprinter Bracken Bank - Niagara Falls was her only stakes winner, but she had a stakes producing half sister and others who were very solid winner getters.
This family is that of Biscay's Country Garden, a close relation to that sire's Golden Slipper hero and all time great Marscay.
It descends from the US-bred Wiles (Better Self) - third dam of Marscay and Country Garden, via the full sisters Accroche Coeur and Wiley Trade respectively.
Trapeze Artist is bred to be a superb filly sire, as a Snitzel son with Red Ransom on the broodmare sireline, boasting Best In Show linebreeding via the Sir Ivor-sired three quarter sisters Show Lady and Monroe, from whom Redoute's Choice and Domesday respectively descend. The pattern is made even more potent as on the female line of Redoute's we have Nijinsky, while Domesday carries his three quarter brother The Minstrel.
In addition, Trapeze Artist is bred 4f x 5f to Northern Dancer's champion and elite filly sire Storm Bird, 5m x 3f to Bletchingly and descends from the Golden Slipper winner and dual G1 producer Fairy Walk, a half sister to champion sire Planet Kingdom. This incredibly strong female family goes back to Phar Lap's full sister Raphis. Doesn't get much better than that!
Panova is bred
Danehill 5m x 4f sex balanced
Sir Tristram x 5m,5f sex balanced
Storm Bird 5f, 6f x 5m sex balanced
Mr Prospector 7m x 6f, 5f sex balanced
Nijinsky 6f x 7f,6m sex balanced
Biscay 7m, 5m x 6f sex balanced
Sir Tristram sex balances the abovementioned Sir Ivor daughters. General Nediym brings another and Red Ransom is tail male to his ancestor Turn-To.
Panova is sex balanced to Star Kingdom and carries a multitude of lines to the Alope family (2f) - starting with Round Table, damsire of Sir Tristram and Tights, grandsire of Without Fear, his full sister Monarchy is ancestress of Tale Of The Cat.
This intense concentration of the blood is met by Trapeze Artist's lines to the family members Gone West and Aureole carried by his dam.
Panova's damsire Trusting was a descendant of Bridal Colours, dam of Relic. He is prominent in Trapeze Artist as the damsire of Bletchingly and via Intentionally - bred x 2 and sex balanced to Relic's sire War Relic.
This pedigree also features linebreeding to My Babu, Bull Lea, Bold Ruler, Bubbling Over and Tudor Minstrel - and to Blue Hens Grey Flight, Somethingroyal and La Troienne.
In the absence of J Mac due to suspension, Benny Melham takes the reins on backmarker Panova for the first time - they will look for a smooth run in transit from barrier 6 and wait for their moment to chime in with a big finish!
Roughie: PARVENU
Grahame Begg's interesting Oaks contender Parvenu arrives here at her sixth race start, having collected wins at 1400 and 1800m along the way and produced a strong closing fifth in The Roses.
According to Begg, Parvenu isn't thrilled about going around corners, and the trainer expects the big track at Eagle Farm to appeal to his daughter of the NZ-based Redoute's Choice son Ardrossan.
Parvenu was a $290,000 Karaka Book1 purchase for Rohan Hughes and Grahame Begg Racing from Waikato Stud, and her female line features a good dose of that old Waikato magic with Pins and O'Reilly as her first two damsires.
Parvenu's record stands at 5 -2-1-0 for earnings of $68,900 so this is a big test for the promising filly.
Waikato Stud's Ardrossan is a G3 winning, G1 placed son of mighty Redoute's with a Eureka Stud damline going back to the Semipalatinsk daughter Precious Pearl. Her stakes placed daughter Miss Argyle by Iglesia is Ardrossan's dam, and also produced the tough Listed winners Bergerac and Cheyenne Warrior.
Miss Argyle is a full sister to Diamondsondinside (15 wins 1200-2200m, two Listed and G3 placed) and this also the immediate family of the G2 Queensland Guineas winning filly Express Air. Ardrossan’s third dam was a half sister to Eureka’s Queensland Oaks heroine Mother Of Pearl.
Parvenu's dam Wannabe by Pins won at 1400 and 1600m and is a three quarter sister to the G3 WRC Cuddle Stakes winner Rhysess (in turn dam of six winners including the excellent G2 HKJC Jockey Club Cup placed galloper Flame Hero by Savabeel), also to Needled, (dam of dual G2 placed filly Tomorrowland by Fast ‘N’ Famous) and a half sister to G3 Sunline Stakes placed Gold Spice by Rock'n'Pop.
Parvenu was the fourth foal from her dam and is a half sister to the Listed Rotorua Cup winning mare Poser by Ocean Park. Her year younger half sister Hopeful Champion is by NZ-based Written Tycoon son Banquo.
Second dam Zoe Spice by perennial Oaks pedigree presence O'Reilly won five races and is a half sister to the dam of tough performer (My) Diamantine, winner of the Listed Caloundra and Queensland Cups.
Other black type earners on Parvenu's pedigree page are the stakes placed Needlly by O'Reilly and her daughter Sorrento by Iffraaj.
Parvenu's third dam Sahyrys by Oak Ridge won the G3 Lowland Stakes and produced seven named foals who all raced with six being winners.
Parvenu's damline is a branch of the 8-k tribe descending from the great Kiwi staying mare Merry Roe by Soult (eight stakes wins) and ironically she was a daughter of Ellerslie, bred in Australia! The family goes back to Lady Chester, dam of the great champion Chester - winner of the 1877 VRC Derby / Melbourne Cup and fifteen other stakes wins in Melbourne and Sydney. Chester became a champion sire and sire of sires and the son of Yattendon was a particularly great Classic influence in the early development of the Australasian thoroughbred.
Greats of the turf to descend from Parvenu's damline of Lady Chester are Bart's superb staying mare Leilani, 1947 Melbourne Cup hero Hiraji and Gai's incredible staying colt Nothin’ Leica Dane.
Bart's beloved grey champion Ming Dynasty was from another branch of this tribe. But it's not all about Cups - one of the most dynamic sprinters we've ever seen, Chautauqua, traced to Lady Chester and so does the mighty stallion Zoustar!
Parvenu is bred
Last Tycoon 4m x 4m
Ardrossan likes this pattern, in fact his three time G3 winning daughter Ardalia is bred 3f X 3m to Iglesia using Written Tycoon, a cross worth pursuing!
Parvenu is linebred to Best In Show (Redoute's, Try My Best) and her dam carries a sex balance of Mill Reef - a great nick for his relatives Swaps, the damsire of Head Over Heels, and Jacopo both present in Ardrossan.
Ardrossan’s damsire Iglesia sex balances all the Star Kingdom in his pedigree - Bletchingly, Marscay, Noholme and full brother Todman, as he traces to a daughter.
Pins brings Kaoru Star, a major nick as Ardrossan himself is from the family (2-e, Enigma) of Kaoru Star's greatest son Luskin Star.
The breedshaping nick came about through Kaoru Star's second damsire Ajax, descending from Enigma and strongly inbred to her tribe.
The dam of Oak Ridge carries Ratification, from the family of Noholme - and herself descends from Last Tycoon's ancestress Schiaparelli, which Ardrossan would be bound to appreciate!
Parvenu's pedigree is sex balanced to Lunchtime and boasts multiple lines of Palestine, including his son Wandering Eyes who was linebred to the family (Cinna) and relations Beau Pere and Umidwar.
Ardrossan has two lines of War Admiral's Blue Hen Iron Maiden - she is the grand dam of both Swaps and Reverse, damsire of Semipalatinsk. Through Marscay, he also has a duplication of War Admiral’s Bee Mac including her son Better Self by Bimelech ( La Troienne). This works with the Mill Reef duplication as he brings in Blue Hen Lalun, grand daughter of a Bimelech mare. More La Troienne abounds on the linebred Best In Show damline particularly through Try My Best.
Snippets comes to the party with his line of La Troienne's grand daughter Striking (War Admiral) - Best In Show carries her full brother Mr Busher.
Parvenu with regular partner Dan Stackhouse piloting should relish both the firmer track and the rise in distance, and has drawn to get a good run from barrier 7.
Blowout: HIGHGROVE ROSE
This would be an upset of Socks Nation proportions, but it can happen! I love the breeding of this filly.
Trained out of Deagon by Jack Bruce, Highgrove Rose is more seasoned than many of her rivals and is a last start winner over the Oaks distance at Doomben. This is obviously a class ( and weight) rise, but she has shown glimpses of well above average ability including a good fourth to the talented Matias here in the G3 Grand Prix Stakes last December.
Her record currently stands at eleven starts for two wins and four placings which have netted her connections $73,110.
Highgrove Rose was a $200,000 MM Gold Coast buy for Jack Bruce Racing / Clarke Bloodstock Pty Ltd when offered by Ridgemont / Segenhoe as agent.
Her sire King's Legacy ( Redoute's Choice) was pure class, taking the G1 ATC Sires / Champagne double at two. He also won the G2 BJ McLachlan in Brisbane and was third in the G1 Golden Rose at three. King's Legacy is from the family of Snippets and Not A Single Doubt.
His dam, the stakes placed Hussonet mare Breakfast In Bed is a half sister to G1 Flight Stakes heroine and Golden Slipper / ATC Sires / Blue Diamond Stakes placed filly Oohood.
The dam of Highgrove Rose is the classy Savabeel daughter Chintz, winner of the G2 Rich Hill Mile, the G3 Westbury Classic and twice placed at G1 level. Her son Not An Option ( by Not A Single Doubt) won the G2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes in NZ and the Listed Hareeba Classic and Chester Manifold Stakes in Australia.
Chintz is a half sister to the G1 Auckland Cup winning mare Chenille. Their dam is the unraced O'Reilly daughter Charmed, a three quarter sister to the dam of the mighty dual G1 winner Mo'unga ( Savabeel).
Waikato Stud magic again.
Charmed was out of the G3 winning, G1 placed Imposing mare Seraphic, a daughter of the G2 Great Northern Oaks heroine Torquay.
This is the family of the Oncidium mare Oncide a branch of Colonial family 20 (Sybil) descending from Lucky Tor, daughter of NZ's great champion of the 1930s Beaulivre.
This old Kiwi damline has a very, very long and consistent history of producing elite racehorses.
Highgrove Rose has no inbreeding in five generations
We have the almost obligatory Best In Show linebreeding with Redoute's and Try My Best.
The dam of Highgrove Rose brings an additional sex balancing line of Todman for King's Legacy through his fantastic son Imposing.
The third dam of Chintz was sired by Wharf, son of Delta by Nasrullah, ex Blue Hen Bourtai. Bourtai's grand daughter Levee by the Nasrullah son Nashua is the ancestress of Hussonet.
Her wider family ( 9-f) is that of Sun Again - duplicated via sons Palestinian, the broodmare sireline of Sunday Silence, and Sunglow, the broodmare sireline of Pompeii Court.
The Segenhoe- bred, Coolmore-owned King's Legacy already has the highly promising Listed winning / G3 placed sprinter Regeneration bred on the Savabeel/ O'Reilly cross, while his G3 winning daughter Steel Trap is by Zabeel's Lonhro.
A major linebreeding subject is the Alope family to which belong Oncidium's sire Alcide and Foxlaw, whose son Foxhunter is carried by his dam - plus Round Table x3 ( sex balanced, and his son Tell, inbred to Round Table's own dam)
Foxhunter's son Fox Cub is the damsire of Montparnasse carried by Sunday Silence.
My Babu is an intensely linebred and sex balanced subject, and here the great old NZ sire Oncidium rises to the fore again, as his damsire was My Babu's half brother Sayani.
On form alone, this filly does look thrown in out of her depth, but on breeding she is lacking for nothing in Classic genes and well performed relations, so I can give her a definite hope of running into a top four finish!
Rachel King is aboard the elegantly named Highgrove Rose - cleverly referencing both her sire and her dam.
The two lovely ladies will embark on their Oaks tilt from barrier 19 ( before scratchings)
