The $700,000 Group I Tatts Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday was the last of 76 Australian Group I races run this season that produced 61 individual Group I winners, so let’s take a look at the best of the best.
Click here to see all the G1 winners of the season at Breednet's stakes result search page.
The choice for Australian Horse of the Year for the 2025/2026 racing season is going to be the subject of hot debate given we have three horses that all won three G1 races in elite WFA company – Sir Delius (GB), Autumn Glow and Via Sistina (IRE).
Everyone will have an opinion and you can make a case for all of them and no doubt Autumn Glow's win in the Golden Eagle is equivalent of a G1 win if not recognized as such (we live in hope the Black Type mess will soon be resolved!).
This opinion is mine.
Sir Delius has beaten both Via Sistina and Autumn Glow and if he had not been controversially ruled out of the spring carnival due to an x-ray issue would almost certainly have won the Cox Plate and put the issue beyond doubt.
So my money is on the Frankel stallion… he got robbed in the spring, so let’s hope he doesn’t get robbed again for Australian Horse of the Year.
Multiple G1 winners were:
3G1 Autumn Glow (4m The Autumn Sun)
3G1 Sir Delius (GB) (5h Frankel)
3G1 Via Sistina (IRE) (8m Fastnet Rock)
2 G1 Aeliana (NZ) (4m Castelvecchio)
2G1 Autumn Boy (3c The Autumn Sun)
2G1 Beiwacht (3c Bivouac)
2 G1 Ceolwulf (NZ) (5g Tavistock)
2 G1Half Yours (5g St Jean (IRE)
2 G1 Joliestar (5m Zoustar)
2G1 Observer (3c Ghaiyyath (IRE)
2G1 Sheza Alibi (3f Saxon Warrior Jpn)
2G1 Tentyris (3c Street Boss (USA)
The most successful sires with more than one G1 winner is a race dominated by the late Arrowfield super sire Snitzel, who gave us six Group I winners and will finish the season as Champion Sire by earnings.
People should be in awe of Snitzel! To have season like this coming closer to the end of his career than the beginning is heady stuff and will ensure those new juvenile G1 winning colts Campione D’Italia and Fireball will have all eyes on them next season as they bid to cement their standing as stallion prospects for the future.
6G1 – Snitzel – 2c Campione D’Italia, 2c Fireball, 3f Marhoona, 4m Lazzura, 5g Transatlantic, Baraquiel 7g
4G1 Street Boss (USA)- 3c Tentyris, 3f Tempted, 3c Green Spaces, 6g Pericles
2G1 – Bivouac – 3c Beiwacht, 3f Fireball Miss
2G1- I Am Invincible – 5g Caballus, 5m Charm Stone
2 G1- Pride of Dubai – 8m Pride of Jenni, 6g Desert Lightning (NZ)
2G1 The Autumn Sun – 4m Autumn Glow, 3c Autumn Boy
The most successful broodmare sires of G1 winners is again dominated by the late great Dubai World Cup winner Street Cry (IRE). He sired the dams of four G1 winners last season and got one more this season… that’s not a fluke.
5G1 Street Cry (IRE) - Beiwacht (3c Bivouac), Treasurethemoment (4m Alabama Express), Attica (3c Lonhro), Idle Flyer (4m Dundeel), Tom Kitten (5g Harry Angel (IRE)
3G1 Exceed and Excel – Tempted (3f Street Boss (USA), Tentyris (3c Street Boss (USA), Tropicus (4h Too Darn Hot (GB)
3G1 Redoute’s Choice – Spicy Martini (4m Justify (USA), Green Spaces (3c Street Boss (USA), Ohope wins (NZ) (3f Ocean Park)
2G1 Casino Prince – Sepals (4g Calyx GB), Tron Bolt (2c Toronado (IRE)
2G1Charge Forward – Libertad (5h Russian Revolution), Fireball (2c Snitzel)
2G1 Fastnet Rock – Joliestar (5m Zoustar), Providence (3c Wootton Bassett (GB)
2G1 Hussonet (USA) – Rothfire (8g Rothesay), Baraquiel (7g Snitzel)
2G1 Lonhro – Observer (3c Ghaiyyath IRE), Jigsaw (7g Manhattan Rain)
2G1 Medaglia D’Oro (USA) – Campione D’Italia (2c Snitzel), Apocalyptic (3f Extreme Choice)
Country of origin is always interesting and given we are in Australia, we expect to see the Aus bred thoroughbreds on top of the table and they are although in the longer races for all aged horses they made scant impression with the exception of our Aussie bred stayer Half Yours, who landed the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup double.
The Kiwis had a very good season with 11 G1 winners carrying the NZ suffix which was the same as last year and the winners ranged in distance from Everest hero Ka Ying Rising at 1200m through to the classic winners Ohope Wins and Wigmore as well as Aeliana.
She may well emerge as a superstar this spring having ended her autumn with G1 wins in the Ranvet Stakes (2000m) and Tancred Stakes (2400m).
The Euro bred G1 winners include two of the three best older horses in the country for this season in Sir Delius and Via Sistina highlighting exactly why Australian owners can’t get enough of these imported ready-made horses.
Australia -43 G1 winners
New Zealand – 11 G1 winners
European (GB, IRE, FR)- 7 G1 winners
