A big crowd of excited racegoers flocked to opening day at Ascot, and they were treated to a super contest in the Listed three year old feature, the Listed WATC Max Simmonds Stakes.
The 1000m sprint was widely viewed as a rematch between last season's star two year olds Afireofgidgeecoals (Too Darn Hot) and Aurum Belle (Snitzel), but it was a newcomer to the ranks who got the prize!
Big Red Zoom is a gelded son of Long Leaf ( Fastnet Rock), who relocated from Rangeview Stud in WA to stand at Grassdale Pastoral in Victoria this year.
This new chapter in the stallion's career got off to a flying start when the Mitchell Pateman trained Big Red Zoom, given a perfect ride by partner Holly Watson, held off the determined challenge of the returning G2 Karrakatta Plate hero Afireofgidgeecoals by a nose on the line - to give Long Leaf his first stakes winner.
Big Red Zoom bolted in a 1000m maiden at Bunbury last month, and was thrown in the deep end against some very classy competition at just his second lifetime start.
The Max Simmonds Stakes always provides a good guide to the upcoming three year old glamour races, the Placid Ark Stakes and WA Guineas.
A field of thirteen runners went down to the start on a soft 5 track in front of the buzzing crowd.
Punters sent the blueblooded Aurum Belle out as favourite, backing her undefeated record at the trip and a 3kg weight advantage over the star colt to get the job done. The Neville Parnham trained filly danced out onto the track looking every bit the $725,000 buy she was.
Like Aurum Belle, Afireofgidgeecoals ( Too Darn Hot) was resuming. Dan Morton's beautiful colt looked a picture in the yard, and was a firm second favourite,
Sitting together on the next line of betting were well performed stablemates Maria Lucia ( Rommel) and He's A Machino (Maschino), with trainers Sean and Jake Casey still riding the high of their $1m Golden Saddle win last weekend!
The Casey’s WA Sires champion Beatty ( Gingerbread Man) was absent from the field and will return in the Belgravia Stakes in two weeks time, with the Guineas his target this campaign.
Big Red Zoom had his fans at 10/1, as did Boy Crush ( Manhattan Rain) at 12/1, the well related and undefeated I Am Invincible Filly Cos I Am who was stepping up to stakes grade for the first time, and the likely leader Dawn Dancer ( Headwater), a race fit distance specialist - would he have the class to show this lot a clean pair of heels?
When the barriers crashed back Dawn Dancer shot to the lead as expected attended by Boy Crush, with big Red Zoom getting away smartly to tuck in behind them.
Maria Lucia pressed forward to be part of the leading bunch, Aurum Belle inside her. He's A Machino was worse than midfield and travelling wide, while Afireofgidgeecoals with Lucy Fiore aboard couldn’t match the hectic early speed and had settled back with the tailenders.
In the blink of an eye the Max Simmonds field were turning for home and the baldy faced Dawn Dancer scooted into the straight a length and a half clear of Maria Lucia, with Holly about to ease Big Red Zoom off heels around them.
The gelding accelerated stylishly and shot past the tiring Dawn Dancer. Maria Lucia was out of gas but Boy Crush still had something to offer and moved up to challenge, with Afireofgidgeecoals starting to rattle home out wide.
Big Red Zoom was holding off Boy Crush, but the Karrakatta winner was coming! Despite his burden of 59kg the Too Darn Hot colt was storming home with a magnificent burst of acceleration - could he get there? Not quite!
The trio hit the line in a head bobber and the judge took a while to split them, but Big Red Zoom had held on by a nose from Afireofgidgeecoals with Boy Crush only a neck away between the two in third in an opening day thriller!
He's A Machino came home nicely in fourth, and the powerful son of Maschino looks right on track for a good campaign.
But all honours on the day were with the well named Big Red Zoom, a tall and elegant chestnut who is now a Listed winner and undefeated from two starts, with $132,000 in the kitty.
The jump up to Listed level was no problem for Big Red Zoom, remaining undefeated in his two career starts! https://t.co/iFHc6Z3WGj
— Racing WA TV (@RacingWATV) October 10, 2026
It was an emotional win for Mitch Pateman, who also trained Big Red Zoom's year younger full sister Ourgirlcanrun to three wins last year, with her best performance being a close fourth in the Burgess Queen Stakes (1400m).
Owner breeders of the talented pair, Pete and Carol Gurney, tragically lost their eldest daughter Stacey last year after a long battle with cancer. Stacey was a mum of three and a former WA champion junior athlete, and Ourgirlcanrun was named for her.
“This is a good horse,” said Mitch in his post race interview.
“When he won at Bunbury I said to Pete, I don't know if he'll be a Placid Ark or a Guineas horse. He looks like a Guineas horse but he's probably sharp enough to be a Placid Ark (1200m) horse. It's just amazing, everyone knows the story behind Pete and Carol and I promised them with Ourgirlcanrun that I'd get them black type.
“ It's taken until now and the next one to come along to do it, but as I've said so many times, if anyone deserves success it’s them. The hell they've had to go through, and are continuing to go through - it means so much to me to win any race, let alone a big race for them.
“The mare is just a freak mare. She never got broken in, she went straight to stud, she's by My Admiration and now she's had two Long Leafs that are black type horses. She's a freak, and this bloke's a really good horse.
“I'm waiting for his DNA to come back and I'll be very much guided by that as to where he goes next. He looks like a miler - he's tall, he's rangy whereas his sister is very small and compact.
“He looks like a miler, but whether he's a bit too brilliant - maybe. I don't know what opposition are heading down the mile path, but I know Afireofgidgeecoals and Aurum Belle are probably sticking around for the sprint. It's a good problem to have. He'll head to the Belgravia Stakes in a fortnight, by then we'll have more of an idea where we're going and the 1200m will tell us a bit more - but we'll just savour the moment.”
Mitch revealed that partner Holly had been ill all week.
“I know how much this means to her, and she's been pretty crook, but I said to her, you'd better get up for today!”
“She gave him a beautiful ride, bounced him and crossed the ones inside and then just stalked the leader. When he came around heels I thought he was home and Afireofgidgeecoals gave me a hell of a fright on the line but he was good enough to hang on.”
BIG RED ZOOM - 2026 Max Simmonds Stakes (Listed) @PerthRacing #WesternRacepix #AscotOpeningDay More ?? https://t.co/u9wTzlsNHl https://t.co/jJgSvhReIT
— Western Racepix (@WesternRacepix) October 10, 2026
Ultimate professional Holly was thrilled with Big Red Zoom’s effort.
“He's still so raw, we bounced away nicely and got to the box seat and it was a beautiful run for him. We weren't sure where our boy was going to be, but when he jumped as well as he did we just hit a beautiful spot," she said.
“I could feel something coming up late, and as I said he's still raw - he hit the front quite early and looked around a little bit but I was really happy with his effort.
“I think maybe keep him at short trips at the moment, he's still doing things a little bit too keen to get a mile at the moment, but you never know - in time he may be able to do that.”
Big Red Zoom is the fourth foal and fourth winner Pete and Carol Gurney have bred from their unraced My Admiration mare Sister Zoe.
Sister Zoe had a Rommel filly in 2024, then was rested from breeding for a season before being covered by Ingratiating.
She was the only foal produced by her dam Zygosis - a winning daughter of the mighty Zeditave who was both a three quarter sister to the G2 winner and excellent sire Magic Albert, and one of six winners out of Aimilee (Grand Lodge).
Magic Albert far exceeded his own deeds on the track as a sire, with no less than three G1 winning sprinter-milers - Albert The Fat, Ilovethiscity (sire) and Magic Cape among his 20 stakes winners.
His full sister Zefta was a stakes producer for Gerry Harvey, producing the tough G2 winning sprinter Go The Knuckle ( Elvstroem), and the dam of talented sprint mare Denmagic, as well as multi-winning Zeftabrook (Hinchinbrook) who is owned by Yulong. Several other winning daughters from Zefta have bred on.
The dam of Zefta, Magic Albert and Big Red Zoomy's dam Aemilee was the Salieri daughter Sally Lou, the only stakes producer from the Irish-bred mare Plunkett Street (Habitat)
Big Red Zoomy's North American damline descends from Tap Day ( Bull Lea), dam of the G1 Belmont / Travers / Wood Memorial Stakes champion Quadrangle via his fantastic sprinting half sister by Native Dancer, Secret Step.
Secret Step was victorious in the GB July Cup / King George Stakes of 1963.
Big Red Zoom's damline traces back to the Coronation Stakes winner Mazurka by See Saw, a daughter of Mabille ( (taproot 2-o)
Mabille's influence for speed is often seen today when her descendants Krisand Diesis meet with the blood of another,The Tetrarch “ The Spotted Wonder” - who would sire the flying Mumtaz Mahal from whom descend, Nasrullah, Royal Charger, Mahmoud etc. The Tetrarch's son Tetratema sits many removes back on Big Red Zoom's damline.
Big Red Zoom is bred
Danehill 3m x 5m
Danzig 4m x 6m
Northern Dancer 5m,6m,5m x 5m, 7f, 7m, 7m
His sire Long Leaf is inbred to a pair of champion sires and broodmare sires in Twig Moss ( 5f x 4f ) and Sir Tristram (5m x 5f)
The sire of Twig Moss, Luthier, descended from a Tetratema mare and his sire Klairon was a close relation of Si Tristram's damsire My Babu, bred on the same Djebel cross.
In Big Red Zoom's damsire My Admiration ( Encosta De Lago), Klairon is sex balanced through Sir Tristram's close relative and great nick Star Way.
Zeditave brings a line of Cagire ( by Djebel's sire Tourbillon and relation of Klairon, My Babu) and of Sir Tristram's close relation Mossborough.
Zeditave also sex balances Royal Charger, tail male line of Turn-To ( relation of Klairon, My Babu, Cagire) and thus of Sir Tristram.
Salieri carries a My Babu daughter and another Djebel son Tornado.
Long Leaf's second damsire Gold Brose is a great grandson of Habitat and out of a mare by Yeats ( Nijinsky x Lisadell by Forli). His damline traces to Imperatrice, the dam of the great Blue Hen Somethingroyal ( Sir Gaylord / Secretariat).
There are great nicks here for the dam of Big Red Zoom,with Fairy King a grandson of Lisadell's full sister Special and a descendant of a Sir Ivor (Sir Gaylord ) mare. (Sir Ivor sired Sir Tristram of course)
Redoute's Choice sex balances Nijinsky and descends from a Sir Ivor mare, Grand Lodge carries Secretariat and Sir Gaylord 3 x 3 and sex balances his son Habitat, and Big Red Zoom descends from a daughter of the great speed influence Habitat himself!
Grassdale Pastoral in Gippsland selected Long Leaf as the sire to anchor a new chapter for the historic property, which recently changed hands for the first time in more than 150 years.
The transition marks the beginning of a long-term vision to support and grow thoroughbred breeding in Gippsland and regional Victoria for Grassdale Pastoral Director and Highland Bloodstock Principal Christopher Constantine. Grassdale intends to support breeders through a range of incentives designed to encourage participation from regional mare owners and emerging breeders, while also promoting Gippsland as a destination for thoroughbred investment.
Long Leaf was a $750,000 NZB Premier Yearling Sale purchase with an ownership group headed by Coolmore and Sir Peter Vela. His dam by Stravinsky is half sister to the G1 winning sprinters Terravista and Tiger Tees as well as G2 winner Ball Of Muscle and Singapore HOTY Super Easy, all out of Blue Hen Parfore ( Gold Brose) who was twice awarded NZB Broodmare Of The Year.
The well bred colt was trained by David and Ben Hayes with Tom Dabernig, and was a dual stakes winner at two before collecting the $1m Karaka 3YO Classic the following season. Long Leaf was also well performed in Australia, placing in the Vain Stakes, Sandown Guineas and Caulfield Guineas Prelude. He is one of nine new Sires for Victoria in 2026.
Long Leaf stood three seasons in WA, and Big Red Zoom’s Max Simmons triumph will certainly put him on the radar of Victorian breeders!
Long Leaf stands at Grassdale Pastoral on a fee of $5,500 in 2026.
