Tycoon Star looked like the consummate professional when making a winning career debut in the Group III Darley Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) to kickstart Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington.

Coolmore have today announced via Twitter that top class Justify (USA) colt Storm Boy will be continuing his racing career in Ireland in 2025 under the care of Aidan O’Brien.

The Fastnet Rock x Galileo nick has been on fire in Melbourne this spring producing Cox Plate winner Via Sistina (IRE) and leading Melbourne Cup contender Buckaroo (GB) and it struck again overnight in the UK with a brand new stakes-winner in Military Academy, who captured the Listed Floodlit Stakes (1m4f) at Kempton.

Breednet has produced a great page with click through to five generation pedigrees for all the Melbourne Cup runners, so for amateur pedigree buffs looking to have a Cup flutter based pedigree here’s your chance  to DIY it!

Coolmore have announced the US fee for Justify in 2025 with the undefeated Triple Crown winner priced at $US250,000 to head  their roster of 16 stallions at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.

Here is the full list of 21 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

The well-renowned colours of The Oaks Stud will feature across two feature Trans-Tasman meetings this week, kicking off with Antrim Coast lining up in the Listed Furphy Plate (1800m) on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington.

Two heats at the Rosehill trials on Monday morning over 900m and the quickest of those was won by an expensive son of Golden Slipper winning first season sire Farnan.

Te Akau and Fortuna Racing’s filly Bellatrix Star proved she is among Australia’s top sprinting three-year-olds last Saturday at Flemington, finishing second in the A$2 million Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m).

The Subzero Handicap (1400m), a race solely for registered grey thoroughbreds, has proven to be a fan favourite at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day, and this year, Kiwis will have their own grey to barrack for.

Last year’s Melbourne Cup Day concluded in success for Mark Walker in the Gr.3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m), a race he will chase back-to-back crowns in on Tuesday with Kiwi mare Quintessa.

Fresh from sweeping the sire awards at the 2024 Tasmanian Racing Awards this season, the Armidale Stud team is in line for another significant achievement with The Map (Alpine Eagle x This Moment) flying the flag for resident stallion Alpine Eagle in the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 5 November.

Grant Cooksley came tantalisingly close to getting his hands on the Melbourne Cup as a jockey, and he is hoping to rectify that on Tuesday as a trainer when he lines-up Trust In You in the two-mile feature.

Pre-post favourite Habana will head into unfamiliar territory at Ellerslie, but there is confidence in his camp that it will be a smooth transition.

Tara Talks Racing is now online having had a Sunday arvo drink or two as we go through the Cup horses, so what do Clocker and I like for this year’s Melbourne Cup?

Juvenile racing will kick off Melbourne Cup day on Tuesday with an early start at 10.45am for the Group III VRC Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) with nine colts and four fillies engaged.

Few Australians would have heard of Sea King (GB) before his impressive win in the Group III Bendigo Cup, but the son of Sea The Stars has a pedigree linked to a part of Melbourne Cup history.

Here is the full list of 59 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

Talented Kiwi mare Positivity will step out on the greatest stage for stayers at Flemington on Tuesday, when she contests the A$8 million Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).

Rising star Richard Stomper may have earned himself a shot at the Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m) during New Zealand Cup Week after claiming another impressive victory at Ashburton on Sunday.

After finishing behind Fierceness in the Travers Stakes and Jim Dandy Stakes, Sierra Leone gained revenge in the battle of the 3-year-olds in the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.

A career highlight for the resilient 3-year-old Zoustar colt Starlust, who came with a barnstorming finish from last on the turn to triumph in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

Godolphin’s globetrotting champion Rebel’s Romance has conquered the world in 2024, topping it off with a second Breeders’ Cup Turf when defying the strong Japanese challenge of Rousham Park and Shahryar in the US$5,000,000 feature at Del Mar.

An “arrogant’’, “dominant’’ and “awesome’’ victory solidified Easter Sale superstar Switzerland’s future at stud when he produced a devastating performance to win the stallion making G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington today.

Here is the full list of 137 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

Ridden by Chris Parnham for Luke Fernie, Bravo Centurion stretched his winning run to six, making every post a winner to defeat Saloon Bar (Sessions) by a long three and three-quarter lengths with Crippalenko (Maschino) a half-length back in third.

The first foal of triple Group I winning mare Shoals, blueblood I Am invincible mare Isthmus has been threatening to win a stakes race this year and got the job done when charging clear to score a dominant victory in the Group III VRC Furphy Sprint (1100m) at Flemington on Saturday over another I Am Invincible mare in Kundalini.

Since winning the Listed Albury Gold Cup in March, Fawkner Park has undergone an amazing transformation.

The Watson family owned South Australian nursery Mill Park is a name synonymous with serious Group I horses and in particular those bred by astute breeder Harry Perks and this winning association struck for a third time in the $2million Group I VRC Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday when Goldrush Guru saluted to join previous winners they have produced in Rebel Raider and Warning.

A year after flying home for second behind Pride Of Jenni in the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m), Go Racing’s pin-up girl Atishu(NZ) (Savabeel) returned to Flemington on Saturday and went one better for the Kiwi syndicators.

The all important barrier draw for the world’s richest handicap, the $8.5million Group I VRC Melbourne Cup (3200m) has been held for a field which contains horses bred in seven countries and trained in four.

William Haggas is playing his part in keeping the UK economy afloat, taking home a further $5,250,000 after Lake Forest (GB) won an action-packed James Squire Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill.

After Coolmore’s $875,000 I Am Invincible colt Home Affairs captured the Coolmore Stud Stakes in 2021, it was the turn of the $1,500,000 Snitzel colt Switzerland to do the sponsor proud in the $2,000,000 Group 1 feature at Flemington on Saturday.

Seven year-old Pride of Dubai mare Bella Nipotina bounced out of her Everest win two weeks ago to claim another lucrative prize when scoring a scintillating victory in the $3million ATC Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill on Saturday.

There was plenty of drama before the start of the Group II HKJC World Pool Wakeful Stakes (2000m) with the scratching of Hurry Curry, who gave Jamie Kah a bloody nose, and Ziggy Rose, who refused to load, but it provided a winner heading to the top.

It was looking dire for Another Wil when locked away on the fence with 200m to run of The Damien Oliver (1400m) at Flemington, but this was a race he was destined to win.

A stakes-winner at two and three, talented sprinter Maharba is also now a stakes-winner at four producing a tenacious effort at Flemington on Saturday to win the Group III VRC Rising Fast Stakes (1200m).

A luckless second at her previous start in the Group II Thousand Guineas Prelude, Zeitung enjoyed a trouble-free run to open her stakes account in the Group III The Tab Vanity (1400m) for 3-year-old fillies at Flemington on Victoria Derby Day.

The worldwide winning wave of juvenile winners for Coolmore shuttler Wootton Bassett rolled into Del Mar in North America on Friday when talented colt Henri Matisse claimed victory in the Group I Breeders’ Cup Turf Juvenile (1m).

Chris Waller and James McDonald kicked off the Flemington Melbourne Cup Carnival with a dazzling  victory in the Group III VRC Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) for progressive Castelvecchio filly Aeliana.

Here is the full list of 45 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

Cambridge Stud have been on a winning roll and have just launched their exciting new website.

The dam of and a sister to G1 sprinter Oscar’s Fortune, mares in foal on desirable covers and an unreserved dispersal from a respected bloodstock operator are among the highlights of the Inglis Digital November (Early) Online Sale.

The Melbourne Cup Carnival holds special memories for both Te Akau Racing and Fortuna Racing, and there could be more to come with five black-type contenders on Derby Day at Flemington on Saturday.

The barrier trials at Randwick on Friday morning featured two heats for juveniles won by a filly that placed in the Group III ATC Gimcrack Stakes and a colt from an outstanding producer that has had six foals to race all winners!

There are two Group I events for three year-olds at Flemington on Saturday and both are worth $2million, but the profile of the horses engaged, many of them being colts, couldn’t be more different starting with their purchase price.

Group One-winning mare Atishu will be seeking redemption in Saturday’s Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington after finishing runner-up in the race last year to Pride of Jenni.

Trent Busuttin believes the stars have aligned in his quest for a second Gr.1 Victoria Derby (2500m) title at Flemington.

With Yulong Stud publishing a fantastic photo of first foal for Montefilia by Alabama Express we thought it a good time to highlight a few more foals with Group One connections that have hit the Foal Gallery in the past couple of weeks.

Strong trade continued on the fourth day of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale with an interesting horse set to join the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald stable as turnover has already soared to be the second highest in the sale’s history with the fifth and final session still to come. 

Stallion shares in Horse of the Year and exciting young sire Flightline and also Widden Stud's new shuttle prospect Cogburn changed hands at the inaugural Keeneland Championship Sale.

Here is the full list of 35 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

Just three stallions, Zoustar, Exceed And Excel, and I Am Invincible, have sired the last six winners of the Coolmore Stud Stakes.

There would not be a better bred mare racing anywhere in Australia on Thursday than this one and she scored at Wyong with ears pricked.

Kia Ora Stud had reason to celebrate on Thursday 31 October after waking up to news of two graduates’ success in Hong Kong overnight.

The $10million ATC Golden Eagle (1500m) is a race that has gone from strength to strength since being first run in 2019, so we’ve taken a look at what’s happened so far in our quest to narrow the 20 strong field in search of this year’s winner.

Strong trade continued on the third day of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale headed by the two-year-old LA BELLOTA at 425,000 guineas with eight lots realising 200,000 guineas or more and a clearance rate above 90%.

The Group I VRC Victoria Derby at Flemington on Saturday is worth a whopping $2 million and the testing trip of 2500m means a lot of horses are not going to see it out strongly and this looks a competitive year with a Group I winner coming down from Sydney that has a picket fence next to his name and plenty of locals to take him on, so let’s see what the pedigrees have to say.

The Irish National Stud has announced the retirement of Invincible Spirit, the sire of 22 individual Group I winners worldwide, including leading European sire Kingman, and also in Australia he has had a profound influence as the sire of our reigning champion sire I Am Invincible.

Here is the full list of 43 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

Spring racing in Australia is in full swing and while many people are studying video with a view to backing winners, others are spending just as much time assessing breeze up footage with a view to finding the next champions to emerge from the NZB Ready to Run Sale, so what does a champion look like?

OTI Racing’s Sea King (GB) finished sixth in the Ebor Handicap at York, narrowly in front of the impressive Geelong Cup winner Onesmoothoperator (USA), which proved the right form in Wednesday’s $500,000 Group III Apiam Bendigo Cup (2400m).

The Smart Missile gelding Briasa earned his chance in the $1,000,000 The Hunter at Newcastle on November 16 following a bloodless three-length win in Wednesday's Ranvet (Bm88) (1250m) at Randwick-Kensington.

Blackberry Bomb will aim to emulate her half-sister Shelby Cobra in the Group III Amanda Elliott Stakes on Melbourne Cup Day after she returned to form in the No Fuss Event Hire Hcp (1300m) at Bendigo on Wednesday.

Te Akau principal David Ellis has extended his buying arm to Europe with the recent purchase of three-year-old stakes-winning colt Bright Stripes at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale in England.

Wexford Stables look to have another exciting youngster on their hands following Hankee Alpha’s impressive debut victory in the Donaghys Uddermax 1200 at Te Aroha on Wednesday.

Ciaron Maher, Bennett Racing, and Snitzel are all enjoying a phenomenal run of late and combined to win Wednesday’s $100,000 Drinkwise Maiden Plate (1400m) at Randwick-Kensington with Snitzanova.

The road to Riccarton Park has not been an easy one for Savaglee, but the colt indicated he is right on track with a stunning performance in Wednesday’s transferred Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m) at Te Aroha.

Destined to join the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable, three-year-old colt DELIUS eclipsed the record for the highest priced lot ever sold at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale when selling for 1,300,000 guineas as strong trade continued on the second day of the sale, with seven lots selling for 300,000 guineas or more.

Malaysia continues to emerge as a leading racing jurisdiction, with many participants making the move to the growing region following the closure of Singapore and Macau.

As New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame trainer Graeme Rogerson prepares for his shot at again winning racing's Holy Grail, he has revealed to Trackside: "I'm just lucky to be alive".

Orchestral had her name up in lights during the autumn in Sydney, and on Saturday she will step out on the big stage at Flemington as a key hope in the A$1 million Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m).

The all important barrier draw for the $10million ATC Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill this Saturday was conducted on Tuesday night adding a new layer of intrigue to a race packed with quality Aussie four year-olds and a couple of genuinely top class Group I winning contenders from France and Japan.

Here is the full list of 24 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

The path to a successful stud career is not assured for a high profile colt and in the case of triple Group I winner Militarize he will now be returning to training after poor fertility has curtailed his brief sojourn on the star studded roster at Newgate Farm.

A quality packed catalogue for the NZB Ready to Run Sale is now online and in the lead up to the sale we’ll go looking each week for some horses of interest that jump out on pedigree for various reasons and this week we’re looking hard at seven youngsters by a sire making headlines all over the world.

The lure of the $1million Group III ATC Golden Gift at Rosehill on Saturday week has drawn out some fascinating two year-olds to the trials in Sydney this week with a pair Wootton Bassett (GB) colts running the quinella at Warwick Farm and a filly we have already seen looking sharp and ready for her next engagement.

With three juvenile races, all worth at least $40,000, the Labour Day long weekend has had a major impact on the order of entry for the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie on January 25.

It was a strong start to the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale at Park Paddocks with record turnover for an opening session of 9,168,700 guineas and five lots selling for 300,000 guineas or more and there were many Australians on the buyers list for a mammoth sale that runs until the end of the week. 

Savaglee’s path to his spring grand final will take another detour this week with Pam Gerard admitting to severe frustration with the disrupted preparation.

Coolmore Stud’s unbeaten four-year-old and second favourite for the Melbourne Cup. Jan Brueghel has been ruled out by vets.

Belclare’s failure to reach her A$700,000 reserve at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare sale earlier this year has proven to be a blessing in disguise for owner-breeder David Woodhouse.

A new pathway for young people to enter the thoroughbred industry has been established with Thoroughbred Breeders Australia (TBA) launching a graduate program. 

The Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale is a treasure trove of talent for Australian investors and Ciaron Maher struck early on day one of the sale to secure Go Daddy for 350,000 guineas.

Juddmonte Farms have announced their European fees for 2025 with Frankel again topping the roster at £350,000 and his Group I winning son Chaldean (GB), currently in New Zealand at Cambridge Stud, has been given a great opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his world renowned sire.

If you’re one of our Tara Talks Racing podcast listeners you’ll be wanting to know more about the two Northern Hemisphere raiders we spoke about as being the horses to beat in the $10million ATC Golden Eagle (1500m) this Saturday, so who are they?

Here is the full list of 18 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

Winning the Group III ATC Breeders Plate last year was not enough to guarantee the winner Espionage a start in the Golden Slipper, so not surprisingly the $1million Golden Gift is being seen as an attractive spring option for a talented juvenile and a couple of heat winners at Hawkesbury on Monday will no doubt have the race on their radar.

British hoop Kevin Stott achieved his biggest moment in racing in the colours of Cambridge Stud’s Brendan and Jo Lindsay at Royal Ascot four years ago, and now he has made his way to their homeland for a riding stint.

The spate of bad luck with New Zealand tracks continued at Te Rapa on Monday, with the abandonment of racing at the Hamilton venue following several slips.

Summer Cups targets are on the horizon for stakes winner Ess Vee Are following his bold win in the SkyCity Hamilton Waikato Cup Prelude (2400m) at Te Rapa on Labour Day.

Emerging three-year-old He’s Lucid provided Mapperley Stud’s Simms Davison with a bittersweet result when he downed a competitive age group line-up at Riccarton.

I've had a busy weekend with work and showjumping , but have found time to talk racing with Craig Tompson, who explains where Breednet is at with with data and the Black Type debacle.

A few big prizemoney races can skew sire tables, but with so many big prizemoney races on offer at this time of year there is a lot happening in the sire tables and you need a lot more than one big winner to make an impact with some value sires doing some pretty special things.

Here is the full list of 68 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.

It always had the potential to be a blockbuster year for Wootton Bassett (GB) with his first two year-olds conceived at Coolmore in Ireland taking flight in 2024 and the results have been spectacular with a Group I double for juveniles in France overnight putting the icing on the cake.

Pride Of Dubai retains his spot at the top of the Sires’ Title after the favourite Buckets Ridge captured Sunday’s Listed XXXX Northam Cup (1600m).

Prominent owner Chris Rutten knows a thing or two about the Karaka Millions meeting at Ellerslie, and he might be heading in that direction again after a debut victory by Too Sweet in Sunday’s Graham’s Painters 2YO (900m) at Trentham.

Storm Front’s pedigree, trial form and reputation within the Tony Pike stable created a buzz around his race-day debut in Saturday’s Dunstan Horsefeeds 2YO (1100m) at Ellerslie, and the promising colt produced a first-up performance worthy of the hype.

Less than 24 hours after watching her former star Belclare collect the A$2 million Gr.2 The Invitational (1400m) across the Tasman, Lisa Latta unveiled another Group One hopeful in the same colours at Trentham with Connello storming home to take out the Happy Hire 1400.