2024-25 Champion Australian Racehorse awards: Via Sistina's a special but other categories wide open
The three-year-old male award is up for grabs, the title of best sprinter isn't cut and dried, and neither is the stayer category for that matter.
Unlike most years when these awards are reasonably predictable, most of the 2025 Champion Australian Racehorse award categories are wide open with the obvious exception of Horse of the Year which the Chris Waller -trained Via Sistina will win by about as far as her spectacular eight lengths Cox Plate romp last spring.
The two-year-old award is one of the tightest as there was a different winner of each of the five Group 1 juvenile races this season including Marhoona and Devil Night who both scored their only stakes win in the Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond respectively.
Nepotism won the Group 1 Champagne Stakes and Group 3 Baillieu Handicap while Vinrock was unbeaten in three starts and became first horse since Full On Aces (1981) to win the Group 2 VRC Sires Produce Stakes and Group 1 ATC Sires Produce Stakes double.
Cool Archie made a late season surge with five consecutive wins including the Listed Dalrello Stakes, Group 2 Champagne Classic, Group 2 BRC Sires Produce Stakes and Group 1 JJ Atkins. Even Tempted — who won twice at Group 2 level and was luckless in the Blue Diamond (seventh) and Golden Slipper (third) – O' Ole (Magic Millions) and Within The Law will have some support.
Aeliana 's outstanding ATC Australian Derby win by more than five lengths puts her into the conversation, Autumn Glow is unbeaten after four starts with three at stakes level, and Lady Of Camelot might have been winless this season but she was placed four times at Group 1 level and ran fourth in The Everest.
Broadsiding (Golden Rose, Rosehill Guineas) was the only multiple Group 1 winner in the three-year-old male division but unbeaten Private Harry (The Galaxy), Linebacker (Randwick Guineas, defeating Broadsiding), Switzerland (Coolmore Stud Stakes), Private Life (Caulfield Guineas) and Maison Louis (Queensland Derby) will collate votes.
It's anyone's guess for Champion Sprinter. Did Bella Nipotina do enough winning The Everest (and Russell Balding Stakes) to edge out dual Group 1 winners Joliestar (Newmarket Handicap, Kingsford Smith Cup) and Jimmysstar (Oakleigh Plate, All Aged Stakes), or Briasa (TJ Smith Stakes), Overpass (Winterbottom Stakes) and Schwarz (William Reid Stakes)?
Bella Nipotina wins the $20million TAB Everest, and is the first mare to do so, after fighting off 2022 champ Giga Kick! @CWilliamsJockey gets his second Everest and the stable of @cmaherracing their first!ðŸ'¥ðŸ'¥ðŸ'¥ #TABEverest @tabcomau @SkyRacingAU @7horseracing @racing_nsw pic.twitter.com/FnAHvhjt5y
— Australian Turf Club (@aus_turf_club) October 19, 2024
Champion Stayer often goes to the Melbourne Cup winner but this was Knight's Choice 's only win of the season which brings the likes of Duke De Sessa (Caulfield Cup), Dubai Honour (Tancred Stakes), Arapaho (Sydney Cup, Sandown Classic), Campaldino (Brisbane Cup), Alalcance (Manion Cup, Chairman's Quality), Land Legend (The Metropolitan) and Zardozi into the mix.
But champion mare Via Sistina was the standout of 2024-25, winning seven of her nine starts, all at Group 1 level to equal the record for most majors in a season set by all-time great Winx in 2018-19.
"A CENTURY OF THE VERY BEST!"
After a dramatic week, VIA SISTINA wins the 2024 Cox Plate & gives @mcacajamez 100 Group 1 victories ðŸ'š @cwallerracing pic.twitter.com/MyKM4Th8z7
â€' Racing.com (@Racing) October 26, 2024
• Via Sistina is back … and she'll again blaze her record-breaking trail
Via Sistina also won the Winx Stakes, Turnbull Stakes, Champions Stakes, Verry Elleegant Stakes, Ranvet Stakes and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over distances ranging from 1400m to 2000m so she will also claim the Middle Distance award, too.
With Via Sistina certain to win Horse of the Year, it will be the eighth time in 10 years a Waller-trained galloper has won the coveted title.
Waller also prepared the only four-time Horse of the Year winner, Winx (2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19), as well as Nature Strip (2019-20, 2021-22), and Verry Elleegant (2020-2021).
Selected racing officials and media start voting on the awards this week with the winners announced at a special Hall of Fame-Horse of the Year function in Brisbane on August 31.
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