Spot the Aussie: 2025 Winter Cup field at Rosehill Gardens a showcase for imports
It will be almost a case of 'spot the Aussie' when the Winter Cup field goes out onto the track at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
There are 14 stayers entered for the Listed $200,000 race over 2400m with 12 of them born overseas including topweight Changingoftheguard, a son of the greatest European stallion influence this century, Galileo.
Changingoftheguard is among four Irish-bred stayers in the race, while there's five from France, two from Great Britain and one from New Zealand.
The only colonial stayers in the Winter Cup are Steel Blaze and Whisker To Whisker – and they are the rank outsiders at $71 and $151 respectively.
But this is hardly a new phenomenon. Stayers born in the northern hemisphere make up the bulk of runners in feature Australian distance races these days.
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Just look at the make-up of the Sydney Cup (3200m) run earlier this year. Of the 20 starters, 19 were born overseas including the winner, Arapaho.
The only horse in the race that was Australian-bred was Zardozi – and she was conceived in England.
Godolphin mare Chanderi was served by champion English sire Kingman to southern hemisphere time and sent to Australia in-foal where she gave birth to Zardozi in the spring of 2020.
In the Brisbane Cup (3200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday, the 11-horse field has only two locally-bred stayers including last year's defending champ Alegron.
Kris Lees, the champion Newcastle trainer who prepares Changingoftheguard, conceded the northern hemisphere stayers were generally superior to locally-bred stayers.
'The European horses are natural stayers, it is in their DNA,'' Lees said.
'Their aerobic capacity seems to be a lot stronger and they have such stout staying pedigrees.''
This is one of the reasons Lees has no issue starting Changingoftheguard first-up in the Winter Cup.
'He wouldn't show up in a race under 2000m,'' Lees said.
Changingoftheguard, formerly trained by Aidan O'Brien in Ireland, is a rising seven-year-old but has only had 12 starts, winning the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot and finishing fifth in the 2022 English Derby behind Desert Crown.
Williams sent Changingoftheguard down under last year and the stayer has had only one preparation for Lees, contesting three races last spring culminating with a good second in the Colin Stephen Quality.
'He ran a great race that day but we just felt he needed more time to fully acclimatise,'' Lees said.
'So, we gave him that opportunity, deliberately missed the autumn and he's coming up well.
'But the plan is to give him the one run then back off and put him away for spring.''
This is a blueprint owner Lloyd Williams has used often with his imported stayers he hopes could develop into Melbourne Cup contenders – one start in the second half of the season then concentrate on the spring carnival.
Changingoftheguard back on the Roodee! Aidan O'Brien's Chester Vase and Royal @Ascot winner will make his return in the Ormonde at @ChesterRaces on Thursday... pic.twitter.com/6ELzMT1BYf
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 9, 2023
•
A Winter Cup at Rosehill seems a long way from the famous Flemington two-miler on the first Tuesday in November but it is not out of reach.
Natski, who just happened to be an imported stayer, won the Winter Cup for the late Hall of Fame trainer Jack Denham then later that year ran a close second to Empire Rose in the Melbourne Cup.
This was about the time when Williams started looking overseas for stayers. He had already won the Melbourne Cup twice that decade with Just A Dash (1981) and What A Nuisance (1985) and he wanted more.
But it took Williams nearly 40 years to get it right before he won the Cup four times in eight years with imported stayers Green Moon (2012), Almandin (2016), Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020).
Williams has owned a record seven Melbourne Cup winners – he also won the race with Efficient (2006) – but believes the days of the European-bred horses dominating Australian staying races could be numbered.
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'One of the things you will find from this point onwards is there won't be as many stayers from Europe coming here,'' Williams said.
'They are breeding more 'mile' horses over there now. It won't be easy to go over there and buy a stayer in years to come, you won't find as many.''
Williams has two Irish-bred stayers with Lees he hopes could make it to the Melbourne Cup – and both have the bloodlines of the great Galileo coursing through their veins.
Galileo, the sire of Changingoftheguard, is also the grandsire of Adelaide River who is also due to have one run this winter in the Listed McKell Cup (2400m) at Rosehill in two weeks.
Adelaide River, a Group 3 winner in Ireland, is a rising six-year-old who has only had 14 starts but has been gelded since he finished fourth in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes last spring.
Williams remembers seeing Galileo race and also standing at Coolmore Stud in Ireland and describes the stallion as 'extraordinary''.
Galileo, who was superbly bred by the mighty Sadler's Wells out of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Urban Sea, won six of his eight starts including the 2001 English Derby.
But as good as Galileo was on the racetrack, he has been even better at stud. He was leading sire in Britain a record 12 times and is the only stallion to sire over 100 individual Group 1 winners before he passed away in 2021.
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One of those was Niwot, winner of the 2009 Winter Cup who trained on to contest two Melbourne Cups finishing unplaced in both before his 2012 Sydney Cup win, defeating the Williams-owned Efficient.
'When Galileo died, I thought Aidan would struggle to win the (English) Derby but he has won the race two years in a row without a Galileo,'' Williams said.
Well, almost. Lambourn, winner of the Derby last weekend, is by Australia, the 2014 Derby winner and himself a son of Galileo.
O'Brien's Derby winner last year, Auguste Rodin, was by Japanese superhorse Deep Impact but was out of Galileo's daughter, champion filly Rhododendron.
Galileo is the complete thoroughbred, an absolute champion on and off the racetrack, but he has sired one even better than himself – the incomparable Frankel.
Undefeated in 14 starts including 10 at Group 1 level, Frankel earned the highest Timeform rating of all-time at 147 and is now the dominant stallion in Europe with two British Sires titles so far.
'Frankel is a freak horse but the Galileos were able to do anything, they could sprint and stay,'' Williams said.
'I'm not sure if the Frankels stay as quite well but he has already sired a number of classic winners so time will tell.''
Happy Birthday, FRANKEL!🎈
ðŸ'— https://t.co/bd53FGobBz pic.twitter.com/qYY94olNKb
— Juddmonte (@JuddmonteFarms) February 11, 2025
Frankel is also represented in the Winter Cup with the improving Peter Snowden -trained stayer Touristic, a last start winner of the Listed Lord Mayor's Cup.
In fact, two more of Galileo's sire sons have Winter Cup runners – Churchill is the sire of Sir Chartwell and Highland Reel has Speycaster.
In latest TAB Fixed Odds betting on the Winter Cup, the favoured runner of the Galileo breed is Touristic at $4, then Changingoftheguard $8, Speycaster $26 and Sir Chartwell $41.
'Changingoftheguard is a dogged sort of stayer, very one-paced but he has ability. We will see how he goes on Saturday,'' Williams said.
'I was talking to Kris the other day about Adelaide River and told him to give that horse one run this winter then bring him back for spring. I think he's a pretty decent horse, too.''
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Emerging sprinter ready to take next step
Trainer Kris Lees believes the emerging Tasoraay can negotiate the step up to city grade when the sprinter chases a hat-trick of wins in the Racing And Sports Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
Tasoraay is a lightly-raced three-year-old who broke his maiden at his fifth start at Newcastle last December then resumed with a decisive all-the-way win in a class 2 race at Scone on the opening day of the two-day Cup Carnival there last month.
A city placegetter earlier in the season, Tasoraay impressive form surge has TAB Fixed Odds price assessors rating him a $5.50 chance and challenging $5 equal favourites Hell To Pay and Hopper at the top of betting.
'I thought Tasoraay won well first-up at Scone,'' Lees said.
'This is a jump in grade but he's come on really well since that run. He's a nice, little horse.''
The fav Tasoraay opens the day at @newcastleraces_ with a win for @Leesracing with Ben Osmond in the saddle! pic.twitter.com/wiiu1HiG4Y
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 19, 2024
Lees believes Kind Words is due for a change of luck in the TAB Handicap (2000m).
Kind Words has been racing consistently without winning this campaign but she's out to $10 in latest betting after drawing the extreme outside barrier.
'I don't think she's had a lot of luck lately,'' Lees said of Kind Words.
'She was narrowly beaten at Scone then last start at Rosehill that was the race when Dylan (Gibbons on eventual winner Half Yours) took off mid-race.
'We were right behind him but she just couldn't get into the race. I thought she still finished off well without threatening.''
Two wins in a row to Half Yours thanks to an innovative @djgibbons22 ride! ðŸ'� @mcevoymitchell | @aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/K6i3LpnFYw
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 31, 2025
First Person just missed completing her hat-trick of wins when runner-up to Liberty State at Rosehill last start and she might be over the odds at $26 for the Asahi Super Dry Handicap (1100m).
'She's holding her form and although she probably wants it wetter coming back to 1100m will suit her.''
...I think I won that quite well!
First Person makes it two wins in a row with @TommyBerry21 handling the reins for @Leesracing! ðŸ'� @aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/fUWVFmHC9c
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 21, 2025
Meanwhile, Lees provided an update on his Queensland Oaks winners You Wahng (2025) and Amokura (2023).
You Wahng Amokura has run her last race after finishing unplaced behind stablemate Loch Eagle at Randwick last week.
Matriarch Stakes at Flemington,'' Lees said.
'Amokura has pulled up OK after last week it's becoming hard to keep her sound so we feel it is in her best interests to retire her to stud.''
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