Yankee Rose wins 2017 UBET Queensland Horse of the Year Award

The Sunshine Coast-based filly was judged Queensland’s best for the 2016/17 season by an experienced panel of media and racing experts, holding off Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Houtzen by one vote.

Also in the running to put their names alongside the likes of Buffering, Falvelon, Shoot Out and Starcraft as previous winners were Group 1 J.J. Atkins winner Capital Gain, Group 3 Tattersall’s Cup winner and $1 million earner Rudy and Summer Sprint Triple Crown winner Most Important.

Yankee Rose broke through for her maiden Group 1 victory in last year’s Spring Champion Stakes (2000m), before going on to finish behind Winx and Hartnell in the Cox Plate (2040m), providing a great thrill for her large syndicate of owners.

B y Group 1 VRC Emirates Stakes winner All American from the Xaar (GB) mare Condesaar  – a half-sister to Group 1 New Zealand Derby winner Redoute’s Dancer – Yankee Rose took the mantle of Queensland's best from five-time Horse of the Year, multiple Group 1 winning sprinter Buffering who was inducted to the Queensland Hall of Fame.

He was joined in the Hall of Fame by the late jockey Ken Russell, trainer Peter Moody and administrator P J O'Shea.

Queenslanders welcomed the 2016 Golden Slipper runner-up with open arms, after former Sydney trainer David Vandyke relocated his stables to Caloundra early last year.

“It’s just amazing because I’m new to Queensland, she’s new to Queensland and to receive such a distinguished award on the back of the great Buffering last year helps me realise this is home and I’m not going anywhere. For her to be heralded as the best horse in the state is an incredible honour.” he said.

Yankee Rose also claimed the Queensland 3YO Horse of the Year award but Houtzen’s connections didn’t go home empty-handed, with the Toby Edmonds-trained filly taking out the 2YO Horse of the Year award.

Brisbane Summer Sprint Triple Crown winner Most Important claimed the 4YO and Older Horse of the Year award, with Paradis Imperial recognised for being the leading QTIS Horse of the Year for most bonus prize money earned.

The Krystle Johnston-trained Craiglea Deken won Provincial Premiership Horse of the Year, while Bevan Johnston’s Fab’s Cowboy earned the Country Premiership Horse of the Year title.

THE 2017 Queensland Stallion of the Year went to Glenlogan Park’s Rothesay, with an impressive 71 winners from 158 horses to start.

Congratulating all award winners, Thoroughbred Breeders Queensland Association president  Basil Nolan said it was a particularly fitting swansong for Glenlogan Park that Rothesay took the  title of Champion Stallion. Rothesay’s crowning brings it to seven of the last nine years that sires from Glenlogan Park have been awarded the Champion Sire title.

After decades at the forefront of the Queensland breeding industry, Glenlogan Park announced earlier this year that they would no longer be standing stallions. “It is a wonderful feather in the cap of Rothesay to claim Champion Stallion so early in his career but to do so with only three crops of racing age (his oldest were just 4YO’s), is nothing short of outstanding,” Glenlogan Park Manager Steve Morley said.

“In my opinion, he has more upside than any other sire in Queensland, as he has really good sized crops to come and his progeny are only getting better with age. He is a stallion really on the rise! He joins Show A Heart and Jet Spur as recent Champion Stallions for us and it is a rewarding way for Glenlogan to bow out of the stallion scene,” he said.

Now based at Lyndhurst Stud, Warwick, Rothesay is by the Danehill sire Fastnet Rock from the Woodman (USA) mare Schiaparelli and in a short racing career won both the Group 2 Queensland Guineas at Eagle Farm and the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup at Doomben.

SIDEREUS won the 2017 Champion 2YO Sire award, with Golden Archer claiming the Champion First Season Stallion title.

Champion 2YO Sire with just his second crop, Sidereus made a strong start to his breeding career, sitting high on the Queensland and National tables with his first crop. He has maintained consistency with this next batch of two year olds with eight winners from 28 starters earning $479,350.

By General Nediym from the Best Western mare Hootennay, Sidereus was an exceptionally good 2YO himself winning the Group 2 STC Pago Pago Stakes. “He was pre-post favourite for the Golden Slipper, so it’s no surprise his juveniles are getting such good results. We're happy to have him here at Oaklands,” said Oaklands Stud proprietor, Neville Stewart.

Another young stallion with plenty of promise is the Champion First Season Sire, Golden Archer. Based at Raheen Stud, Gladfield, Golden Archer only had 25 starters for the season, with eight winners and six placegetters – 77 percent of all starters were money earners, including Whistling Win, winner of the $90,000 Singapore Silver Horseshoe Open 2YO Handicap.

“We’re obviously thrilled with the job he’s done  To not only be the leading first season sire in Queensland, but to run third in Australia from such a small crop is a testament to the horse,” said Raheen Stud Manager, Basil Nolan Jnr.

By Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) from the Pine mare Viennetta (NZ) Golden Archer was recommended to the Nolan family by Champion Australian trainer, Peter Moody.  “He was a tough, precocious race horse that excelled at the highest level and this has clearly flowed through to his progeny,” Moody said.

BROODMARE Mrs Windsor – dam of 2017 Queensland Oaks winner Egg Tart – claimed the Broodmare of the Year award.

Runner-up in the Group 2 Theo Marks Quality at Rosehill on Saturday, September 9 at her first start back from a spell, Queensland-bred filly Egg Tart has now had six wins from nine starts – two of them Group 1 Oaks – and earned more than $830,000.

Queenslanders really dominated The Oaks this year. Not only did Egg Tart win the Queensland Oaks and the Schweppes Oaks at Morphetville, but Lasqueti Spirit won the Group 1 VRC Oaks. Lasqueti Spirit’s dam is Supriym Story, bred by long-time supporter of the Queensland industry, David Watkins.

“It’s a feather in the cap for Queensland breeders to be able to win three of these major races,” said TBQA president Basil Nolan.

Egg Tart was bred by Tony and Julie Brown, from Jorson Farm at Wondai in the South Burnett. They owned her dam, Mrs Windsor. Mr Brown said he followed all his foals closely, but didn’t realise Egg Tart was as good as she was.

Unfortunately Mrs Windsor died from a possible snake bite at the end of last year, but has a unraced 2YO Shamus Award colt named Storm The Beaches that sold in Melbourne..

CHAMPION rider Jeff Lloyd, dominant trainer Tony Gollan and up-and-coming rider Tiffani Brooker scooped the major awards at the 2017 UBET Queensland Thoroughbred Awards in Brisbane on Saturday night.

Lloyd, 56, was all-conquering in the 2016/17 season and broke Chris Munce’s 2011/12 state record en-route to winning his second-consecutive Queensland Jockey of the Year title.

Among his 181 wins was the Magic Millions 2YO Classic aboard Houtzen, the Group 2 Victory Stakes aboard Music Magnate, and three legs of the Summer Crowns Series with outstanding colt, Winning Rupert. “It was a great year and I think winning the Magic Millions was the highlight,” Lloyd said.

Gollan, 38, picked up his fourth Queensland Trainer of the Year title in as many years, after winning his fourth-consecutive Brisbane Metropolitan Trainers’ premiership (77 winners).

He would train 100 winners for the season across the state, finishing second to Toowoomba’s Ben Currie (103 winners) in the Queensland Trainers’ Premiership.

Sunshine Coast-based apprentice Tiffani Brooker took the Ken Russell Queensland Apprentice of the Year and Metropolitan Apprentice of the Year awards, after becoming the first female apprentice to ride 50 metropolitan winners in a season. It was an all-female trifecta in the 2016/17 Metropolitan Apprentices’ title, with Brooker holding off Lani Fancourt and Rebecca Williams to claim the premiership.

Dakota Graham won both the Country Premiership Jockey and Country Apprentice of the Year award, after a stellar debut season. Daniel Griffin added to his swag of Queensland Provincial Jockey of the Year awards, while Zoe White earned the Provincial Apprentice of the Year award and the Race Zone Medal for most winners in a month (19 winners in November, 2016).

Bevan Johnson, Ben Currie and Gollan were awarded for winning the Country, Provincial and Metropolitan premierships respectively.