NEWS

The country’s undisputed number one auction for future success is ready to deliver again with the finest yearlings set to converge at Australia’s holiday playground in what is shaping as a summer to remember.

Australasia’s best thoroughbreds breeders have all made strong contributions to a first class offering of 1,221 yearlings to sell from January 13 to 18.

The star studded catalogue of yearlings across Books One and Two, includes progeny of 122 individual sires, with strong interest to surround youngsters by 14 first season sires.

Among the pedigree highlights are (at least half) relations to elite level winners including Artorius, Benedetta, Cool Archie, Devil Night, Farnan, Golden Mile, Imperatriz, In Secret, Joliestar, Manaal, Sepals, Stay Inside, Stefi Magnetica, Sunlight, Super Seth and Yearning.

Thanks for all of the support over the year. We look forward to celebrating many successes at the track in 2026.

In its first year of operation, Straight Six Racing has delivered on its promise of offering quality horses to a great group of owners. Using his 20-plus years of experience in selecting outstanding racehorses, Michael secured two athletic yearlings at the January sales – Home Missile, a colt by Home Affairs out of Royal Missile, and Volcanic Vixen, a filly by Pinatubo out of Glamorous Miss.

Both horses, trained by Annabel and Rob Archibald and Bjorn Baker respectively, are coming along nicely and working towards their debut runs in the Autumn.

“We’ve got two great groups of owners who have enjoyed watching the progress of their horses over the year,” Michael says. “Excitement is now building as further preparation gets underway in readiness for the horses’ first racing campaigns.”

“At Straight Six Racing we aim to deliver a boutique syndication offering, with fewer numbers but higher quality horses, unmatched communication and a sense of camaraderie among owners that, when combined, ensures a positive racing experience.”

Michael’s knack for selecting winning racehorses has been on display on the racetrack and in the sales ring throughout 2025.

The most successful example is Mazu who competed in his third Everest and became the second horse selected and syndicated by Michael in partnership with his brother Chris to win prizemoney in excess of $10 million. The 7 year-old gelding follows in the footsteps of the $16.4 million earning dual-Everest winner Redzel, the highest syndicated prizemoney earner in the history of horse racing in Australia.

“To have two of our horses exceed $10 million in prizemoney, and be in the top 20 Australian prizemoney earners of all time, is an absolute boon for the owners and an endorsement of the selection process,” says Michael.

Another horse selected by the pair who enjoyed success in 2025 was Firm Agreement, whose prizemoney reached $801,200 after he finished second in the Group 1 ATC Derby at Royal Randwick.

In addition to winners on the track, three mares bought by Michael and his brother were sold at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in May for a combined total of $2.58 million. The mares – Revolutionary Miss, Miss Helfire and Aemelius – were sold for $1.6 million, $640,000 and $340,000 respectively. The sale prices and prizemoney earned by the mares delivered a total return to owners of $5.2 million from a combined purchase price of only $385,000.

New ownership opportunities

Michael will be heading back to the Magic Millions sales in January to once again apply his carefully-honed selection skills to secure additional quality horses for the Straight Six Racing stable. These horses will be offered for syndication in the new year.

To register your interest in becoming an owner enter your details on the Contact page of this website. Alternatively, call Michael Ward directly on 0412 747 224.

Observer, the 3YO colt by Ghaiyyath, was the $2.45 favourite for the Derby after winning the Group 2 Vase at Moonee Valley the prior week and duly saluted in dominant fashion. Like many winners of the race before him, including Efficient and Mahogony, Observer is sure to stamp his class again in the future and have a bright career ahead.

However, how does the quality of the race stack up as a Group 1 event and does the current format deliver as a spectacle?

The VRC Derby is the first time that these horses have attempted the 2500m distance of the race, which creates an unknown factor as to whether they can see out the trip. This fact alone gives the race an element of excitement, with the connections of each entrant able to speculate as to why their representative may prevail on the big day. However, in 2025, the eventual finishing margin of 15 lengths between first and last highlights the divergence of quality in the field.