The first full month of the new racing season very much ended as it began … with a steady stream of winning graduates up and down the country.
Metropolitan winners and country/provincial daily doubles were a common occurrence in August, with Prima Bella (NZ) also providing a coveted stakes race victory in the Group 3 Toy Show Quality to kick-off our black-type tally for 2026-27.
While every winner is a good winner, the successes of Fundamental Nature halfway through the month, and of Shimano and Mrs Flanders on the afternoon of August 28, were particularly special.
Fundamental Nature, a very good winner at Caulfield in Benchmark company, was bred by Mrs Jennifer Mackay. For those who didn’t already know, Mrs Mackay is the mum of our very own Treen Murphy.
No stranger to racetrack success herself, Mrs Mackay’s own colours have been carried to notable black-type wins in the past, most notably Miss Kariba (STC Canterbury Stakes-Gr.2), Katima (AJC Silver Shadow Stakes-Gr.2) and Golden Millennium (AJC Keith Mackay Handicap-LR).
Mrs Flanders, successful at Moruya in runaway fashion, was bred by Jock Mackay, while Gosford maiden winner Shimano is also co-owned by Jock in partnership with Sledmere Stud. Needless to say, Jock is Treen’s brother.
Mrs Flanders and Shimano were amongst a number of good maiden winners — either bred, reared, raised and/or sold by Sledmere Stud — with plenty of upsides for the remaining 11 months of the 2026-27 season and beyond. In particular, Oxley Tycoon, I Am Aria, Schumacher, London Fields and Strollin’ By are all 3-year-olds with the potential to make their mark in stakes company over the coming months — hopefully joining Prima Bella (NZ) sooner rather than later.
Prima Bella (NZ) proved to be ‘the icing on the cake’ in August, not only in terms of her success as a Sledmere Stud sales graduate but also as a further advertisement for the progeny of Little Avondale Stud’s exceptional resident sire, Per Incanto.
Furthermore, the 6-year-old mare illustrated the wonderful relationship Sledmere Stud enjoys with Little Avondale Stud, having been consigned by us on behalf of our very great friends and associates over in Masterton, New Zealand.
In total, Sledmere Stud graduates won no fewer than 22 races in August in a prolific start to the 2026-27 domestic racing season.