QE Stakes for Kiwi mare

12 December 2014

The $A4 million Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) will be Lucia Valentina’s prime target in the autumn.

Trainer Kris Lees has yet to confirm the path the New Zealand-owned and bred mare will take toward the Randwick feature.

The Gr.1 Turnbull Stakes winner and Gr.1 Caulfield Cup placegetter is back in pre-training for her autumn campaign and is now also a stablemate of this year’s Gr.1 Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist.

The Corner with Garry Chittick

No Corner last week; this week the Annual Thoroughbred Racing Awards night certainly deserves acknowledgment. It is the second of two nights of measurement of Thoroughbred achievements for the year, with the first focussing on our Breeders’ awards.

9 September 2026

Savabeel’s Group 1 daughter Belle Cheval retired

Belle Cheval, by champion sire Savabeel, enjoyed a stellar career: placing in the NZ 1000 Guineas, winning the Almanzor Trophy and Uncle Remus Stakes, finishing second in The Kiwi, then claiming Group 1 glory in Australia’s Vinery Stud Stakes before retiring to broodmare duties.