By Ben Dorries Viv Oldfield is Australia's largest private landowner with an estimated fortune of almost $800m.But decades ago, the Alice Springs cattleman and drilling rigger was training horses in Australia's Red Centre and Phillip Stokes was his star young jockey apprentice who helped to orchestrate some juicy betting plunges.Fast forward to 2026 and the great mates are trying to score Queensland's most prestigious race, with Stokes-trained and Oldfield-owned lightweight hope Regal Award who is well fancied at $7 in Saturday's Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm. Oldfield has holdings of more than 78,000 square kilometres, including 20 stations as well as outback pub The Innamincka Hotel where punters will gather to cheer Regal Award on Saturday.Oldfield, who raced 2013 Cox Plate winner Shamus Award with Sean Buckley, said if Regal Award surged to Stradbroke glory it would mark another fun and colourful chapter in his long association with Stokes."Phillip did his (jockey) apprenticeship with us and he had his 21st birthday in Alice Springs," Oldfield told Racenet.<img data-mce-id="__mcenew" src="https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/e031fcc6ff69855615f1dd905226388b" alt="Kidman Syndicate" width="640" height="360">Millionaire landholder Viv Oldfield. Picture: Chloe Erlich / The Australian "We used to do a bit of punting back then and he was a very good judge when we wanted to have a bet on something."We had a horse called Country Life and he said ‘I will win on that' and I said ‘it's no bloody good, Phillip'."Phillip said it wasn't a very good race and I said ‘yeah, but this horse is not much good'."He said to me to start the horse and let him ride him."Then he told me, ‘you back him and he will win'."He was about 8-1 because no punter would go near him, but sure enough he won and we got a bit of money out of it."Phillip knew what he was doing but when he talked me into backing that horse, I thought it was a dangerous ploy."<img data-mce-id="__mcenew" src="https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/0d09c7a4943c0ab354b4e3c08e642e8d" alt="Supplied Editorial Lachlan Neindorf steers Regal Award to victory in the Group 3 Fred Best Classic (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday, May 30, 2026 to secure a golden ticket into the Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Grant Peters, Trackside Photography" width="640" height="360">Lachlan Neindorf steers Regal Award to victory in the Group 3 Fred Best Classic (1400m) at Eagle Farm on May 30 to secure a golden ticket into the Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography Three-year-old Regal Award stormed into the Stradbroke field by winning the Group 3 Fred Best Classic which offered ballot exemption into the Stradbroke.With the featherweight of 49.5kg in the Stradbroke and with apprentice Luke Cartwright to ride, the exciting youngster will take some beating. "Going into the Fred Best, I thought that I would probably never get 20-1 about him again for a while so that was the day to have a bet," Oldfield said."I have got some guys who do form ratings for me and they say he is a really good horse."The horse is a bit quirky and he wants to over-race a bit sometimes, but once he clears the gates he looks like he is pretty good."So he's probably just got to come out and continue to do it."I own the mare, so, if we win on Saturday, she would go up in value again."I've had a lot of fun along the way in the racing game and I love it."I was only young when I started training but I won a couple of Darwin Cups as a trainer and a few Alice Springs Cups."<img data-mce-id="__mcenew" src="https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/046a698dea8cc1bc598fbbc9597587ee" alt="Melbourne Racing" width="640" height="360">Regal Award's trainer Phillip Stokes. Picture: Vince Caligiuri / Getty Images For Stokes' part, he cherishes the friendship with Oldfield and hopes it leads to another major race win.The duo shared in Group 1 spoils when Climbing Star saluted in the Robert Sangster Stakes in Adelaide in 2024."You wouldn't pick Viv as a very rich bloke, he's a lot of fun and very down to earth," Stokes chuckled."The Oldfields are big names in the Northern Territory, but talking to him, you wouldn't know it."He was a terrific trainer but in the end, he just got too busy to train and just did it as a hobby."

Phillip Stokes Racing

The Stradbroke shot that's been decades in the making

Phillip Stokes

<div style="color: rgb(55, 65, 81); text-align: left">By Michael McInally Highly rated punters’ headache Regal Award (Ole Kirk) became his young sire’s seventh stakes winner and capped a major day for trainer Phillip Stokes and jockey Lachie Neindorf in taking Saturday’s Fred Best Classic (Gr 3, 1400m) at Eagle Farm. </div><div style="color: rgb(55, 65, 81); text-align: left">A total of 35 minutes after claiming the Lord Mayor’s Cup (Gr 3, 1800m) with Athanatos (I Am Immortal), Stokes and Neindorf celebrated a race-to-race black type double when Regal Award overcame a wide gate to score a dominant win in the three-year-old set weights event.Jumping from barrier 14 of 18, the gelding was forced to travel three wide without cover just behind leading pair Grafterburners (Graff) and Skyhook (Written Tycoon), though the leaders set no records for pace.In the straight, Skyhook, who’d come from gate 18, and Regal Award pulled away to make it a two-horse race, and it was the latter who prevailed, coming clear in the end to score by 1.06 lengths.Ryan and Alexiou’s Skyhook held second at $6, while Bjorn Baker’s smart filly Within The Law (Lucky Vega) was the best of the chasers, making good ground from near last on the turn to run a 1.75-length third at $13. The $5 favourite Brave Monarch (Brave Smash) finished fourth. <div style="color: rgb(55, 65, 81); text-align: left">Regal Award started at $18 - and drifted.Withdrawn from Inglis Easter by his renowned breeder, Northern Territory pastoralist Viv Oldfield, and gelded before he’d raced, Regal Award looked an extremely bright prospect last spring.After a 2.25-length Sandown win at his third outing was followed two runs later by a thumping 7.5-length victory over 1600 metres at Caulfield, he went into Flemington’s Carbine Club Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) as a $1.90 favourite.But his bubble burst somewhat when he ran a well-beaten second that day, and what followed in the autumn had been a battle to restore his reputation.After a seventh at $11 in Rosehill’s unsuitably short Darby Munro Stakes (Listed, 1200m), he was backed in to $1.90 in Randwick’s South Pacific Classic (Listed, 1400m) but could manage only third.He then was a $2.70 favourite for the Hawkesbury Guineas (Gr 3, 1400m) but came fifth.</div><blockquote><div style="color: rgb(216, 114, 173)">“</div>He's done well since he's been here and it looks like we’ve got to keep him here for another two weeks nowPhillip Stokes</blockquote><div style="color: rgb(55, 65, 81); text-align: left">Thus punters had largely sacked him by Saturday but - with a tongue tie removed - he responded by showing his full ability, confirming a shot at the $3 million Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m) at the same course in a fortnight.“We’ve always known this horse had a lot of ability, but he’s been very frustrating and hard to train, so full credit to the team,” Stokes said.“He's done well since he's been here and it looks like we’ve got to keep him here for another two weeks now.“We're feeling good. His work's been really good, the horse is thriving up here, and it was just great for him to bring his A-Grade game.“Let's hope he pulls up well but we’ll probably have to find another rider because the 49.5 kilos, Lachie won’t ride that [in the Stradbroke].“It’s very rewarding. The owners are very good friends of mine. Viv Oldfield and I grew up as good friends in Alice Springs.”Beaming after his double, Neindorf was able to joke about Regal Award’s roguish ways.“It’s a great training effort,” he said. “This horse, he's difficult - a bit like me when I was about ten to 15 - very difficult.“But he's maturing slowly but surely, and once again, like I said with the last fellow [Athanatos], Phil's taking his time and he's travelled him around, and as a result of that, he's mentally calmed down a lot more and matured, and he's a horse I know so well.”He added: “I was able to find a beautiful rhythm with him and just approaching the 700 he wanted to get a little bit keen.“I had to just flush him out three wide because I know he's got that much stamina this horse and that's his best asset.”Regarding not being able to make the gelding’s Stradbroke weight, Neindorf said: “I might be strapping. I'll give him a good luck pat and tell him to behave himself whoever does ride. But regardless, I'll be cheering him.”Regal Award is the first foal of triple Melbourne Group 3 winner Sovereign Award, whose Rosemont Stud sire Shamus Award (Snitzel) is co-owned by Oldfield.The mare’s colt by Anamoe (Street Boss) was bought by Stokes at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $350,000. She now has a weanling filly by the same sire, but missed on a return to Ole Kirk last spring.Last season’s champion first season sire Ole Kirk, standing at Vinery Stud this spring for $110,000 (inc GST), up from $99,000, has seven stakes winners from 97 runners at 7.22 per cent, and currently sits fifth on the second season sires’ table.</div></div>

Stradbroke to follow for Regal Award after Fred Best success

<h1 style="text-align: left; font-weight: bold" level="1">Arrowfield Swoop on $1.6Million Stretan Angel</h1>Tara Madgwick - Tuesday May 26 Top class Harry Angel (IRE) mare Stretan Angel has done everything bar win an actual Group I race, but with five top four finishes in elite races, she’s morally a G1 winner and Arrowfield Stud recognized her achievements when paying $1.6million for her at the Magic Millions National Sale on Tuesday.<img data-mce-id="__mcenew" src="https://breednet.blob.core.windows.net/breednet/news/horse/600/breednet-images-stretan-angel-danehill-25419.jpg" alt="Stretan Angel won the G2 VRC Danehill Stakes - image Grant Courtney ">Stretan Angel won the G2 VRC Danehill Stakes - image Grant CourtneyConsigned in the Yarraman Park draft for her big ownership group, Stretan Angel has been a star for the Phillip Stokes stable since winning the Listed SAJC Dequetteville Stakes at just her second start as a juvenile.She has gone on to win over $1.3million with a highlight win in the Group I VRC Danehill Stakes.Stretan Angel was a savvy $64,000 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale purchase from Raheen Stud for Phillip Stokes/Rick Connolly Bloodstock and her pedigree has taken a big upswing this year.<img data-mce-id="__mcenew" src="https://breednet.blob.core.windows.net/breednet/news/horse/600/breednet-images-sretan-ruler-silver-slipper-29775.jpg" alt="G2 Silver Slipper winner Stretan Ruler is a half-sister to Stretan Angel - image Bradleyphotos.com.au ">G2 Silver Slipper winner Stretan Ruler is a half-sister to Stretan Angel - image <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Bradleyphotos.com.au">Bradleyphotos.com.au</a>Her two year-old half-brother is brilliant colt Stretan Ruler, who won the Group II ATC Silver Slipper and her yearling full brother was the second highest priced youngster at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale this year when selling for $540,000.There is more to come from Sretan as she had a colt by Harry Angel (IRE) last spring and is now in foal to City of Troy (USA).A rare commodity being completely free of Danehill blood, Stretan Angel will have plenty of options at Arrowfield Stud with The Autumn Sun an obvious choice.“I liked everything about her. I liked the pedigree. I like the way she looked. I had a good look at her, and I liked her performance,” said Arrowfield Stud boss, John Messara.“A three-times Group 1 placed in best races - the Goodwood, the Newmarket, Lightning Stakes - those sort of races.“She’ll suit our horse, The Autumn Sun, perfectly. We’re buying mares to suit the horses that we’ve got and that mare we bought for that purpose.“I am a big believer in The Autumn Sun. You can see what he has done. He’s got a very good strike rate and he can throw a champion. I think he’s had five or six group one winners already.“I compared him with Snitzel at the same age and he’s ahead of Snitzel at the same age. Snitzel was always a slow starter, but I think there is much to come from The Autumn Sun.”<div style="text-align: left"></div><div style="text-align: left"></div><div style="text-align: left"></div><div style="text-align: left"></div><div style="text-align: left"></div>

Arrowfield Swoop on $1.6Million Stretan Angel

<div class="author">Dane Squance - Saturday May 9</div>
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Successful at G3 level around this time last year in the SAJC Chairman&rsquo;s Stakes (2000m), the Phillip Stokes trained I Am Immortal gelding Athanatos has been winless since but returned to form with a barnstorming victory in the $500,000 The Coast 3&amp;4YO Quality (1600m) at Gosford on Saturday.
With the Andrew Adkins trained race favourite Sarrismo going forward to take up the running with Michael Vella&rsquo;s 150/1 outsider Cosmeena on his outside, jockey Kerrin McEvoy had Athanatos tracking along in third, getting the run of the race.
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Athanatos tooks his earnings past $860,000 by winning the $500,000 The Coast at Gosford - Image Bradley Photos
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As the Tom Charlton trained Sarrismo kicked strongly on the turn, it was a question of had jockey Andrew Adkins used too much petrol during the race or could the son of I Am Invincible hold on to record his first black type victory.
Cosmeena started to weaken and Athanatos came to the outside of Sarrismo, pulling past him before racing away to score by a tick over a length.
Holding on for second, Sarrismo held a narrow margin over the Matt Laurie trained Victorian visitor Grand Omaha who worked home well for third. 
Having not ridden the gelding since fourth in the G1 Toorak Handicap during the spring, Kerrin McEvoy was glad to be back aboard the 4yo.
&ldquo;I was pretty confident when I got the booking and looked at his runs,&rdquo; McEvoy said.
&ldquo;I gave 'Stokesy' (trainer Phillip Stokes) a call yesterday and he backed it up. He said, 'he's in good form'.
&ldquo;I got confidence out of the fact the last time he went to the mile was in the Toorak, and as we know it's a competitive handicap, a Group One, and he wasn't beaten far.&rdquo;
At Morphettville where he saw&nbsp;<a href="https://www.breednet.com.au/news/47842/fourth-black-type-win-for-all-too-hard%E2%80%99s-arran-bay">Arran Bay win the G3 Cummings Stakes</a>, Stokes indicated that connections had highlighted The Coast as a good pointer to his chances of contesting the Five Diamonds (1800m) in Sydney later this year.
&ldquo;Next prep we're going to aim up for that," Stokes said.
&ldquo;This was a big prizemoney race, and the owners will be wrapped.
&ldquo;I'm getting a bit of a handle on Sydney now. It's something we want to explore more and have more of a presence up there, so it's important to identify horses to send up.
&ldquo;He might be a horse we now have to look at Brisbane with.&rdquo;
With four wins and 14 placed efforts from 23 starts, the win of Athanatos took his earnings to $863,850.
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Athanatos is one of two stakes winners for Swettenham Stud's I Am Immortal
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Bred by Esker Lodge and Partners, Athanatos is the best of three winners from four to the races out of the O'Reilly mare Mumbeilly.
Mumbeilly was retired from stud duties in 20024 with her final foal being the current&nbsp;unraced two-year-old filly by Newgate Farm&rsquo;s Tiger Of Malay named Kejayaan.
One of six stakes performers for I Am Invincible&rsquo;s Listed Blue Diamond Preview (C&amp;G) and G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (C&amp;G) winner, the Swettenham Stud based I Am Immortal will stand&nbsp;the upcoming season at a fee of $8,800 (inc. GST).
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Lucrative Pay Day as Athanatos Wins $500,000 The Coast

<div class="author">Dane Squance - Saturday May 9</div>
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The Phillip Stokes-trained Arran Bay is in outstanding form with the 7yo son of All Too Hard winning the $220,000 G3 SAJC Cumming Stakes (1600m) at Morphettville on Saturday, his third black type win from his last four starts, and fourth overall.
Short in the betting off the back of his quality form of late, jockey Zac Lloyd took the gelding forward where he settled in second position on the outside of Chris Bieg&rsquo;s Super Lad.
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Third stakes victory from the last four starts for All Too Hard's Arran Bay - Image Grant Courtney
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Pulling himself to the lead rounding the home turn, Arran Bay was quickly joined by Chicago Storm, who at one stage looked as if he got his head in front with 300m to run.
As the pair looked as if they would fight it out, the Richard and Chantelle Jolly trained Pudding commenced his run down the outside, passing the weakening Chicago Storm and running Arran Bay to a head margin on the line to finish second. 
Winning trainer Phillip Stokes was very appreciative of the support his stable had from the owners/breeders of Arran Bay.
&ldquo;He's a very special horse to the stable,&rdquo; enthused Stokes. &ldquo;Great today for Alan Jackson to be here on course with Bernard, he's been a big supporter of our stable for a long time and this will mean a lot to him, because before I trained for him, his trainer was Bart Cummings. So he really wanted to win his race.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He's getting up there in the rating points, but you know, he's in a rich vein of form and the team have done a great job with him. He just goes back to our farm now and we'll just try and find another race if he pulls up well.
&ldquo;He's pretty sound, we don't have to do a lot with him. Maybe we should have put those blinkers on him a bit earlier.
&ldquo;He's a good miler, isn't he, so maybe a Toorak (could be a Spring target).
The first leg of a stakes double for Zac Lloyd, the NSW based jockey was very thankful of the connections who gave him the ride.
&ldquo;It was actually funny, before that race, Pikey in the room said, 'you're going to let one go today.' So it was quite ironic that I ended up beating him. It's been a bit frustrating so far, so hopefully I can get the momentum going for the biggies.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Very thankful to get a ride on him. Obviously, he's a marvel, you can say, he's won a million over a million dollars and just been extremely well placed.
&ldquo;He's a very high-rated horse, but we got in today, 56 and a half (kilograms), on the weights you thought he couldn't lose, but racing's done some weird things, but he's a pleasure to ride, and a big thanks to Philip for allowing me to ride him."
&ldquo;It was very similar to his last time when Lachy (Neindorf) won on him so I thought I had her (Rochelle Milnes, Chicago Storm) covered when she put the head on me because it was just starting to, we didn't really go quick early for the first half.
&ldquo;So that's why I tried to put the pressure on the leader early, but he compounded, so it sort of left him in front and I felt he was waiting for a horse to test him."
&ldquo;Then he fought that horse off and then the one late came wide, which he couldn't really see. So yeah, he felt like he was not going to let anything go past me, that's for sure.&rdquo;
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<div class="caption none"><img src="https://breednet.blob.core.windows.net/breednet/news/sire/600/breednet-images-all-too-hard-16572.jpg" alt="Arran Bay is one of 33 stakes winners for Vinery Stud's All Too Hard" />
Arran Bay is one of 33 stakes winners for Vinery Stud's All Too Hard
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Taking his earnings past $1m from 12 wins and 13 placed efforts from 45 starts, the Dr A Jackson-bred Arran Bay, a half to Listed VRC Poseidon Stakes winner One For One, is one of four winners from four to the races out of the Canny Lad mare Stolen Girlfriend, a half-sister to G3 winner Okahu Bay, the dam of the G2 winner Pareanui Bay.
From the family of Champion Sprinter, Miler &amp; Older Female Miler in NZ Calveen and Champion South African 2YO Eftikaa, Arran Bay is the final foal of Stolen Girlfriend who unfortunately passed away six months after foaling him.
Arran Bay is one of 33 stakes winners for Vinery Stud&rsquo;s All Too Hard who will stand the upcoming breeding season at a fee of $27,500 (inc. GST).
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Fourth Black Type Win For All Too Hard’s Arran Bay

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Karl Patterson
ANZ News
 New Zealand import Wigmore (Sweynesse) has been in work on both sides of the Tasman for six months but that didn&rsquo;t stop him motoring home for a narrow victory in the South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) at Morphettville on Saturday.
Wigmore was purchased by OTI director Terry Henderson from clients of trainer Caley Myers after finishing fourth to Road To Paris (Circus Maximus) in the New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) at Ellerslie in March. 
&ldquo;Terry came up and told me he had 25 per cent left so I put a few mates in which makes this a massive result,&rdquo; trainer Phillip Stokes said after the stable newcomer nailed VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Strictly Business (Grunt) in a $41 blow-out for punters.
Stokes was claiming back-to-back wins in the Classic following Femminile (Dundeel) who won with Lachie Neindorf aboard 12 months ago. Neindorf missed the ride this year but his dad Steve has a share in Wigmore.
&ldquo;We just brought him along slowly. He ran midfield first-up for us in the Chairman's Stakes on Anzac Day and did an amazing job to win today,&rdquo; Stokes said.&nbsp; 
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&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t even need a jump-out being such a clean-winded horse. He&rsquo;s done really well in the last week and he&rsquo;s a natural stayer. Who knows? In time we could have a Melbourne Cup horse.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a bit of luck with these types of horses like Daqiansweet Junior who was also from New Zealand. They can leave it on the track if you overtrain them.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
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&ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting up there now with nine Group 1 wins but don&rsquo;t ask me what we do with him next. There&rsquo;s the Queensland Derby but I&rsquo;m not sure if I want to go that way.&rdquo;
Stand-in jockey Teo Nugent rode a perfect race on the Soft 7 surface in Adelaide.&nbsp; 
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been trained to the minute and felt super when I was legged up,&rdquo; the winning rider said.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a typical Kiwi and I switched off the heels of Kaye Jay into the straight and was confident bringing him down the middle of the track. He was only getting warm in the final stages and it took me a while to pull up.
"It's my second Group 1 and it&rsquo;s been a few years between drinks but it's fitting to get one for Phil. I promised him when I was about 12 that I was going to be his apprentice.&rdquo; Wigmore's progression through sales rings, is almost as impressive as his rapid rise to become a Group 1 winner at just his eighth start. Originally offered online as a weanling in 2023 on Gavelhouse.com by Hallmark Stud, Wigmore was purchased by Ed Stapleton and Dylan Ralph of Ralph Thoroughbreds for just $1700. 
The pinhook paid dividends, with the colt being resold out of Book 2 of the 2024 NZB Karaka Sale for $25,000 to Wanganui trainer Kevin Myers. Entering the stable of Caley Myers, Wigmore didn&rsquo;t take long to show potential, winning at his third outing in January, with his rapid rise culminating for Myers with a fourth in the NZ Derby in March. This attracted the attention of OTI Racing and the gelding changed hands yet again, this time privately, resulting in a change of colours and country, and resulting in yesterday&rsquo;s Group 1 victory.
He was bred by Karlene Murdoch and owns a stout pedigree as a half-brother to New Zealand Cup (Gr 3, 3200m) winner Mondorani (Burgundy). 
Further down the page, his third-dam Arborea (Imperial Prince) was one of the best fillies of her generation at three winning the VRC Oaks, Wakeful Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) and One Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) in the spring of 1993.
Wigmore&rsquo;s sire Sweynesse (Lonhro) stands at Novara Park in Cambridge and he&rsquo;s an all-purpose stallion, siring Champion Hong Kong Sprinter Lucky Sweynesse through to Group-winning stayers Only Words, Trust In You and Special Swey.
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Kiwi-breds land another Classic as Wigmore wins South Australian Derby

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<figcaption class="mt-2.5 text-sm text-gray-700">Verzain (Credit: Makoto Kaneko)</figcaption>
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Verzain (2 f Zousain &ndash; Written Verse by Written Tycoon) continued her rapid rise through the juvenile ranks when landing Saturday&rsquo;s Breeders&rsquo; Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Morphettville.
The Phillip Stokes-trained filly arrived off a win in the Without Fear Stakes (Listed, 1050m) and made it back-to-back black-type victories with a professional performance under a tactful ride by Harry Coffey.
Despite being a touch restless pre-race, she settled just behind the speed before quickening strongly to take control inside the final furlong and draw clear to score by 1.5 lengths over Wonderful Sky (Ole Kirk), with Vandaross (Anders) the same margin further back in third.
&ldquo;Full credit to the team. She&rsquo;s a tough little filly,&rdquo; Stokes said. &ldquo;She put on a bit of a show before the race, but once she got out there she did everything right. There was good speed which helped her run the 1200 metres strongly and she&rsquo;s done a good job this preparation.
&ldquo;She's a valuable filly now with a couple of stakes wins, so we'll have to think about what we do next. There is another stakes race in a couple of weeks, but she&rsquo;s been in work for a while, so she'd want to be pulling up well.&rdquo;
A $40,000 purchase from the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale Book 2 by Mick Malone Bloodstock, Verzain has already more than recouped her purchase price, with earnings now exceeding $200,000 from just four starts.
Bred by Jen Campin Bloodstock, she is the first foal from the placed Written Tycoon (Iglesia) mare Written Verse and hails from the family of dual Group 1 winner and champion sire Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt).
Written Verse has since produced a yearling colt by In The Congo (Snitzel) and a colt by Wyndspelle (Iffraaj) last spring.

Zousain filly Verzain lands Breeders Stakes

Buy of the Weekend: Verzain adds valuable black type to her pedigree

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<h1>Marree To the Million-Dollar Moment: Phillip Stokes and a Lifetime with Horses</h1>
From cattle camps and School of the Air to Taiki Shuttle, Bill Mott and a family business split between Pakenham and Adelaide, Phillip Stokes&rsquo; journey has been anything but ordinary.
17 March, 2026&nbsp;Adam Pengilly</div>
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<div class="desktop"><img class="attachment-Full size-Full wp-post-image" src="https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-illo.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" srcset="https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-illo.jpg 1920w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-illo-300x200.jpg 300w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-illo-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-illo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-illo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-illo-500x333.jpg 500w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-illo-1895x1263.jpg 1895w" alt="Trainer Phillip Stokes and Japanese star Taiki Shuttle" height="1280" />TAIKI SHUTTLE, PHILLIP STOKES / Illustration by Idol Horse</div>
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If you were to look at a map of Australia, put a blindfold on and then try to put a dot where you thought the centre of the big, brown country was, there&rsquo;s a chance you wouldn&rsquo;t be far from a place called Marree.
It&rsquo;s so remote, the nearest town with services is a four-hour drive away. Residents would head across the outback to Birdsville and stock up on supplies, load their cellars, and know they wouldn&rsquo;t be back for months.
Marree was an old railway town, but it&rsquo;s been a long time since a train rattled through the dust.
At last count, its population was just 65, maybe double on Friday nights. The hotel in Marree would host the good folk who run cattle stations in the vast, red desert in Australia&rsquo;s heart. A plane would fly into town once a week &hellip; to deliver the mail.
They&rsquo;re far too humble to name landmarks or put up statues of famous townspeople, but it&rsquo;s fair to say few from Marree have travelled afar or achieved as much as Phillip Stokes, who was &ldquo;riding horses as soon as he could walk&rdquo; while his dad looked after some of the most isolated stations in Australia.
Given that background, it isn&rsquo;t surprising that Stokes is an unassuming type, someone who grew up doing his schooling via radio and comfortable in his own company, and with nature. But he&rsquo;s also a fascinating case study in how horse racing can take you from the middle of nowhere to grand places: a stopover in France, a decade in Japan where he met his wife, New York and the finishing school of Bill Mott.
And all the way back home again, where he&rsquo;s now one of the most astute trainers in Australia at the helm of a family business with wife Ayumi and sons Tommy and Kerrin &ndash; who both represented Australia in under-age soccer &ndash; working by his side.
&ldquo;I think what&rsquo;s driven me more is both the boys are so interested in the business,&rdquo; Stokes says. &ldquo;If they weren&rsquo;t as interested in it, I probably wouldn&rsquo;t be as interested myself because it&rsquo;s bloody hard work.&rdquo;
Stokes&rsquo; introduction to horses was almost out of necessity, rather than desire. His father Ron was a colt breaker who taught him everything he needed to know. In his childhood, Stokes would be gone for weeks on end at cattle camps.
&ldquo;It was a completely different lifestyle,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We had to use horses for work, not recreation.&rdquo;
It probably wouldn&rsquo;t have been much of a surprise when by the age of 15, Stokes was done with his School of the Air education &ndash; a way for children in remote communities to learn via the radio &ndash; and set his sights on becoming an apprentice jockey.
His dad had an association with an Adelaide trainer, Joe Hall, the father of Melbourne Cup winner and Hong Kong champion conditioner David Hall. Joe Hall had spent 17 years with Bart Cummings, so if Stokes couldn&rsquo;t learn from him, who could he learn from?
But like most kids, he found his apprenticeship tough. He worked hard, but rides were scarce. In those days, no matter how few rides you had, once you turned 21, the apprenticeship finished. No extensions.
Stokes tried his luck with an Alice Springs trainer by the name of Viv Oldfield, who later became one of the biggest landowners in Australia with sprawling cattle stations and drilling rigs. Many were bought from Gina Rinehart, an Australian billionaire and one of the country&rsquo;s richest people. Stokes loved his time with Oldfield, riding up to Darwin, but by the end of his apprenticeship, his weight was ballooning and his mind was curious.
He wanted to be a trainer, but thought it would be better to do it at the age of 30 &ndash; not 20. So, he went to France and Chantilly.
&ldquo;It was a bit different to the Northern Territory, I can tell you,&rdquo; Stokes laughs.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img class="wp-image-35726" src="https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-family-1024x576.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-family-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-family-300x169.jpg 300w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-family-768x432.jpg 768w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-family-500x281.jpg 500w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Stokes-family.jpg 1280w" alt="Phillip Stokes with wife Ayumi and sons Tommy and Kerrin" height="576" />
<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">PHILLIP, AYUMI, TOMMY &amp; KERRIN STOKES / 2011 // Photo supplied</figcaption>
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There&rsquo;s a lot of John Hammond and French influence in what Stokes has done during his career, but there&rsquo;s no doubt Japan has the most profound impact on him, both professionally and personally.
Stokes spent most of his time working at Taiki Farm, a global powerhouse back in the 1990s, and a place where Stokes devoted himself to horses and learning the language. He did both, but there was one horse which took him to places he never thought possible: Taiki Shuttle.
The chestnut with a white star on his forehead was a cult hero of his time, a two-time Mile Championship winner and Yasuda Kinen hero who went to France and won the Prix Jacques Le Marois. He was the Japanese Horse of the Year in 1998. By the following year, he was in the JRA Hall of Fame.
Stokes was the one closest to him.
&ldquo;I remember the first morning he came to us from Ireland (after being broken in),&rdquo; Stokes recalls. &ldquo;He had this bad habit of rearing up. He came out on two legs and I gave him a good rev up and brought him into line, but he bolted on me.
&ldquo;At the end of the gallop we were on, there was a big cliff. I just missed it. Thank God we didn&rsquo;t go over that because that would have been the horse done before we even started. He never did it again.
&ldquo;He was a beautiful mover, but he had quite bad feet. That didn&rsquo;t stop him. He used to float over the ground.
&ldquo;For me, I just thought I wanted to do something completely different, and you could even see back then, Japan was going to be great. They were doing good things in their breeding industry. You just had a feeling. Now, they&rsquo;re the world leaders.&rdquo;
After meeting Ayumi and having son Tommy born in Japan, did Stokes consider staying?
&ldquo;I could have almost stayed there,&rdquo; Stokes says. &ldquo;One of the Japanese trainers said, &lsquo;maybe sit the trainer&rsquo;s licence to get into the JRA.&rsquo;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty sure I&rsquo;m still the only foreigner to sit the JRA test (as a trainer).
&ldquo;Basically, to pass it you&rsquo;d want to be a Year 12 A grade student, which I wasn&rsquo;t even in English. The actual test was nothing to do with horse racing, but more to do with your academic skills.
&ldquo;But not many people can say they&rsquo;ve done that test.&rdquo;
His mind still inquisitive and with a desire only building to one day be a trainer in his own right, Stokes also travelled to the United States to watch Hall of Famer Bill Mott up close. &ldquo;That was incredible to see too, the American way of racing,&rdquo; Stokes says.
But by now in his 30s and with Tommy readying for schooling, Stokes finally plucked up the courage to move back to Australia and start his own training business. He went straight to Adelaide where he bought some boxes at Morphettville. He always buys, not rents, and the same stables are still in the family to this day. But there were few horses to fill the boxes, apart from the ones his dad gave him.
&ldquo;Back in 2000, I&rsquo;d looked after multiple Group 1 horses, but that counted for nothing,&rdquo; Stokes says. &ldquo;I had to get horses. I started with nothing. I twiddled around with a few horses and worked on our strike rate.&rdquo;
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img class="wp-image-35732" src="https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Taiki-Shuttle-farm-ARR-1024x683.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Taiki-Shuttle-farm-ARR-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Taiki-Shuttle-farm-ARR-300x200.jpg 300w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Taiki-Shuttle-farm-ARR-768x512.jpg 768w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Taiki-Shuttle-farm-ARR-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Taiki-Shuttle-farm-ARR-500x333.jpg 500w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Taiki-Shuttle-farm-ARR-1895x1263.jpg 1895w, https://idolhorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Taiki-Shuttle-farm-ARR.jpg 1920w" alt="Japanese star Taiki Shuttle" height="683" />
<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">TAIKI SHUTTLE / Photo supplied</figcaption>
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Some train for scale, particularly in the modern era of mega stables swallowing up field sizes and the associated prize money, but Stokes has always been different. He&rsquo;s wanted small to medium- sized teams, preferring to wait for the right races, and getting noticed by his strike rate (winners to runners ratio). It worked.
One of Australia&rsquo;s leading studmasters, John Messara, took notice and started supporting him as Stokes started climbing the Adelaide trainers&rsquo; premiership ladder with his trademark broad brim hat.
For years, he was a favourite of punters, particularly when he crossed the state border for wildly successful raids on the Melbourne spring carnival. By 2019, he&rsquo;d outgrown Adelaide after multiple trainers&rsquo; premierships, and wanted a permanent base at Pakenham, on the outskirts of the city. He found a parcel of land &ndash; which he bought, not rented &ndash; and developed private training tracks and a swimming pool for a maximum of 50 horses. He came across with just six, but now the &lsquo;house full&rsquo; sign is up.
Crucially, Tommy and Kerrin have drifted away from promising soccer careers &ndash; Kerrin was a member of the Melbourne City side which won premierships and a grand final in Australia&rsquo;s elite A-League &ndash; to help the business. Tommy is with his dad at Pakenham, Kerrin running the Adelaide operation.
On Saturday, Stokes has the chance to score the biggest win of his career when he saddles up Stretan Ruler in the A$5 million Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens. The colt won the Silver Slipper and was a fast-closing second to Paradoxium in the Todman Stakes, a fortnight before the world&rsquo;s richest two-year-old race, which can make or break a future stallion career and even the lives of those who prepare them.
The mounting yard in the minutes before the Golden Slipper is a fascinating exercise in people watching. But few will be as calm as Stokes, who might be the only one in the middle of the commotion who can legitimately tell you what it&rsquo;s like in the red centre of Australia.
&ldquo;It will be a long way from Marree &ndash; put it that way,&rdquo; he says.
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Marree To the Million-Dollar Moment: Phillip Stokes and A Lifetime With Horses

Tony Santic has won much bigger races, but Big Wigs&rsquo; victory in Saturday&rsquo;s The TBV VOBIS Platinum Showdown (1200m) at Caulfield reduced the prominent owner to tears.
It&rsquo;s been a tough period for the successful tuna fisherman, his wife and the team at MAKYBE (the Santic-owned thoroughbred stud farm in Gnarwarre, on Victoria&rsquo;s Surf Coast, west of Geelong).
Two weeks ago, they lost their great mare Makybe Diva, who died aged 27 after a short battle with colic.
The Diva raced 36 times, winning 15 races and placing on seven occasions. She won seven Group 1s, including three Melbourne Cups, a Cox Plate, and a BMW, amassing $14.5 in prizemoney.
&ldquo;This means a lot, especially after losing the mare,&rdquo; an emotional Santic told Racing.com.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s special to me because it brings back a lot of memories. Good memories.
&ldquo;My partner&rsquo;s done it pretty tough. We all miss her.&rdquo; The Phillip Stokes-trained Big Wigs was ridden to victory by Lachlan Neindorf, and the in-form jockey was wearing the Santic silks made famous by Makybe Diva.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really special. Seeing the horse win in those colours, yeah, it&rsquo;s special,&rdquo; Santic added.
Stokes said it was a &ldquo;massive thrill&rdquo; to win a race for Santic, especially in those silks.
&ldquo;It means a lot to have these colours aboard. Mr Santic is here on course today and he&rsquo;s brought a whole heap of owners with him,&rdquo; Stokes remarked.
&ldquo;What a thrill.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a massive prize money race. It&rsquo;s a race we targeted for a fairly long time. He&rsquo;s been to Adelaide, he&rsquo;s come back, we thought he&rsquo;d be winning at Ballarat but he ran into a smart one, but he&rsquo;s been able to hold himself nicely here and Lachie summed it up perfectly.&rdquo;
A homebred for Makybe Racing and Breeding, Big Wigs is by Gold Standard from the Santic-owned Nooks And Crannies &ndash; a mare he paid just $20,000 for at the Inglis 2020 June (early) Online Sale.
A half-brother to the Group 2 placegetter Cavity Bay, Big Wigs&rsquo; win for the first of his fledgling career. He now boasts prize money of $608,000.
Race favourite Miss Chanel finished a close second, while Knurl was third. Trent&nbsp;Masenhelder

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