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New Stars Equimillion Results – Who are These Horses?

Tara Madgwick - Thursday October 10

The New Stars classes at Equimillion this year were a fresh innovation designed to showcase the next wave of equestrian horses emerging from the racetrack and to be eligible the contenders needed an official retirement date with Racing Australia that was within 12 months of the show, so who were the 112 horses and riders that rose to the challenge.

A challenge it surely is with the time frame being tight given the retraining of racehorses to the elite level at any discipline is a process counted in years rather than months.

Winner of the New Stars Led Thoroughbred class was 6YO Your Song gelding High Class, registered as Your Serve - image Facebook

Unlike the business of racing which is basically harnessing a horse’s natural flight response to gallop, learning to perform a different range of ridden tasks for the competition arena is complex and requires the horse to use his brain every bit as much as his body. All the cues and signals from the rider as to what is required and when have to be learned, remembered and reproduced when there may be any manner of distractions at play.

For that reason, everyone that got a horse to compete in these classes deserves an award, but we’ve gone through and pulled out the Top 5 for each discipline.

Eventing  EVA 80cm - 22 in the class

Young Scone horseman Charlie Richardson was one of the favourites to win this class on the former Annabel Neasham trained $11million earner Zaaki (GB), however the multiple G1 winner didn’t make it to the show after sustaining a pesky paddock injury, not that it mattered.

Charlie won on his other entry VH Wingman, who is by Pride of Dubai, the same sire as our newly crowned Australian Horse of the Year Pride of Jenni.

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Rider

Horse

Breeding

Racetrack

1

Charlie Richardson

VH Wingman

(Ballet Pride)

5g Pride of Dubai x Ballet Society

17 starts for 1 win

2

Jessica Grossman

Duchy of Cornwall

5g Hallowed Crown x Zutara

11 starts for 1 win

3

Sophie Fox

I Am Richenuff

6g Rich Enuff x Glory Be

19 starts for 3 wins

4

Skye McCullough

Frosted Dash

5g Frosted (USA) x Dosh Dash

16 starts for 2 thirds

5

Jess Somerfield

Advantage Point

5g Fozwedge x Advantage Receiver

1 start

Showjumping 80cm – 35 in the class

The world’s fastest horse when he was racing, Nature Strip jumped beautifully for his new owner Kathy O’Hara to finish 12th overall in a very competitive class, while his sprint rival Lost and Running was also making new fans in the jump arena with Aria Baker on board to also finish in the Top 20.

Rider

Horse

Breeding

Racetrack

1

Alison Ostenfeld

Optimizzer

8g Not a Single Doubt x Twizzler

40 starts for 4 wins

2

Zachary Thorne

Mighty Willie

6g American Pharoah (USA)

17 starts for 3 wins

3

Tinky Konechny

Hot n Handsome

(Tutelage)

8g Medaglia D’Oro (USA) x Harpers

39 starts for 8 wins

4

Charlie Richardson

Saturn Star

5g Zoustar x Saturn Rock

6 starts for 1 win

5

Carla Gerigk

Imposing Star

4g Zoustar x Imposing Lass

2 starts

Dressage –30 in the class

Rider

Horse

Breeding

Racetrack

1

Hazel Shannon

Just a Nickel AMC (Sizzle Nickel)

5m Sizzling x Del Lirio

8 starts

2

Sarah Farraway

Fireman

6g The Factor (USA) x Siren

21 starts for 1 win

3

Nicky Lyle

Birrie Hill

(Birriecart)

6g Husson (Arg) x Nivali

11 starts for 5 wins $233,800

4

Rebecca Dunn

Iama Princess

5m Super One x Mallaco Princess

7 starts

5

Leeann Olsen

Pantsman

4g Showtime x She Loves You

11 starts

Led Showhorse – 18 in the class

Rider

Horse

Breeding

Racetrack

1

Cassandra Schmidt

High Class

(Your Serve)

6g Your Song x Advantage Receiver

Unraced

2

Annika Kunert

Wicklow (IRE)

7g Twilight Son x Wake Up

SW - 24 starts for 6 wins inc Wagga Cup and $555,000

3

Jess Martin

Major Murphy

7g Press Statement x Night War

40 starts for 3 wins

4

Mandy Hamilton

Special Reward

9g Demerit x Special Kiseki

G3 winner- 34 starts for 10 wins and $1.3million

5

Paul Warhurst

Different Strokes

7g Hinchinbrook x Khepri

16 starts for 3 wins

Ridden Showhorse – 7 in the class

Rider

Horse

Breeding

Racetrack

1

Joshua Clarke

SLM Styles

(Steel Gaze)

5g Pierro x Gaze

7 starts

2

Adam Oliver

Hades

(Atheism)

4g Shalaa (IRE) x Sense and Reason

3 starts

3

Leanne Bordin

Harrison LD

(Apataki)

6g Darci Brahma x Polynesia

15 starts for 2 wins

4

Abbey Lonsdale

Costa Maya

9m High Chaparral (IRE) x Kesari

55 starts for 3 wins

5

Isabella Tyson

Scallopini

10g Snitzel x Rose of Mulan

G3 winner – 45 starts for 13 wins and $1.1million
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