Shalaa 3YO Impressive at Randwick

Tara Madgwick - Saturday December 7

Shalaa (IRE) will have a runner at Sha Tin on Sunday when his class sprinter Recommendation flies the flag for Australia in the Group I HK International Sprint (1200m) and closer to home he had a brilliant winner at Randwick on Friday in Raikkonen.

Raikkonen wins by daylight at Randwick - image Bradley Photography

Trained by Bjorn Baker and ridden by Chad Schofield, Raikkonen blitzed his rivals to win the Benchmark 64 event over 1250m by four lengths and has now two of three starts earning just over $106,000 in prizemoney.

Advertisement

A half-brother to stakes-placed Crockett, Raikkonen was a $180,000 purchase for Darby Racing when consigned by Blake Ryan Racing to the 2023 Inglis Ready2Race Sale after being passed in when offered by Arrowfield Stud at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

Bred by Arrowfield Pastoral, Planette Thoroughbred, and Belford Productions, Raikkonen is the fourth winner from as many to race for the unraced Street Cry (IRE) mare Tuusula, a sister to Group I MRC One Thousand Guineas winner Stay With Me out of the 5-time Group I winner Miss Finland.

Tuusula has a yearling colt by St Mark's Basilica (FR) and missed last spring.

The Miss Finland family has many offshoots and has several entries in upcoming sales.

Click to see the pedigree links.

Advertisment

Race Result - James Squire (Bm64) 1250m

Randwick-Kensington Track: Good(4) Time: 1:12.48
1
Raikkonen
- 3g Shalaa (IRE) x Tuusula (AUS) (Street Cry (IRE))
Tnr: Bjorn Baker Rdr: C Schofield 60
2
4.1
Harry's Bar
- 4m Harry Angel (IRE) x Audacious Choice (AUS) (Redoute's Choice (AUS))
Tnr: Paul Murray Rdr: Zac Wadick 58
3
5.5
Siovy Dane
- 4m Sioux Nation (USA) x Dane Blazer (AUS) (Danehill (USA))
Tnr: Robert Quinn Rdr: Molly Bourke 53.5
4
6.9
One Last Shot
- 4g All Too Hard (AUS) x Able (AUS) (Northern Meteor (AUS))
Tnr: G Ryan & S Alexiou Rdr: Tom Sherry 61
5
8.2
Chevron
- 4g Spieth (NZ) x Great Gal (AUS) (All American (AUS))
Tnr: Ms K Buchanan Rdr: Anna Roper 59.5
6
9.3
Manwe
- 4g Kementari (AUS) x With Care (AUS) (Bernardini (USA))
Tnr: A J Cummings Rdr: Zac Lloyd 61
7
12.3
Dylan's Lad
- 4g Shalaa (IRE) x Dylan's Deeva (AUS) (Dylan Thomas (IRE))
Tnr: Mike Cattell Rdr: K S Latham 56.5
8
12.5
Red Hot Lizzie
- 4m Hellbent (AUS) x Anna Lizzie (AUS) (Mearas (AUS))
Tnr: C Maher Rdr: Tim Clark 59
More Reading...
Tattersalls December Foal Sale Day 1 -First Season Sires Impress
The four-day Tattersalls December Foal Sale got off to a solid start with two lots by first season sires DRAGON SYMBOL and SHAQUILLE jointly heading proceedings at 75,000 guineas and increases in the turnover, median, average and clearance rate from the equivalent day in 2024.
Juvenile Trial Watch – Warwick Farm
Just the two heats for juveniles at Warwick Farm on Tuesday morning and we saw winners by first season sire Home Affairs and the reigning champion sire Zoustar.
Sires With Winners - Monday November 24
Here is the full list of 15 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Cambridge Stud Mare Chasing Elusive Stakes Win
Cambridge Stud mare Jaarffi posted yet another stakes placing over the weekend, and trainer Lance Noble is hoping she can be rewarded for her consistency with an elusive black-type victory over summer.
Raikkonen Dominates from the Front
After stumbling out of the barriers, Raikkonen picked himself up to make all the running in the $100,000 Kia Ora Prague Maiden Plate (1200m) at Canterbury on Wednesday.
Third Season Judgement Day
When the oldest progeny of a stallion turn four there is nowhere left to hide so a look at the third season sire table at the end of spring can be an interesting one when we take it conjunction with what will be happening at the sales in 2026.
Foals and Yearlings Highlighted for Breednet Premium Stallions
With the foaling season drawing to an end for 2025 and the yearling sales season upon us Breednet have launched a new addition to our Premium stallion pages with a carousel arrangement now available to highlight foals born this spring or yearlings for the 2026 sales.
Jenny Graham Couldn't Be Happier with Captivant!
Captivant’s first crop son Vantorix made an immediate impact at Taree yesterday, producing a professional and dominant performance to win the National Thoroughbred Week Maiden Plate (1005m) by two and a half lengths on debut.
Cambridge Stud Present Something Special in 2026
The histories of Cambridge Stud and New Zealand Bloodstock are intrinsically linked and with 100 years of trade being celebrated at Karaka in 2026 it’s an occasion to be marked with something special.
425,000 Guinea Frankel Colt Tops Tattersalls December Yearlings
It's the start of a big fortnight of sales in the UK with Tattersalls December kicking off overnight with the yearling session to be followed later this week by Foals and then next week the stellar Mares will be offered, a sale that produced reigning Australian Horse of the Year Via Sistina (IRE) in 2023.