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
Inglis Ready2Race Sale $180,000
Seller: Blake Ryan Racing, Sydney
Buyer: Darby Racing
Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale $0
Seller: Arrowfield Stud, Scone
Buyer: Passed in - $ 200,000
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
Inglis February (Late) Online Sale $18,000
Seller: Art Racing
Buyer: Paul Murray
MM Strawberry Hill Stud Unreserved Dispersal $20,000
Seller: Strawberry Hill Stud (Unreserved Dispersal Sale), Mount White, NSW
Buyer: Art Racing
MM Gold Coast National Yearling Sale $150,000
Seller: Attunga Stud, Scone, NSW (As Agent for Lustre Lodge)
Buyer: Louis Bloodstock
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...
Switzerland To Stand Alongside Fellow Coolmore Stud Stakes Winner Home Affairs at Jerry’s Plains
Following on from a phenomenal year in the sales ring, which saw first crop Home Affairs yearlings sell for an aggregate of more than $31 million, fellow Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Switzerland will join him in the stallion barn in 2025.
Who Do You Pick? Star Mares of Tomorrow
In chatting with our guest Jim Clarke this week on our Tara Talks Racing podcast we discussed a topic that will no doubt spark plenty of interest from our audience, if you could have one three year-old filly to take forward and race next season at four, who would it be?
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.
Kiwi Sprint Star Crocetti Arrives in Perth
Kiwi Group One-winning sprinter Crocetti has landed in Perth ahead of next week’s A$5 million The Quokka (1200m) at Ascot Racecourse.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday April 15
Here is the full list of 27 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Pedigree Watch – Euro 3YO - Classic Potential
Interesting racing overnight at Newmarket with a couple of Classic key lead up stakes races for three year-olds and the winners were both first time stakes-winners, one from the family of Sydney autumn carnival staying star Alalcance and the other a homebred Dubawi filly for Juddmonte.
FBAA Professional Development Day- Food for Thought
The Federation of Bloodstock Agents Australia’s third Continued Professional Development Day was again held at Randwick Racecourse on Tuesday 8th April 2025 and was hosted by MC Vin Cox.
Arrowfield Announce 2025 Fees
In the wake of his third Golden Slipper winner and his career-best yearling sale results, multiple Champion Sire Snitzel heads the 2025 Arrowfield stallion roster at an unchanged fee of $247,500, while Castelvecchio has earned a deserved fee increase.
One to Watch – Kembla
The juvenile maiden at Kembla on Tuesday was an intriguing affair featuring a number of well-bred and very expensive colts on debut, but the winner was a stylish first starter filly by Capitalist that broke 56 seconds for her debut win.
Belclare Seeking to Find Best Form Back in Australia
Dual Group One winner Belclare’s return home for a three-race campaign didn’t go to plan earlier this year, and now she is back on the other side of the Tasman to try and get her preparation back on track.