Who are we highlighting this week? - Analysis of the G1 winning 3YO’s for last season has made us realise how many horses on this list took giant strides from two to three, so we are looking into the crystal ball to find some juveniles we believe could end this season as G1 performers if not G1 winners.
Click here for the story on 3YO G1 winners for 2024/2025.
Supersire Wootton Bassett’s first Aussie bred 3YOs are about to launch into all the Spring action, and among his most promising contenders is exciting filly Agarwood.
There's already a buzz around this stunning half sister to last season's G2 Light Fingers placed Lilac (Justify), who went to the paddock on a high after winning the G3 HB Carr Stakes.
The two are daughters of the G2 placed Fastnet Rock daughter Paulownia, a full sister to champion sprinter and G1 sire Foxwedge.
Agarwood was a $420,000 buy for Gai Waterhouse / Adrian Bott and Kestrel Thoroughbreds at the 2024 Inglis Easter Sale from the Coolmore draft.
She's a standout on type and quality, and proved she’s got the motor to match her looks with two undefeated appearances in May. In the second of these the filly led and trounced some promising colts in a facile victory over 1200m at Randwick.
Agarwood has trialled twice since, barely raising a sweat in winning both by huge margins. This is a talent!
Connections have signalled the intention to aim their bright prospect at the prestigious Darley Princess Series and she is also high in the market for the G1 VRC Oaks later in the spring.
Agarwood certainly has the pedigree to mix it with the best of her generation.
Her sire Wootton Basset is producing a steady stream of topliners, and one of the best in 2025/6 has been his champion filly Whirl.
Agarwood’s pedigree taps into many of the genetic affinities which produced Whirl and other G1 winning daughters of the remarkable son of Iffraaj, as we will see!
Agarwood's damsire Fastnet Rock is a global leader by any and all measures. Recently retired from stud duty, “The Rock” can rest proudly on rare laurels.
Of the 52 sons of the great Danehill to have gone to stud and sired a G1 winner, none has had more than Fastnet Rock, and his daughters are peerless broodmares in both hemispheres.
Agarwood is the third foal from his daughter Paulownia, and Lilac was her second and she is due to foal to Justify again after travelling to Kentucky last year, for a full sibling to Lilac.
The second dam of Agarwood is the US import Forest Native, a stakes placed juvenile by the dual G3 winning Storm Cat son Forest Wildcat.
Forest Wildcat was an extremely fast short course specialist, and the four-time stakes winner became a successful sire.
English champion and sire Var, G1 winning mare Forest Secrets were among his best progeny.
Forest Wildcat is a member of the famed Chelandry family. His line comes through Popingaol - from whom descend Forty Niner, Shadeed, Dignitas, Knightly Manner and Bellotto - while her imported full brother Magpie became a hugely influential sire in Australia.
Fastnet Rock was a familiar suitor of Agarwood's grand dam Forest Native.
Her one colt from the mating Foxwedge was a brilliant performer and is a somewhat under rated sire with 5 individual G1 winners, all but one of them being fillies.
Forest Native foaled a number of full sisters to Foxwedge and Paulownia.
She's A Fox won the ATC Rosebud and is at stud.
She's A Wildcat was unraced. She is the dam of Untamed (hk Super Buddy) by Pierro, who won the Fernhill Stakes at two, and the spectacular filly She's An Artist (Trapeze Artist) - already stakes placed from only three starts, this girl has a cult following for her uncanny resemblance to a beloved sprinter of days gone by, Apache Cat!
Another sibling Casuarina Forest produced the excellent mare Foxy Cleopatra ( Listed winner and three times placed at G3 level) by American Pharoah, and the exciting colt Arcora (Justify) - this fellow is in the 2025 VRC Derby conversation following a dominant win over 1800m at Flemington last month.
Only once did Forest Native meet the legend Redoute's Choice and the resulting filly Banksia is the dam of the stakes winning full brothers Bank Maur and Namesake (Maurice) from her three to race and win, all her foals.
The matriarch also has Limerock Lass (Rock Of Gibraltar ), Scampton (Fastnet Rock) and her last foal Ponca (American Pharoah) at stud carrying on her line.
The second dam of Agarwood is the 3YO stakes winner Miss Timebank by Water Bank - not a famous sire but an important one! He is a descendant of Nasrullah son Nasram - who was out of the champion filly, Arc runner up and Blue Hen La Mirambule.
Nasram's half brother In The Purple became a mighty sire of stayers in NZ. Interestingly, he appears close up in the breeding of brilliant speed sires General Nediym and Nicconi, as well as Military Plume.
One hundred stakes-winners descend from La Mirambule including Arc winner and champion sire Sagamix and modern day stars and sires the full brothers Japan and Mogul, Lope De Vega, and Perfect Power.
Water Bank’s second dam Rare Bouquet produced Slewpy by Seattle Slew - the damsire of two greats - Arc winner Helissio and international superhorse Falbrav.
She is the sixth dam of the 2025 G1 Preakness Stakes winner / Kentucky Derby runner up Journalism.
Water Bank's genetics really pack a heck of a Classic punch!
As does Agarwood's tail female line. It's one of the very best in the American studbook which traces to Blue Hen Escutcheon by Sir Gallahad, dam of fourteen winners.
Among them was her daughter Bourtai who became one of America's great matriarchs of the 20th century.
Two Bourtai daughters earned Kentucky Broodmare Of The Year titles - the first was Delta by Nasrullah.
Notably her daughter Basin became the ancestress of Zabeel's great mare Champagne and her 3 x G1 winning brother St Reims. Many Australasian stakes winners descend from this branch of Basin, most of them fillies - NZ HOTY Bonneval, Charmont, Champagne Harmony and Full Of Spirit to name a handful.
In GB Basin left a prolific line through champion filly Magnificent Style, dam of great racer and sire Nathaniel, and G1 fillies Playful Act and Great Heavens.
Delta’s half sister Levee by Hill Prince was a big tough staying mare and another Broodmare Of The Year winner.
Her daughter Nalee by Nashua left champion granddaughter Sacahuista, dam of Hussonet and Ekraar.
Nalee's full sister Shuvee was a great racemare and bred on - the William Haggas trained Addeybb - who memorably beat Verry Elleegant in the 2020 G1 Ranvet Stakes then won the G1 Queen Elizabeth - descends from Shuvee.
US Champion 3YO Filly Bayou was a full sister to Levee, but was a lighter, more feminine type.
Her daughter Alluvial produced champion racer and sire Slew O’ Gold and Belmont Stakes winner Coastal, while Bayou Blue became the third dam of Breeders Cup Juvenile champion War Pass.
Bayou's daughter Pampas Miss is the fifth dam of Japan's 2023 Dubai World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro.
Agarwood's branch of this legendary family descends through Bourtai's half sister Demolition, by the British juvenile champion Foray.
The beautifully bred speedster by champion Tetratema was out of Blue Hen Black Ray and thus a relative of Mill Reef, Blushing Groom, Khaled and King Kamehameha. Foray was sent to the US but died after two seasons at stud leaving few progeny, so it is fortunate to have his influence carried forward by this great family.
From Demolition come US champion 2YO Filly Smart Deb (dam of champion sire and broodmare sire Logical) and her half sister by Round Table Lovely Fable, the ancestress of Agarwood.
Delving into it - Wootton Bassett's chart is topped and tailed by two similarly bred individuals - his second damsire Chief's Crown was foaled by Secretariat daughter Six Crowns - out of the champion filly Chris Evert who is bred 3m x 5f,5m to Bull Dog, most crucially through her ancestress Twosy, by Bull Lea.
At the top of Wootton Bassett's pedigree is the Secretariat daughter Secrettame who is bred x 2 to Bull Dog through her damsire Tim Tam, who descends from Twosy's full sister.
Wootton Bassett has an important male line of Bull Lea in Hill Gail, carried by Ahonoora, the great broodmare sire - his Blue Hen Park Appeal is the ancestress of Iffraaj, while his son Bull Page sired the Blue Hen Flaming Page, second dam of The Minstrel.
Revisiting Agarwood's ancestress Escutcheon - she was by Bull Lea's full brother Sir Gallahad, and both she and Bull Lea descend from the taproot mare, The Apple.
Wootton Bassett's magnificent filly Whirl is bred on two of his great nicks, no surprises - Galileo and Pivotal.
Both stallions carry Prince Chevalier, a distant French bred relative of The Apple family, while Galileo's damsire Miswaki descends from a Bull Lea daughter.
Whirl's third and fourth damsires are where it gets more specific - they are Warning ( by Known Fact, a half brother to Gone West thus duplicating Secrettame) and Caerleon, by The Minstrel's three quarter brother Nijinsky.
From the first Aussie crop of “Wootties” came dual G2 placed colt Gallo Nero - his second dam, the high class South African sprint mare Sweet Sanette, descends from a full sister to Bull Lea. Should this guy train on and go to stud, get in line for his daughters!
In Agarwood's pedigree, the desirable Nijinsky cross for Wootton Bassett comes through Royal Academy - and she carries a double up of his female line, which is also Storm Cat's.
Storm Cat's sire Storm Bird brings key sire Sun Again out of a half sister to Escutcheon, plus Sir Gallahad's tail male line of Chop Chop, and Bull Lea's through New Providence.
The Minstrel and Storm Bird are almost as close genetically as The Minstrel and his three quarter brother Nijinsky, and they all meet here!
Sun Again also sired Forest Wildcat's third dam,while his tail male line of Damascus through Timeless Moment is also carried by Forest Native.
All of this - particularly in terms of filly production - is nothing short of genetic rocket fuel for Wootton Bassett so far as I can see. It's no wonder Agarwood looks like she might be one right out of the box!
Other notable features of her pedigree are:
Northern Dancer 5m x 5m
Danzig 5m x 4m
Fastnet Rock x Nureyev - a potent nick
Wootton Basset is bred x 3 to his own ancestress Rinovata, from the same family as Teddy. That turbocharges all the male Teddy lines - Bull Dog / Sir Gallahad /Sun Again and more - by about 1000%
The great Classic influence of Princequillo looms extremely large! His daughters occupy key positions in Wootton Bassett's pedigree. One of the greatest Somethingroyal is duplicated here, and his sons Round Table and Prince John are both x 2 in Agarwood's dam. Potent sex balancing of the legendary sire occurs in combination with his great “mate” Nasrullah, especially via Bold Ruler.
Agarwood's damsire Forest Wildcat is a descendant of Chelandry daughter Popingaol. This is the immediate family of Clarion by Djebel, the sire of Klairon - tail male line of Ahonoora in Wootton Bassett, he is a key genetic “activator” for descendants of Popingaol.
Agarwood is a filly bred like a queen, will she be crowned Princess of the Sydney spring?
You've got to like her chances!
