The Taj Mahal Wins G3 JRA Cup

Tara Madgwick - Friday September 28
Lloyd and Nick Williams had a clean out of stock this week with a large number of horses sold through the Inglis Digital Online September Sale, but The Taj Mahal (IRE) was not among those horses and showed his worth with a thrilling win in the Group III MVRC JRA Cup on Friday night at Moonee Valley.

The Taj MahalThe Liam Howley trained Galileo stallion took the lead and proved impossible to run down, accelerating off the bend for Ben Melham and then defying all challengers to win the 2040 metre contest by a head.

"He'll be even better at a mile and a half," said winning rider Ben Melham.

The Taj Mahal is entered for all the spring majors.

"He's a stallion so you have to stand over him and make him do it," said Nick Williams.

"The mares coming back from the Stocks stakes fired him up , but he's run really well. The Caulfield Cup is his race and this is a good stepping stone for him."

The Taj Mahal is bred in the purple being a sibling to Group I winners Gleneagles, Happily and Marvellous from super producer You'resothrilling, a sister to champion racehorse and sire Giant's Causeway.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Friday July 11
Here is the full list of 45 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Debut 2YO Winner for Brutal
Fresh from siring a smart metro winner at Sandown on Wednesday in Brutalina, Brutal was in the frame at Scone on Friday where Brett Cavanough unleashed a promising two year-old debut winner in Bird Whistle.
Bred to Be Better at Three
Andrew Campbell will unveil another exciting youngster at Hawera on Saturday when two-year-old gelding Valvano makes his debut in the Simon Bendall @ Metcalfe Real Estate (1200m).
Willydoit Data Surprise - Sprinter or Stayer?
Scientific tests have revealed surprising results on the distance aptitude of this season’s star New Zealand staying three-year-old Willydoit.
Galileo's Cape Of Good Hope Strikes Early for the Imports
The great Galileo is now just one Group 1 winner behind Danehill after Coolmore’s royally-bred Cape Of Good Hope (IRE) made a winning Australian debut when edging out a rejuvenated Black Heart Bart in Saturday’s $1,000,000 Group 1 Ladbrokes (Caulfield Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield.
Have You Ever Seen Domination Like This?
For the eighth time that in his wonderful career, Galileo supplied the first three home in a Group 1, but that was not the end of his domination of the opening day of Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown on Saturday.
Bred to be Good - So You Think x More Joyous
It sounds like a match made in heaven, a colt by two time Cox Plate winning sire So You Think from eight time Group I winner More Joyous, and this 2YO is slated to make his debut in New Zealand this weekend,  
Galileo's Southern France Powers to Victory in Zipping Classic
Saturday’s $300,000 Group II Quayclean Zipping Classic (2400m) at Sandown may have been an afterthought for Southern France (IRE) after failing in the Melbourne Cup but the highly regarded son of Galileo gave fans a taste of his undoubted ability.
Melbourne Racing Club Unveils Major Spring Racing Enhancements
Racing Victoria has confirmed prize money allocations for the 2025-2026 season and Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) has announced some exciting race program changes and prizemoney increases that, together with other great initiatives at Flemington and Moonee Valley, reinforce the position of Victoria’s Spring Racing Carnival at the forefront of international racing.
It's Groundhog Day - Another Two Group 1 Winners for Galileo
It may start sounding like a broken record but the incomparable Galileo sired a further two Group 1 winners at the Curragh on Sunday to take his Group 1 tally over the two-day Irish Champions carnival to four.