TUESDAY: October 28, 2025: BRAD Widdup beat all comers last season to become the first local trainer in three decades to win his home track&rsquo;s premiership.
And he isn&rsquo;t relinquishing his title without a strong defence.
So much so that a double at home today lifted Hawkesbury&rsquo;s leading trainer to six wins for the season so far &ndash; and the lead after the first quarter of the 2025-26 season.
Brad&rsquo;s double came courtesy of Blue Eyes Brigid ($2.45 favorite) and Diamond Show ($9.50).
His most successful jockey Christian Reith partnered Blue Eyes Brigid in the Racing Mates Resilience Provincial Maiden Plate (1500m) for his 60th win for the stable.
The Farnan filly was a $110,000 Inglis Premier yearling purchase in Melbourne this year for Mulberry Racing, and is cleverly named.
Her dam is Miracleofmiracles, and folklore has it that Saint Brigid of Ireland had &ldquo;power&rdquo; in helping miracles; healing, feeding the hungry, rescuing the weak from violence and even turning water into beer.
The equine &ldquo;Brigid&rdquo; didn&rsquo;t need any miracles today. She powered away over the closing stages to score by more than four lengths from fellow Hawkesbury trainer Ed O&rsquo;Rourke&rsquo;s well backed Ridgeback ($2.60).
&ldquo;This was only Blue Eyes Brigid&rsquo;s fourth start and second this time in, so she is heading in the right direction,&rdquo; Brad said this evening.
&ldquo;She took nice improvement from her first-up second to Emalyn in a 1300m Provincial Maiden Plate at Newcastle earlier in the month.&rdquo;
Brad sealed a double to take his tally to 15 for the season so far when he prepared Diamond Show (Tyler Schiller) for a first-up victory in the Richmond Club Benchmark 64 Handicap (1400m) against her own sex.
The four-year-old daughter of Almanzor was strongest to the line to defeat $4.40 joint favorites Empress Of Japan and Emilia Jane.
Schiller had ridden Diamond Show in both lead-up trials, and Brad felt the mare was ready to run well on resumption.
&ldquo;The conditions probably were in our favour as her three career wins have all been on wet tracks, but all the same I&rsquo;m sure she would have also been very competitive on a good track,&rdquo; he said.
Hawkesbury&rsquo;s leading trainer was referring to the fact that rain forced a downgrade from a starting point &ldquo;Good 4&rdquo; to eventually a &ldquo;Soft 6&rdquo;.
. HOOFNOTE: Brad has called on Tom Sherry to ride Jedibeel (57.5kg) in the $3m Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Brad Widdup Racing

BRAD’S TITLE DEFENCE OFF TO A GOOD START

Brad Widdup

THURSDAY: October 23, 2025: HE&rsquo;S confident he will do very well!
Hawkesbury&rsquo;s leading trainer Brad Widdup hasn&rsquo;t hesitated to put Young Mister Grace&rsquo;s unbeaten record on the line by testing his promising three-year-old in Listed company for his city debut at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Dylan Gibbons, who has ridden the Anders colt in both his victories at Hawkesbury on September 25 (1000m Super Maiden Plate) and October 9 (1100m CG&amp;E Benchmark 64 Handicap), partners him again in the Brian Crowley Stakes (1200m).
&ldquo;Young Mister Grace has done really well since his last win a fortnight ago,&rdquo; Brad said today.
&ldquo;He is in great order and has come up with the inside barrier, so why not have a crack in town.
&ldquo;Win, lose or draw he is going to the paddock after this race.&rdquo;
Notwithstanding Young Mister Grace&rsquo;s obvious task stepping up from a Benchmark 64 Handicap to take on fellow three-year-old at set weights plus penalties, bookmakers are paying him plenty of respect.
He was at $4.80 this afternoon with TAB.com.au, second only to the filly Miss Freelove, a first-up Warwick Farm winner, who heads betting at $3.90.
Brad has runners at both the Spring Champion Stakes meeting at Randwick, and at the corresponding Cox Plate program at The Valley.
Along with Young Mister Grace, he has Ruby Flyer (Filante Handicap, 1600m) and debutante Anthropoid (Kirkham Plate, 1000m) at Randwick, and Sunset Park (Group 3 Tesio Stakes, 2040m) in Melbourne.
Brad and Milissa&rsquo;s son Cooper has taken Sunset Park south for her Valley assignment.
&ldquo;Sunset Park has won three of her nine starts and hasn&rsquo;t finished further back than fifth,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;She has drawn an inside alley against her own sex, and we&rsquo;re hoping to get some black type with her.&rdquo;
As well as Young Mister Grace, Dylan Gibbons will ride both Ruby Flyer and Anthropoid.
&ldquo;Ruby Flyer qualified for the Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick on Tuesday week by winning the Goulburn Cup (1400m) in August on a heavy track, and this will be his final lead-up,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;He is definitely better on wet ground, and we need some rain for him to show that Goulburn Cup form.
&ldquo;Anthropoid is a nice two-year-old colt by Prague ready to go to the races for the first time.
&ldquo;He has trialled twice at Warwick Farm this month and has ability. I&rsquo;m surprised he is at such big odds ($41 this afternoon after being $51 this morning)&rdquo;.
Anthropoid fetched $180,000 at the Magic Millions yearling sale at the Gold Coast earlier this year, and is half-brother to Team Hawkes&rsquo; lightly-raced four-year-old Stagnum, who won on the Kensington track on October 8.
Anthropoid races in the same Mulberry colours as stablemate Jedibeel, who contested last Saturday&rsquo;s $20m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick.
&ldquo;It was impossible for backmarkers to be in the finish the way the race was run,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;I thought Jedibeel ran well, and he has pulled up well.
&ldquo;We will go to the $3m Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) with him at Randwick on Saturday week.&rdquo;

YOUNG MISTER GRACE READY FOR CITY DEBUT

<img src="https://www.prism.horse/api/public/image/32aaf432897349019ef4e165249a69da.jpg" alt="" /> To have a horse in The Everest is a dream few get to realise. For Brad Widdup Racing, that dream came true with Jedibeel. The team was absolutely thrilled to have the exciting galloper earn his spot in the richest and most-watched race on the planet.
&nbsp;
Having Jedibeel there was an incredible moment for the whole team and while the competition was fierce and the field elite, Jedibeel held his own with grit and determination, further proving his place among Australia&rsquo;s top-tier talent.
&nbsp;
What made the day even more special was the shared pride between Team Widdup and Mulberry families. This wasn&rsquo;t just a racing moment&mdash;it was a family milestone. &nbsp;This partnership goes beyond racing silks&mdash;it&rsquo;s built on trust, ethics and a shared vision for future success.
&nbsp;
While being part of The Everest was a high point, it&rsquo;s clear this is only the beginning for Jedibeel, Brad Widdup Racing and Mulberry Racing.
 Jedibeel has pulled up excellent and with eyes firmly on future Group targets, the team is filled with optimism.
&nbsp;
With Brads&rsquo; knowledge, horsemanship, extensive leadership, a passionate team and a powerhouse of a horse, the future looks undeniably bright.
&nbsp;

JEDIBEEL SHINES ON THE BIG STAGE

SUNDAY: OCTOBER 12, 2025: THE world&rsquo;s richest race on turf would not have even entered Brad Widdup&rsquo;s thoughts when he caught sight of Lot 343 at the 2021 Inglis Classic yearling sale in Sydney.
He liked the Savabeel youngster so much he went above a $150,000 budget new stable client Mike Gregg had given him.
At $190,000 he was knocked down to the leading Hawkesbury trainer, and Gregg was happy to pay the extra when he became aware his trainer didn&rsquo;t want to miss out on him.
Jedibeel has since more than repaid his purchase price &ndash; he has won eight races, including a Group 2 at weight-for-age at Royal Randwick, and is verging on millionaire status &ndash; and at that very track on Saturday will be Brad&rsquo;s first runner in the $20m The Everest (1200m), as well as being the first provincial representative in six years.
Brad had purchased an unraced horse (The Grundler) from New Zealand for Sydney businessman Gregg, and won two races with him (the first at Newcastle at double figure odds not long before securing Jedibeel).
&ldquo;Mike wanted to buy a horse we hoped could run 1600m and beyond,&rdquo; he recalled today.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not one to look closely at sale catalogues because you see horses you would like but know you won&rsquo;t be able to afford them.
&ldquo;When I saw Jedibeel at the Classic sale, I was taken by his physique, the way he walked, and his attitude.
&ldquo;He was the first yearling I had ever bought for Mike, and the only yearling I bought at that sale.
&ldquo;He has been a wonderful horse for Mike and our stable, but I became aware in his first preparation that he wasn&rsquo;t going to be a &lsquo;miler&rsquo; or get over middle distances.
&ldquo;We had a genetic test done, and it showed that he was a sprinter.&rdquo;
Brad has well and truly done the hard yards in the industry, and though modestly not one to get carried away with many things in racing, is understandably thrilled to join The Everest ranks at the weekend.
But it will be business as normal this week with the gelding.
&ldquo;There will be nothing different. We&rsquo;ll be keeping to his same routine preparation,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;He will do slow work tomorrow (Monday) morning, gallop over 800m on Tuesday morning, canter
Wednesday morning, do a bit of pacework Thursday morning, and canter again Friday morning.
&ldquo;We had a setback with Jedibeel at the start of his preparation which forced us to miss the Concorde Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on September 6.
&ldquo;As a result he didn&rsquo;t resume until a fortnight later in The Shorts (1100m) there, and then ran fourth in the wfa Premiere Stakes (1200m) at the same track yesterday week.
&ldquo;I feel Jedibeel should have run third to Briasa (an Everest rival), and he will take confidence from that, and his jockey Kerrin McEvoy as well.
&ldquo;Kerrin offered to come out and ride him work on Tuesday morning, but Rosie Jilla does all the work on him, and I don&rsquo;t want to change anything.&rdquo;
Jedibeel is raced by Gregg, his grandson Lachlan Sheridan and Gregg&rsquo;s Mulberry (which purchased The Everest slot earlier this year).
&ldquo;Plenty of work and thought went into choosing Mulberry&rsquo;s Everest runner, and eventually it was a no-brainer to select Jedibeel after he ran so well in the Premiere,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have to bargain with any other owners.&rdquo;
With 428 career winners (also including a maiden Group 1 triumph with Icebath at the 2022 Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington), Brad has been around long enough to fully realise the task confronting Jedibeel on Saturday.
TAB.com.au price assessors have listed him as the $101 outsider.
&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t be happier with Jedibeel,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s still on the up this campaign, and likes Randwick (two wins and two seconds there).
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping for a good draw when the barriers are released on Tuesday night as he needs a suck run off a fast pace, and can produce a really good sprint at the end if he gets that.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m confident he will run to the best of his ability and won&rsquo;t let anyone down.&rdquo;
HOOFNOTE: Newcastle&rsquo;s Kris Lees is the only provincial trainer before Brad to have any The Everest representatives.
He ran eighth with Clearly Innocent ($13) in the inaugural 2017 running, had a trio of runners &ndash; Le Romain, fourth at $9, Graff fifth at $8, and In Her Time seventh at $12) the following year, and In Her&nbsp;Time ($21) ran ninth in Yes Yes Yes&rsquo; 2019 victory.

BRAD’S WOULD BE SPRINTER PUTS HIM IN THE EVEREST LEAGUE

SUNDAY: October 5, 2025: HAWKESBURY&rsquo;S talented sprinter Jedibeel has earned a berth in the $20m The Everest field.
Leading trainer Brad Widdup confirmed this morning that Mulberry Racing had decided the gelding would run in their slot in Saturday week&rsquo;s feature.
Jedibeel ran home strongly when fourth to fellow Everest rival Briasa in yesterday&rsquo;s $1m Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick.
The Premiere was a weight-for-age contest, and The Everest will be run under the same conditions.
Jedibeel is already a winner at wfa, having produced a dazzling turn of foot to take the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on March 8 when on resumption.
&ldquo;We had a meeting this morning when the decision was made to go with Jedibeel for The Everest,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;Mulberry went through a proper process and took the advice of a number of respected form students.
&ldquo;I was really pleased to see Jedibeel run as well as he did yesterday, and Kerrin McEvoy was happy with him also.
&ldquo;He will ride him again in The Everest.&rdquo;
Whilst it will be Brad&rsquo;s first starter in the world&rsquo;s richest race on turf, he is taking it all in his stride.
&ldquo;Obviously it&rsquo;s a great thrill to be chosen to have a runner in The Everest, but I won&rsquo;t be changing anything with Jedibeel&rsquo;s training routine in the next fortnight,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;He has come through yesterday&rsquo;s race well, and I believe still has a bit of improvement.
&ldquo;Jedibeel had a setback when he jarred a joint just before we were ready to begin this preparation in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on September 6.
&ldquo;Whilst it wasn&rsquo;t major, it was still a setback and as a result he didn&rsquo;t resume until The Shorts (1100m) at Randwick a fortnight ago.
&ldquo;Things didn&rsquo;t go right for him in the run that day, and he got a much better set-up yesterday and showed that he is worthy of lining up in The Everest.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m fully aware it is not going to be an easy task, but I&rsquo;m pretty happy with him.&rdquo;
Jedibeel is rated at $51 chance with TAB.com.au in the latest The Everest market, dominated by Hong Kong champ Ka Ying Rising ($1.60), who will trial at Randwick on Tuesday morning.
Jedibeel was the first and only yearling Brad purchased in 2021 for Mulberry&rsquo;s Mike Gregg, who races the now six-year-old gelding in partnership with his grandson Lachlan Sheridan.
He recalls he went beyond Gregg&rsquo;s budget to get the son of Cox Plate winner Savabeel at the Inglis Classic sale for $190,000 because he really liked the horse &ndash; and didn&rsquo;t want to let him slip.
Gregg went along with Brad&rsquo;s decision, and so began a blossoming association between owner and trainer.
Jedibeel has won eight races and been placed as many times from 24 starts, and is verging on millionaire status.
His $40,000 from the Premiere fourth took his earnings to $969,650.

BRAD’S JEDIBEEL INTO THE EVEREST

&nbsp;
THURSDAY: September 25, 2025: HE&rsquo;S done very well!
The equine namesake of Young Mister Grace, a star of the popular British sitcom of the 1970s-80s Are You Being Served, was entitled to those plaudits after an impressive debut at his home track today.
Young Mister Grace and his brother Old Mister Grace owned the fictional Grace Bros department store in the series, and the former regularly told his staff: &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve all done very well&rdquo;.
Leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup was confident his three-year-old could also do very well in the Richmond Club Super Maiden Plate (1000m) &ndash; and he was correct.
Ridden by Dylan Gibbons and starting a well-backed $1.50 favorite, the Anders colt overcame an awkward beginning to trounce his rivals.
In a local quinella result, Young Mister Grace defeated another debutante, Mitch and Desiree Kearney&rsquo;s filly Miss Johanski ($101) by more than three lengths.
Young Mister Grace is the first foal of the Zoustar mare Enstarnito, who raced only once and was retired to start a breeding career.
The colt is raced by multiple Group 1 winner Think It Over&rsquo;s breeder-owner Richard Johnston, who also bred him and gave him to Brad to train.
&ldquo;Young Mister Grace is the first horse I have trained for Richard, and I have taken my time with him,&rdquo; Brad said this evening.
&ldquo;He trialled twice as a two-year-old earlier in the year and trialled well, but I wasn&rsquo;t ready to pull the trigger and send him to the races.
&ldquo;He had a break and trialled twice again, and I was confident he was ready to start his career and run well.&rdquo;
Think It Over&rsquo;s regular rider Nash Rawiller partnered Young Mister Grace in his latest trial at Rosehill Gardens on September 9, but wasn&rsquo;t certain of making the colt&rsquo;s weight at Hawkesbury &ndash; and Gibbons got the call up.
Brad followed up Money Team&rsquo;s Warwick Farm victory yesterday by posting his eighth winner of the new season.

HE DID VERY WELL INDEED

WEDNESDAY: September 24, 2025: PERHAPS they should rename him Money Tree?
That&rsquo;s exactly what a lightly-raced five-year-old called Money Team has been to his new connections since leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup picked him up for $55,000 online in May last year, and syndicated amongst a group which includes son Cooper.
A son of I Am Invincible, Money Team fetched a cool $1m at the Inglis Australian Easter yearling sale in 2022, and raced five times; four for Melbourne trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, and was placed in all four (the first at Gosford and other three at the provincials in Victoria).
In seven starts under Brad&rsquo;s banner, the now gelding has won five races; the latest at Warwick Farm today in a Benchmark 78 Handicap (1300m).
Ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, Money Team always travelled like a winner notwithstanding his 60.5kg and comfortably defeated Peace Officer ($6.50) and Winston Hills ($4 favorite).
Cooper Widdup not only was part of the winning team as an owner, but strapped the gelding.
Though Brad bought Money Team in May last year after he ran second in a Werribee Maiden Plate (1400m) as a $1.22 hotpot, he didn&rsquo;t produce him until January 26 this year when he made a successful debut for his new stable in a Maiden Plate (1200m) at Wyong.
&ldquo;I tried him as a colt, but he was too soft,&rdquo; Brad explained this evening.
&ldquo;He kept going sore everywhere, and there was no option but to geld him if we wanted him to be a racehorse.&rdquo;
Money Team&rsquo;s five wins included a heat of autumn&rsquo;s Provincial-Midway Championships (1200m) at Gosford (earning $76,250), and Brad sent him to Brisbane for a resumption third under 60kg in a Class 4 Handicap (1200m) at an Eagle Farm Saturday meeting on August 30.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t disappointed with his run, and brought him back home and gave him time to get over the trip,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;Whilst I expected him to run well today in a midweek event, I was surprised he was such good odds.&rdquo;
Money Team was Brad&rsquo;s seventh winner of the season, his career 425th and the Hawkesbury training base&rsquo;s 25th success since August 1.
Meanwhile, Brad&rsquo;s top sprinter Jedibeel will get another chance to push his claims for a spot in the $20m The Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick on October 18 when he races there on Saturday week.
Jedibeel had a setback which ruled him out of a resumption at Randwick on September 6 in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) before running eighth to Joliestar in the Group 2 The Shorts (1100m) at that track last Saturday.
&ldquo;Things didn&rsquo;t work out for him in the run,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;He is in great order and will go to the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) on Saturday week.
&ldquo;If he doesn&rsquo;t make The Everest, there is still the $2m Sydney Stakes (1200m) the same day.&rdquo;
The Premiere is run at weight-for-age, and eight-times winner Jedibeel was successful in the wfa Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Randwick in March, getting out late and unleashing a brilliant turn of foot.

HE’S A MONEY TREE FOR SURE

FRIDAY: September 12, 2025: YOUNG Hawkesbury jockey Poppie Gorton has made the successful transition from an eventer to a winning apprentice.
And though her master, leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup no longer prepares his maiden Group 1 winner, the now retired Icebath, the classy mare played an important role in her decision to make the switch.
Eighteen-year-old Gorton, at her ninth race ride, broke the ice at Goulburn today with a convincing victory on Brad&rsquo;s four-year-old mare Forcefilly ($8) in the Maiden Handicap (1100m).
&ldquo;I was born and bred into eventing, and that has been a big part of my life for the first 16 years,&rdquo; Gorton said on Sky Racing after her success.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a very big change, but well worth the move.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s extremely special to win my first race, and I can&rsquo;t thank Brad enough for the support he has given me since I started working for him when I was 15.&rdquo;
Gorton, however, didn&rsquo;t initially have her sights fixed on becoming a jockey.
That changed when Widdup&rsquo;s assistant trainer Rosie Jilla showed a video of her riding Icebath in a gallop down the straight before she won the Group 1 at Flemington (2022 Myer Classic).
&ldquo;That sparked my fire to become a trackwork rider, and Brad said: &lsquo;Why don&rsquo;t we try for an apprenticeship&rsquo;.
&ldquo;I said of course. My parents weren&rsquo;t happy but I still did it.&rdquo;
Forcefilly was third emergency for the Maiden Handicap, but a heavy track ensured a number of scratchings, providing her with a berth in the field.
Unfortunately, Brad wasn&rsquo;t close by to watch his young apprentice clinch a watershed moment in her career.
He has been attending the Keeneland September yearling sales in the USA with Jedibeel&rsquo;s owner Mike Gregg, and is en route home, due to land in Sydney early tomorrow morning.
Brad&rsquo;s wife Milissa said everyone at their Hawkesbury stable cheered loudly for Gorton as she needed to give Forcefilly only one flick with the whip to comfortably defeat Tomcat Flowers ($2.80) and K&rsquo;gari ($6.50).
&ldquo;It was fantastic to see Poppie get her first win,&rdquo; Milissa said.
&ldquo;She is super keen, and has had no luck in her earlier rides, many of her mounts drawing poorly.
&ldquo;Poppie started with us in January 2023 after she finished Year 10 at school.
&ldquo;Senior jockeys Christian Reith and Grant Buckley have been of great assistance to her.
&ldquo;Poppie&rsquo;s parents bought her a mechanical horse last Christmas, and she now has it here at our house for Christian and Grant to watch her.&rdquo;
Forcefilly is raced by Brad&rsquo;s long-term supporters BK Racing &amp; Breeding and their racing manager Ben Vassallo, and has only recently joined his Hawkesbury stable.
The daughter of Invader was previously trained at the Gold Coast, and was having only her second start for her new trainer.
. HOOFNOTE: Jedibeel will gallop between the first and second races at Rosehill Gardens tomorrow in preparation for a belated return in the $1m Group 2 The Shorts (1100m) at Royal Randwick next Saturday.

POPPIE’S “EVENT” A WATERSHED MOMENT AT GOULBURN

FRIDAY: August 29, 2025: BRAD Widdup wasn&rsquo;t going to wait!
Hawkesbury&rsquo;s leading trainer had unraced filly Bianca Mia in races at Gosford today and Wyong on Sunday &ndash; and she drew poorly in both.
&ldquo;I like the filly and have been waiting to get her to the races,&rdquo; Brad said this evening.
&ldquo;It was a smaller field at Gosford today than Wyong on Sunday, so I decided not to wait any longer.&rdquo;
Ridden by Christian Reith, Bianca Mia ($14) made a successful debut in the Provincial Maiden Handicap (1000m).
Reith eased her back to last from her outside barrier in the field of eight and then tracked up strongly with cover approaching the home turn.
Bianca Mia went right to the outside in the straight and unwound a sustained burst to get there in the nick of time, overhauling fellow Hawkesbury trainer Peter Green&rsquo;s Bold And Blazen ($7) in the shadows of the post.
Gosford trainer Kylie Gavenlock&rsquo;s $2.60 favorite Dietrich was third.
Bianca Mia (by Too Darn Hot) is the sixth foal of former good Brisbane mare Bianca Jewel, and was bred by her owner, North Queenslander Joe Rapisarda.
&ldquo;It was terrific to get a debut victory for Joe with this filly,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;He is a good supporter of our stable, and is great to deal with.
&ldquo;Bianca Mia has had a couple of preparations and, not being a big filly, I was patient with her.&rdquo;
Bianca Mia was Brad&rsquo;s fifth winner of the new season, and he is &ldquo;spreading his wings&rdquo; with runners in both Sydney and Brisbane tomorrow.
However, his promising three-year-old Nashville Jack may not take his place in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens tomorrow.
Brad will make a final decision prior to the 7.30am scratching deadline.
Last start Hawkesbury winner Sunset Park (Alysha Collett) runs in the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1800m) at Rosehill, and Confess Our Dreams (apprentice Siena Grima) resumes in the Benchmark 78 Handicap (1100m).
Brad has sent Kind Gesture (Class 6 Handicap, 1600m) and Money Team (Class 4 Handicap, 1200m) to Brisbane to race at Eagle Farm tomorrow.

BRAD’S FILLY MAKES WINNING GOSFORD DEBUT

SUNDAY: August 24, 2025: BRAD Widdup could not have summed it up better.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been an unbelievable weekend,&rdquo; Hawkesbury&rsquo;s leading trainer said this evening after winning the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes at Royal Randwick yesterday, and doubling up with the Goulburn Cup today.
Savvy Hallie ($3.50) graduated to city company with a bang by taking the Silver Shadow (1200m), and mudlark Ruby Flyer ($11) bounced back to form by taking the Big Dance Eligibility Goulburn Cup (1400m).
Brad&rsquo;s weekend double took his career tally to 422, and he put it all in context when discussing both winners.
&ldquo;Obviously when you win a Group race at Randwick, it&rsquo;s a big thrill,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;Especially when you win a Maiden at Newcastle, and then Savvy Hallie takes a quantum leap to a Group 2 in town.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the first time I have been able to do that with a horse (Sandbar won a 2YO Maiden at Canterbury in 2018 and next start the Listed Lonhro Plate at Warwick Farm).
&ldquo;But coming from the country (Brad was born at Albury), it was also pretty special to win my first Country Cup today with Ruby Flyer.
&ldquo;I ran second with Phearson in the Goulburn Cup two years ago, and second with High Dandy in last year&rsquo;s Dubbo Cup.&rdquo;
Savvy Hallie, the dearest Hellbent yearling sold last year (BK Racing &amp; Breeding paid $320,000 for her at the Inglis Classic sale), took the first leg of the annual Princess Series for three-year-old fillies by defeating Within The Law ($3.50) and Queen Of Clubs ($10).
That took her record to two wins and three seconds from only six starts, and her trainer paid her a fitting compliment.
&ldquo;You always worry when a horse with ability goes to the paddock if they will come back as good or better,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;Savvy Hallie has certainly come back better. She is such a good filly.&rdquo;
However, Brad remains guarded as to whether Savvy Hallie attempts all four legs of the Princess Series at Randwick.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s one race at a time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We will go to the Group 2 Furious Stakes (1200m) next on Saturday week, and in all probability the Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) a fortnight after that.
&ldquo;But we&rsquo;ll wait and see about the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) on October 5. She might be a bit sharp for the mile.&rdquo;
Savvy Hallie (Jay Ford) flew out of the stalls yesterday, sat outside favorite Agarwood ($2.80), beat her off in the straight and then wouldn&rsquo;t be denied when the second and third placegetters threw out late challenges.
Brad was both pleased and relieved to see Ruby Flyer strike winning form again in today&rsquo;s Goulburn Cup.
Dylan Gibbons, who was to have partnered the gelding in the Listed Rowley Mile at Hawkesbury last Thursday (rain cancelled the meeting), secured the mount when his original booking Shadizi was withdrawn.
He never left the fence on Ruby Flyer, who skirted the rail in the straight and overhauled $2.70 favorite The Novelist and Estadio Mestalla ($7) to score comfortably.
Brad was left dumbfounded when Ruby Flyer flopped at Randwick on July 26 in a Benchmark 88 Handicap (1600m) at his second start this campaign.
&ldquo;I knew just after the jump that day that he wasn&rsquo;t travelling,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;He had a poor post-race recovery and we had him scoped, but couldn&rsquo;t find anything wrong.
&ldquo;It was totally out of character that run, and he trialled at Warwick Farm on August 8 and had worked well since, and things fell our way a bit today with so many scratchings.
&ldquo;Ruby Flyer really loves heavy ground. That&rsquo;s three from three on heavy tracks.&rdquo;
Now that Ruby Flyer has put his name up in lights for a start in the $3m Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick on November 4, Brad has some thinking to do.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have to plan a program for him,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;And obviously I&rsquo;m hoping Randwick will be heavy when the Big Dance comes around.&rdquo;
. HOOFNOTE: Unfortunately, Hasty Honey, who also was to have lined up in the Rowley Mile, bled from both nostrils when last of seven in yesterday&rsquo;s Group 3 Premier&rsquo;s Cup (2000m) at Randwick.
She incurred a mandatory three months&rsquo; ban, which includes at least eight weeks in a paddock.
Stablemate Jedibeel (Kerrin McEvoy) will trial at Hawkesbury tomorrow morning as Brad readies him for a return to racing.
&ldquo;At this stage, I will nominate him for both the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on Saturday week, and Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at The Valley the same day,&rdquo; he said.

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