THURSDAY: November 20, 2025: FOUR days. Four winners!
It&rsquo;s been some week for Hawkesbury&rsquo;s leading trainer Brad Widdup, whose quartet in successive days was capped when lightly-raced filly Lightness scored at Newcastle today at only her third start.
tard, leading Newcastle trainer Kris Lees and Wyong&rsquo;s Nacim Dilmi joined him.
Brad began the week&rsquo;s run &ndash; all with females - when Forcefilly (ridden by stable apprentice Poppie Gorton) scored at Nowra last Monday, then debutante Azure Angel surged home from well back on the turn at Scone the following day.
Tequila Baby broke through for a city victory at Canterbury yesterday, and Lightness broke through for her first win today.
Ridden by Christian Reith, Lightness ($5.50) showed plenty of grit to defeat Wyong trainer Nacim Dilmi&rsquo;s Federal Reserve ($4.60) in the Midway Maiden Handicap (1400m) after the pair had the race to themselves along the straight.
Raced by Mike Gregg&rsquo;s Mulberry Racing, Lightness fetched $450,000 at last year&rsquo;s Magic Millions yearling sale at the Gold Coast.
&ldquo;She was the dearest yearling we bought that season,&rdquo; Brad said this evening.
&ldquo;Lightness did a terrific job today, and I&rsquo;m sure she has a lot of upside and is going to appreciate even longer distances later in her career.
&ldquo;I might give her one more run if she pulls up well, and then send her for a break and look toward the autumn.
&ldquo;She has a very nice pedigree.&rdquo;
Lightness won at the same Broadmeadow track where her father Proisir, now a leading New Zealand sire, won the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m) as a three-year-old in 2012.
The filly was Brad&rsquo;s 22nd winner of the season, and his career 440th.
Whilst it&rsquo;s been a pretty good week already for Brad, he is hoping for rain to soften Kembla Grange on Saturday for accomplished wet tracker Ruby Flyer in the Benchmark 88 Handicap (1600m).
&ldquo;Ruby Flyer is in great order,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to get some rain for him.&rdquo;
Ruby Flyer was excellent in the $3m Big Dance (1600m) at Royal Randwick on November 4 when he came from well back to finish ninth to Gringotts.

Brad Widdup Racing

WHAT A WEEK IT’S BEEN FOR BRAD

Brad Widdup

WEDNESDAY: November 19, 2025: ONE of the hallmarks of a successful trainer is knowing when to stop with a horse and look to the future.
Even when that horse might have just won another race at her first start back from a spell.
Leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup did that with now four-year-old mare Tequila Baby, who repaid him by breaking through for her first city victory at Canterbury today.
Ridden by last season&rsquo;s champion Sydney apprentice Braith Nock, Tequila Baby defied a betting drift ($2.90 favorite at one stage this morning to start at $4.40) to overhaul the pacy Jamais ($17) to land the Benchmark 64 Handicap (1200m) against her own sex.
The daughter of Capitalist and Onemorenomore mare One More Tequila fetched $210,000 as an Inglis Australian Easter weanling in 2022 before being passed in at $250,000 the following year at the Inglis Ready2Race sale as an unraced two-year-old.
Brad gave Tequila Baby only two starts as a two-year-old, and at her third start in her three-year-old season, a $50,000 Super Maiden at the Snake Gully Cup meeting at Gundagai 12 months ago was hers for the taking.
She went for a break, came back and won a 3YO Benchmark 64 Handicap (1100m) on her home track in April &ndash; and that&rsquo;s when Brad pulled up stumps.
&ldquo;Tequila Baby was starting to jar up in her knees,&rdquo; he explained this evening.
&ldquo;It was immaturity and she didn&rsquo;t need surgery, but needed time and that&rsquo;s why I stopped with her.
&ldquo;She is a lovely type of mare and has come back really well.
&ldquo;Tequila Baby was narrowly beaten first-up over 1000m at Kembla Grange earlier in the month, and I wasn&rsquo;t overly confident today as she is still above herself.
&ldquo;I thought she might be a bit vulnerable late if she led, but was happy when Jamais took up the running and Braith (Nock) was able to give our mare a nice run behind her.
&ldquo;She did a good job with 59kg, and it&rsquo;s the right time of the year with the spring carnival over to give her more racing.
&ldquo;We might have to go to town now.&rdquo;
Tequila Baby is the fourth foal of three-times winning Newcastle mare One More Tequila (trained by Peter Eggleston), and Brad also has her sixth foal Tequisoda (by Pierro), a $160,000 purchase for Mulberry Racing at last year&rsquo;s Inglis Premier yearling sale in Melbourne.
Tequisoda is already a winner (at Hawkesbury in July) from only three starts, and won&rsquo;t be long winning another one after a luckless third over 1400m at Kembla Grange last Saturday.
Tequila Baby was Brad&rsquo;s third winner &ndash; his 21st of the season &ndash; in as many days after Forcefilly scored at Nowra on Monday, and debutante Azure Angel surged home from well back on the turn at Scone yesterday.
And his winning week may not be over either. He has four runners at Newcastle tomorrow with Lightness (Christian Reith) his pick in the Midway Maiden Handicap (1400m).
The Mulberry-owned Proisir three-year-old ran second first-up at Kembla Grange on November 4 at only her second start, and will race in winkers this time.

BRAD’S PATIENCE WITH TEQUILA BABY PAYS OFF

TUESDAY: November 18, 2025: PERTH&rsquo;S Magic Millions yearling sale might attract even more interest in future from Hawkesbury&rsquo;s leading trainer Brad Widdup.
A first time visit there last year with his major client, Mike Gregg&rsquo;s Mulberry Racing, resulted in the purchase of four fillies &ndash; and two of the three which have so far raced have won.
Brad produced Playing Gold three-year-old Azure Angel &ndash; the dearest of the foursome at $210,000 &ndash; at Scone today for an immediate result.
And whilst her debut success certainly wasn&rsquo;t a surprise, her price indeed was.
Ridden by Christian Reith, Azure Angel ($7.50 after $13 was bet) turned in an impressive performance, surging home from well back on the hone turn to comfortably dispose of $3.60 favorite Borderfall and Avista ($5) in the Maiden Plate (1200m).
&ldquo;I really like this filly,&rdquo; Brad said this evening.
&ldquo;I thought she was good enough to have a crack in town at Rosehill Gardens last week against her own sex in a Maiden Plate (1200m), but she didn&rsquo;t draw the best.
&ldquo;Scone was the next option and I was very surprised double figure odds were offered.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a particularly good result to win first-up with the filly for Mike, who is the biggest supporter of our stable.&rdquo;
Brad trialled Azure Angel (whose dam, the Hurricane Sky mare Sky Angel won five races in WA) twice in winter, then gave her a break before trialling her twice again; at Rosehill Gardens and Warwick Farm on October 13 and 31 respectively.
&ldquo;She wasn&rsquo;t pressured in either trial, and I was confident she would be hard to beat at Scone,&rdquo; he said.
An indication of the trainer&rsquo;s opinion of Azure Angel can be measured by the fact that he went back to the same sale earlier this year, and purchased another Playing God filly (now a two-year-old) from the same breeder for $90,000 on Gregg&rsquo;s behalf.
Azure Angel was Brad&rsquo;s 20th winner of the current season, and his career 438th.
The filly&rsquo;s partner Christian Reith notched his 62nd winner for Brad, and is easily his most successful rider.
Bondi Blossom (a daughter of Bondi) was the first of the Perth buys to score when she took a Provincial Maiden Plate (1600m) at Gosford on November 6.
Provided Azure Angel comes through today&rsquo;s run well, Brad intends to press on with her.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say what her ceiling might be, but she needs to get some racing experience now,&rdquo; he said.

AN “ANGEL” ARRIVES AT SCONE

MONDAY: November 17, 2025: ALL in a day&rsquo;s work for a budding young jockey!
Hawkesbury apprentice Poppie Gorton rode in the third heat at her home track trial session this morning, then headed off to the TAB race meeting at Nowra for two rides for her master, leading trainer Brad Widdup.
After finishing fourth in the second race on Kosrae ($4.80), the 19-year-old backed up four races later and posted an important milestone in her career.
Gorton won the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1400m) &ndash; a heat of the Rising Star Series for apprentices &ndash; on $7 chance Forcefilly.
It was her fifth victory, meaning her country allowance now reduces from 4kg to 3kg.
Gorton brought Forcefilly with a determined burst wide out on the track, hitting the front in the shadows of the post.
Forcefilly defeated $2.60 favorite Supairo (Mollie Fitzgerald) and $41 outsider The Herald (Olivia Chambers).
It was the four-year-old Invader mare&rsquo;s third success at her 10th start &ndash; and Gorton has been her rider in all three.
&ldquo;Forcefilly&rsquo;s owners BK Racing &amp; Breeding&rsquo;s Brad Hunt and their racing manager Ben Vassallo have been terrific allowing Poppie to get valuable experience by riding the mare,&rdquo; Brad said this evening.
&ldquo;Three of Poppie&rsquo;s five wins to date have been on Forcefilly, so for sure she won&rsquo;t forget her.
&ldquo;Forcefilly was her first winner at Goulburn in September.
&ldquo;Poppie left for Nowra not long after riding Don&rsquo;tcallmekathy, who ran second in the 1000m trial at Hawkesbury.
&ldquo;She had a chauffeur to drive her to the races, but it&rsquo;s back to work as normal tomorrow.&rdquo;
Don&rsquo;tcallmekathy, another four-year-old mare, was another of the young jockey&rsquo;s winners, at Bathurst last month.
Her other winner was Dodgy Freckle at Mudgee, also last month.
Forcefilly was Brad&rsquo;s 19th winner of the season, and the 54th for the Hawkesbury training base.
He has nominated Ruby Flyer for Saturday&rsquo;s $1m The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange, but has to wait for acceptances on Wednesday morning to see if the gelding gains a start.
At present that looks forlorn as Ruby Flyer (53kg) is 29th in order of ballot (16 can start with provision for four emergencies).
If he misses out, there is a 1600m Benchmark 88 Handicap at the same meeting to fall back on.

POPPIE’S FAB FIVE WITH RISING STAR VICTORY

SUNDAY: November 9, 2025: BRAD Widdup was getting annoyed!
Hawkesbury&rsquo;s leading trainer couldn&rsquo;t fathom why well-bred mare Sunset Park was getting beaten in midweek and Saturday Midway races in Sydney.
&ldquo;I was frustrated,&rdquo; Brad said today. &ldquo;I knew she had the ability, but wasn&rsquo;t getting the job done.
&ldquo;I started wondering whether there was something wrong.&rdquo;
A trip to Melbourne changed everything. To some observers, it might have seemed simply having a &ldquo;throw at the stumps&rdquo; taking on tougher opposition at Melbourne&rsquo;s spring carnival &ndash; but it certainly worked.
After a luckless third as the $71 rank outsider in the Group 3 Tesio Stakes (2040m) at the Cox Plate meeting at The Valley on October 25, Sunset Park, with Melbourne Cup heroine Jamie Melham on board, blew away her rivals in yesterday&rsquo;s Group 2 Matriarch Stakes (2000m) on the final day of the Flemington carnival.
A $17 chance, the lightly-raced mare revelled in the heavy ground and turned the tables on Tesio winner She&rsquo;s A Hustler ($2.70 favorite).
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a real learning curve,&rdquo; Brad admitted.
&ldquo;The trip to Melbourne has done the trick. When she ran third at her first start there at The Valley and was unlucky not to have won, that opened my eyes.
&ldquo;We were fortunate then to be able to get Jamie to ride Sunset Park.
&ldquo;Declan Bates turned down the mount at The Valley and Lachlan Neindorf, who rode her that day, subsequently was suspended.&rdquo;
Brad, who returned to the scene of his 2022 maiden Group 1 triumph with Icebath, was especially pleased for Sydney businessman Adrian Whittingham, who races the mare under his Cross Park banner.
&ldquo;Sunset Park could easily have gone to stud without racing,&rdquo; he explained.
&ldquo;She has a wonderful family line, and was entered for sale by Godolphin as an unraced three-year-old out of training in the broodmare section at a Tattersalls&rsquo; sale in the UK in December 2023.
&ldquo;However they announced that she could be sold to race initially, and Adrian was able to buy her.&rdquo;
Brad had Sunset Park ready to begin her racing career when she suffered a setback after her second trial at Rosehill Gardens in July last year.
&ldquo;I was sitting in my office, and had a feeling there was something wrong when the floated pulled in to the stables,&rdquo; he explained.
&ldquo;She had sustained a cut to a leg, and we had to stop and start again.&rdquo;
A daughter of champion racehorse and stallion Sea The Stars (who sired his 143rd stakes winner), Sunset Park began racing only this year and won two of her first three starts (1600m at Kembla Grange and 2000m at Hawkesbury), and is now the winner of four of her 11 starts.
Yesterday&rsquo;s stunning victory has indeed added tremendously to her value as a future broodmare when her racing days are over.
Happy to oblige with multiple media and TV interviews after the Matriarch, Brad didn&rsquo;t know he had won another race at home with Pro Velocity ($21) not long after Sunset Park&rsquo;s performance.
&ldquo;It was a really good 10 minutes,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;When I was told the news, I thought it might have been another of Adrian&rsquo; horses Vondel, who was having her first start.&rdquo;
In fact, it was a family result. Four-year-old mare Pro Velocity, raced by Widdup&rsquo;s wife Milissa and daughter Maddie in partnership with breeder John Clancy, broke through at her 11th start in the All
Aspects Roofing F&amp;M Maiden Plate (1400m), at her first start since finishing fifth at home over a middle distance in late June.
&ldquo;Pro Velocity&rsquo;s win couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time for Maddie,&rdquo; Brad said. &ldquo;She has just secured a position as an apprentice hairdresser.&rdquo;
Whilst Pro Velocity was resuming, the Proisir mare&rsquo;s win wasn&rsquo;t altogether unexpected.
&ldquo;Andrew Adkins rode her in a trial, and recommended putting blinkers on her,&rdquo; Brad said.
Pro Velocity was Brad&rsquo;s seventh home track winner so far this season, ensuring he maintains his lead in his title defence after beating all comers in last season&rsquo;s Hawkesbury premiership.
Winning rider, apprentice Mitch Stapleford, was later fined $400 by stewards for using the whip nine times (four more than permitted) prior to the 100m.

BRAD RETURNS TO FLEMINGTON WITH BRILLIANT GROUP 2 WINNER

THURSDAY: November 6, 2025: BRAD Widdup had never been to a Perth yearling sale until he and major client, Mulberry Racing&rsquo;s Mike Gregg, went there last year.
They purchased four fillies; only two have raced so far and one of them, Bondi Blossom, got off the mark at Gosford today.
Starting a $4.40 third favorite at her sixth start, Bondi Blossom (Christian Reith) broke through in the Provincial Maiden Handicap (1600m), comfortably defeating Kembla Grange four-year-old and $2.70 favorite Phoenix Legend.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t go to the Perth sale intending to buy solely fillies,&rdquo; Brad said this evening.
&ldquo;It was just the way it worked out, and we went back earlier this year and bought a Playing God filly ($90,000).&rdquo;
Farnan filly Seven Days is the only other to race from last year&rsquo;s purchases &ndash; and she is unplaced from two starts.
Bondi Blossom was the last and cheapest of the four &ldquo;girls&rdquo; purchased last year.
She fetched $45,000, whereas Seven Days was $130,000, and the Playing God and Deep Field fillies $210,000 and $180,000 respectively.
Brad took blinkers off Bondi filly Bondi Blossom for her Gosford assignment.
&ldquo;She was narrowly beaten over 1500m at Kembla Grange on October 13, and then disappointed at her next run there over 1600m 12 days later,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;Christian said she raced too keenly that day, and so I decided to race her at Gosford without the blinkers.
&ldquo;She settled nicely back in the field, and rounded up her rivals in the straight to win well.&rdquo;
Brad starts two-year-old Anthropoid (Tyler Schiller) in Saturday&rsquo;s Golden Gift (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens, and is heading to Melbourne where he will saddle Jedibeel and Sunset Park at the finale of the four-day Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington.
Anthropoid, a Prague two-year-old who also races in the Mulberry colours, was an eye-catching fourth on debut to fellow Hawkesbury youngster Thrill Hunter in the Kirkham Plate (1000m) at Royal Randwick on October 25.
&ldquo;I feel he is going to develop into a nice horse,&rdquo; Brad said.
&ldquo;Anthropoid is still inexperienced, but it&rsquo;s a $1m race and I have never been frightened to have a go.&rdquo;
Brad has been forced to secure replacement jockeys for both Melbourne representatives.
He was fortunate to nab Melbourne Cup winning jockey Jamie Melham for Sunset Park in the Group 2 Matriarch Stakes (2000m), and Ethan Brown rides Jedibeel in the $3m Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m).
&ldquo;Lachlan Neindorf rode Sunset Park when she ran third in the Group 3 Tesio Stakes (2040m) at The Valley and was unlucky not to have won, and has since been suspended, whilst Blake Shinn was to have ridden Jedibeel but broke a leg in a fall at Flemington on Tuesday,&rdquo; Brad said.

PERTH “CHEAPIE” BLOSSOMS AT GOSFORD

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’S TITLE DEFENCE OFF TO A GOOD START

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.

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