It hasn’t taken long for Victoria to flex its muscle again.
Earlier this month Victoria had one of its quietest and least successful Miracle Mile Carnivals for decades.
With the exception of a Keayang Zahara-led trifecta in the Hammerhead Mile, Victorians hardly caused a ripple across the two big weeks at Menangle.
Just a couple weeks later, back in NSW and the Victorians have flexed their muscles.
The entrée came at Wagga last Friday, the main dish at Bathurst on Saturday night and dessert could follow next Saturday back at Wagga.
Despite qualifying rule changes a couple of years which were clearly designed to stop so many Victorians raiding the Wagga riches, Victorian-trained pacers Sanchez, War Dan Buddy and My Ultimate Barney ran the trifecta in the first and strongest heat of the Riverina Championships for 4&5YO entires and geldings.
They were all NSW-bred, which was their workaround from the qualification changes.
After watching both heats, it will be a shock if one of the three Victorians from the first heat doesn’t win next Saturday night’s $100,000 final.
The other Victorian finalist in that race is Andy Gath’s Soho Darknstormy, who ran fourth in the second heat behind Sweet On Lexy.
Gath also has Victoria’s lone hope in the $100,000 4&5YO mares’ final after My Little Bo led and ran second in the first heat.
It looks a wide-open race.
As good as Wagga was for Victorians, it was merely a teaser for what followed at Bathurst – complete and utter dominance on the iconic Gold Crown final night.
There were five major finals and Victorians won four of them.
After a relatively low-key start to 2026 – largely by design – the powerhouse Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin stable flexed its muscle to win both the three-year-old finals.
In contrast to their usual dominance, both wins were upsets.
Willows Girl was a $17 chance when she weaved through the field to win the $100,000 Group 2 Gold Bracelet final.
Cam Hart’s drive was sublime and he repeated the dose on $13 chance Brooklyn Dan to win the $100,000 Group 2 Gold Chalice final, ending Hollywood Strip’s unbeaten nine-race streak and relegating him to third place.
There wasn’t a happier man than passionate Geelong owner Danny Zavitsanos, who races Willows Girl and Brooklyn Dan and absolutely loves the Bathurst Gold Crown Carnival.
Then Geoff Webster’s exciting youngster Jacwill Kid led throughout to win the $150,000 Group 1 Bathurst Gold Crown final with Will Rixon aboard.
Webster now has sights set on snaring a slot into the $500,000 Group 1 Protostar, a race Loucasso won last year, at Albion Park in July.
Jacwill Kid led home a Victorian trifecta in the Gold Crown with Russell Jack’s Gocciadoro second and Matty Craven’s Take The Miki a brave third after doing the work outside the leader.
Glenn Hunter, who had so much success last year with Gatesys Gem, then joined the Victorian-fest at Bathurst when Notanotha Naughty won the $60,000 Gold Coronet final for three-year-old trotters.
Other Victorians, Chris Svanosio’s Im Havintotrot and Brent Lilley’s Deep Love, ran third and fourth in the same race.
The spot returns to NSW next Saturday night, in the heart of Easter, for the Riverina finals.
If the heat form stacks up, Victorians should win at least one of the two finals.
It all shapes well for the biggest Victorian raid yet on the Queensland riches during the Inter Dominion Carnival in July.
