Lady Catalina has secured her first stakes victory in the Group 3 Red Roses Stakes (1100m) at Flemington, adding black type to a pedigree that attracted a $1.8 million investment at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The three-year-old daughter of Written Tycoon held off Sequinned by a nose on Crown Oaks Day, 5 November, with Semantics finishing third. Trained by Ciaron Maher and ridden by Blake Shinn, the filly recorded her second career victory from nine starts.
The result is significant for her connections and for the breeding interests associated with her dam, Away Game, a champion two-year-old filly purchased by Yulong for $4 million in 2022.
Lady Catalina is Away Game’s first foal. Her success gives the young broodmare her first stakes winner and provides a new performance reference for a female family that has already attracted considerable investment.
A Stakes Victory After a Challenging Preparation
Lady Catalina arrived at Flemington with ability already demonstrated at stakes level, although a second victory had proved elusive.
She won on debut at Newcastle earlier in 2026 but had failed to win her next seven starts, despite competing regularly in stakes company.
Her latest appearance before Flemington came in a benchmark 70 race at Cranbourne, where she finished unplaced.
At Flemington, Shinn adopted positive tactics, allowing Lady Catalina to lead the field down the straight 1100-metre course.
The filly maintained her position approaching the closing stages as Chris Waller’s Sequinned, ridden by James McDonald, emerged to challenge.
Sequinned appeared capable of reaching the leader, but Lady Catalina maintained her advantage to win by the narrowest official margin. Semantics, trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, finished third.
The victory gave Lady Catalina her first Group race success and changed the complexion of a preparation that had produced several competitive performances without a stakes win.
For her connections, the result was particularly satisfying given the expectations associated with her yearling purchase price and pedigree.
From a $1.8 Million Yearling to a Group 3 Winner
Lady Catalina attracted attention well before her racing debut.
Offered by Yulong as Lot 185 at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, the Written Tycoon filly out of Away Game was purchased for $1.8 million by Resolute Bloodstock and Ciaron Maher Bloodstock.
The transaction made her the highest-priced yearling sold on the opening day of that auction.
John Stewart’s Resolute Racing, an American ownership operation with international bloodstock interests, subsequently raced the filly in its colours.
The purchase was supported by an established Australian stallion on the paternal side and an outstanding young racemare entering her breeding career on the maternal side.
At the time of sale, Lady Catalina was the first foal of Away Game, making her physical assessment, sire profile and dam’s racing achievements especially relevant to prospective buyers.
Her first stakes win now adds racing evidence to the pedigree that originally attracted the investment.
It does not mean that her purchase price has been recovered through prizemoney. The distinction matters when considering both the racing and breeding components of a valuable filly’s commercial profile.
Away Game’s First Foal Becomes a Stakes Winner
Away Game was among Australia’s leading two-year-old fillies during the 2019–20 racing season.
A daughter of Snitzel, she won the 2020 Magic Millions 2YO Classic and Group 3 Widden Stakes before finishing runner-up in the Group 1 Golden Slipper.
She subsequently won the Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes at Randwick and, later in her career, the Group 3 W. J. Healy Stakes in Queensland.
Her record established her as a high-class juvenile, with speed, precocity and Group-level performance central to her appeal as a prospective broodmare.
In May 2022, Yulong purchased Away Game for $4 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
The transaction was the highest-priced lot at that sale.
Lady Catalina’s arrival as her first foal therefore carried expectations based on the mare’s racing record and significant acquisition cost.
The Red Roses Stakes result gives Away Game an important early achievement in her stud career: a stakes winner from her first runner.
A first foal’s performance cannot determine the eventual success of a mare’s breeding career. However, it provides direct evidence that Away Game has produced a filly capable of winning at Group level.
Lady Catalina’s Pedigree Combines Written Tycoon and Snitzel
Lady Catalina brings together two influential names in Australian thoroughbred breeding.
Her sire, Written Tycoon, has established a long record of producing high-class sprinters and juveniles, including Group 1 winners.
Her maternal grandsire, Snitzel, is one of Australia’s most successful stallions and a son of Redoute’s Choice.
This places Written Tycoon on the paternal side and Snitzel in the first generation of the maternal pedigree.
Lady Catalina Pedigree Overview
| Pedigree position | Horse | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Sire | Written Tycoon | Established Australian Group 1-producing stallion |
| Paternal grandsire | Iglesia | Sire of Written Tycoon |
| Dam | Away Game | Champion two-year-old filly and Group 2 winner |
| Maternal grandsire | Snitzel | Champion Australian sire |
| Maternal great-grandsire | Redoute’s Choice | Influential Australian stallion |
The combination places substantial juvenile and sprinting credentials on both sides of Lady Catalina’s pedigree.
Her Group 3 victory over 1100 metres is consistent with the speed demonstrated by her dam and with the sprinting influence of Written Tycoon.
For breeders, the result is a useful example of how an established sire can be paired with a high-performing racemare whose own produce record is still developing.
The individual racing ability of the resulting foal remains the critical test of that mating.
Written Tycoon Adds Another Stakes Winner
Lady Catalina’s Red Roses Stakes victory made her the 83rd stakes winner for Written Tycoon, according to Breednet’s breeding report published on 5 November.
The stallion stands at Yulong in Victoria and continues to be represented by high-class runners across the Australian racing calendar.
Written Tycoon’s record includes successful juvenile performers, sprinting horses and colts that have progressed to stallion careers.
Lady Catalina adds another stakes-winning filly to that record.
The result also creates a direct commercial connection between Yulong’s stallion operation and its broodmare investment in Away Game.
Yulong bred Lady Catalina, offered her at Magic Millions and retained the dam as part of its broodmare band.
Her success therefore contributes to the race record of a family in which the operation has a continuing breeding interest.
Away Game’s Younger Progeny Attract Attention
The performance of a mare’s first foal can become particularly relevant when younger offspring are approaching sales or racing age.
Away Game has a younger colt by Written Tycoon and a filly by Pierata.
The Written Tycoon colt was offered at the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale but was passed in below his reported $500,000 reserve.
The Pierata filly represents a different mating for the mare and will provide another opportunity to assess her capacity to produce successful racehorses.
Lady Catalina’s stakes victory adds a new achievement to the family’s record, although it cannot establish the future value or racing ability of her younger siblings.
Any assessment of those horses would still depend on their individual conformation, veterinary history, development, temperament and relevant sale conditions.
For bloodstock participants, the family demonstrates why the records of young producing mares deserve continued attention beyond their initial entry to stud.
Resolute Racing’s Australian Bloodstock Investment
Lady Catalina’s victory also highlights the international ownership interests participating in Australian yearling sales.
John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock secured the filly in partnership with Ciaron Maher Bloodstock, combining an international buying operation with an established Australian training stable.
Maher had previously trained Away Game, giving the stable direct experience with the filly’s immediate maternal family.
That background formed part of the broader ownership and training context surrounding Lady Catalina’s purchase.
The result provides Resolute Racing with a Group-winning filly in Australia and gives the ownership group further options to assess during her racing career.
Any eventual breeding plans, sale arrangements or changes in ownership remain decisions for her connections.
Her current Group 3 status establishes a recognised racing achievement that may become relevant to those future decisions.
What Lady Catalina’s Win Means for Bloodstock Buyers
Lady Catalina’s development illustrates several considerations that apply when assessing young thoroughbreds.
Her yearling price reflected the combined appeal of an established sire, a high-class dam and the individual filly presented at the sale.
Subsequent racing results have added information about her ability that was unavailable at the time of purchase.
Her first stakes win is also relevant to the producing record of Away Game and the ongoing performance of Written Tycoon’s progeny.
For buyers examining thoroughbred horses for sale in Australia, pedigree provides an essential starting point. The most useful assessment also considers each horse’s physical characteristics, racing or trial history, veterinary information and intended ownership arrangement.
Prospective owners can also review racehorse syndication and ownership opportunities to compare the breeding backgrounds of horses currently advertised by trainers and syndicators.
Lady Catalina’s Red Roses Stakes victory marks an important point in her racing career and an encouraging first result for Away Game as a broodmare.
For the breeders and bloodstock investors involved in the family, the next chapter will depend on the filly’s subsequent performances and the progress of her younger siblings.
