Bargain buy Spicy Martini completed a rags-to-riches tale when she raced away with the June 13 AU$3 million Stradbroke Handicap (G1) at Eagle Farm Racecourse, handing trainer Toby Edmonds and jockey Taylor Marshall an emotional victory in the state's premier race.
The four-year-old daughter of Justify —whose less-than-ideal limbs saw her purchased by Edmonds for just AU$8,000 via Inglis Digital in 2023—had built an enviable record of four black-type victories from 11 starts and Saturday added a first group 1 jewel to her crown.
Spicy Martini had attempted the 1,400-meter feature last year to no avail having been badly hampered early, and after some below-par spring runs in Sydney and a lengthy spell, the Gold Coast-trained mare came for a second crack off the back of an excellent weight-for-age second in the Doomben Ten Thousand (G1) last time out.
She ran fellow Queenslander Rothfire to a length under 56.5 kilograms at Doomben and, similar to 2025, was allotted a light weight (51.5 kilos) for the Stradbroke alongside an auspicious barrier down in 2.
She was able to make the most of it this time around.
Sent off a AU$13 chance, she experienced a dream run under Marshall, breaking well before sitting five back on the fence. She loomed ominously approaching the home bend, and was angled slightly out to make her move.
Marshall held on to the mare before calling for her effort at the 300 meters, and Spicy Martini had plenty to give, stretching out well on the Heavy 9 track and going on to score by a length over the Cliff Brown-trained Sepals, whose stablemate Von Hauke took third.
The victory marked a second Stradbroke and second group 1 for Edmonds, who scored his first with Tyzone (Written Tycoon) in 2020 in partnership with his son Trent.
Speaking to ANZ News this week, Edmonds said a second Stradbroke would cap off his storied career and that sentiment became reality as Spicy Martini wrote another memorable chapter in the race's history books for the Queensland horseman.
"To win it twice is big. It's big for me. I'm 60 years of age now, I don't know how many more years of training I've got to go," Edmonds said postrace.
"I'm quite emotional to be honest. It's been a 12-month build up and to be able to get it done is unbelievable."
Edmonds took the opportunity to again credit all of farrier Scott Bryce's work on Spicy Martini, whose physical quirks make her a "three-hour job."
"I've got to mention my farrier, who's an effing legend—to get this filly to do what she's done and to be as sound as she is," he said. "Well done Scotty Bryce."
For Marshall—son of the late Melbourne Cup (G1)-winning jockey John—it was a career-best success and first group 1.
"I was thinking of Dad saying, 'patient, patient.' But what a thrill," the winning rider said.
"Every jockey needs that one horse to put them on the map, so to speak, and I'm hoping she's that one. She's already proven to jag a group 1, and not only a group 1, but Queensland's most prestigious race. I'm lost for words."
Despite her price tag, winner Spicy Martini was well bred by Coolmore and became the 11th individual elite-level winner for the operation's former shuttle sire Justify—as well as his first in Australia.
Winner of the American Triple Crown in 2018 Justify is currently standing at Ashford Stud in Kentucky at a fee of US$200,000.
Tron Bolt Impresses in J.J. Atkins
Blueblooded colt Tron Bolt confirmed the lofty opinion held of him by trainer Chris Waller when he stamped his authority in Saturday's J.J. Atkins Stakes (G1) at Eagle Farm, securing a maiden group 1 victory at just his fourth career start and enhancing his reputation as one of Australia's most exciting 3-year-old prospects.
Sent out the AU$1.80 favorite, Tron Bolt traveled comfortably in midfield under James McDonald before displaying a telling turn of foot in the straight surging clear to defeat the game Cormier by a length, while fellow Waller-trained runner Stormy Marco filled third place.
The victory provided Waller with a fourth success in Queensland's premier juvenile contest following the victories of Pressday, Press Statement, and The Autumn Sun, and further underlined the significance of a race that has launched the careers of numerous elite performers and stallions.
For McDonald, the win carried additional historical significance. The champion jockey's success aboard Tron Bolt was his 17th group 1 victory of the 2025/26 Australian season, taking him past Malcolm Johnston's long-standing record for the most top-level wins in a single campaign.
Waller indicated the colt's long-term future is likely to lie over a mile and beyond, with the Caulfield Guineas (G1) emerging as a likely spring objective.
