Held at Luminare in South Melbourne, the Aug. 1 Victorian Breeding Awards celebrated the breeders, farms, stallions, broodmares, and industry participants behind another successful and eventful year for Victoria's Thoroughbred sector. The strength of a community is revealed in times of adversity. In a year when bushfires devastated parts of the Victorian Thoroughbred industry, the resilience, generosity, and unity of the community shone through. That pride in Victoria's industry was a defining theme of the evening, as its achievements, people and collective spirit were recognized and celebrated.
Janice McKenna's and her late husband, Colin McKenna's, culmination of a lifelong dedication to breeding was evident at Saturday night's Victorian Breeding Awards with their legacy collecting three major honors following the historic achievements of 2025 Melbourne Cup (G1) winner Half Yours.
McKenna was crowned the leading Victorian small breeder for the second consecutive year, with her season headlined by Half Yours' memorable Caulfield Cup (G1) and Melbourne Cup double.
Colin had a deep desire to not only to win some of the biggest races, but to breed a Melbourne Cup winner. It was an emotional moment for Janice and connections when 374 days later, a gelding they had bred won the Melbourne Cup. Half Yours was ridden to victory by Jamie Melham who has a very special relationship with the McKennas.
Half Yours was also named the champion Victorian-bred racehorse, while his late dam, the placed Desert King mare La Gazelle, was awarded the champion Victorian broodmare award.
Half Yours was sold as part of a dispersal in November 2024, less than a month after Colin's passing, when Belmont Bloodstock and McEvoy Mitchell Racing purchased the gelding for AU$305,000.
The McKennas also bred Victorian Owner and Breeder Incentive Scheme Horse of the Year Flying Done out of stakes-placed Testa Rossa mare Flying Tessie.
Flying Done won three races and placed on another three occasions during his 10-start 3-year-old campaign, earning AU$88,600 in VOBIS Silver and Gold bonuses and a further Au$60,000 in VOBIS Platinum vouchers.
Swettenham Stud's Toronado claimed the prestigious champion Victorian sire award for the second time.
Toronado enjoyed another successful season, with his progeny continuing to produce leading performances across Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong and further cementing his standing among Victoria's premier stallions. A top 10 sire on the Australian general sires list, Toronado finished the Australian season with a phenomenal 167 individual winners including seven stakes winners and was fourth on the Hong Kong sires table with another 13 winners, two at stakes level.
Darley's Northwood Park-based shuttle stallion Blue Point was named VOBIS Sire of the Year.
His progeny collected more than $732,000 through VOBIS Silver and Gold bonuses and VOBIS Platinum vouchers during the season.
Godolphin secured the VOBIS Nominator of the Year award, with its results headed by Steel Move, winner of both the VOBIS Gold Stockade and VOBIS Gold Carat.
Rosemont Stud's Extreme Warrior was recognized as the Victorian first-season sire following an exceptional start with his first small crop of 2-year-olds.
Like his sire Extreme Choice, Extreme Warrior's crops may be limited by quantity, but quality is certainly evident. Headed by Eternal Warrior, winner of the Merson Cooper Stakes, Extreme Warrior recorded four winners from just nine starters with the stallion's early results heralding a bright future.
Yulong Investments was named the Kentucky Equine Research and Barastoc champion Victorian breeder after producing a strong group of stakes performers across the country.
Yulong's successful season included Treasurethe Moment, Grand Prairie, Miraval Rose, Hedged, Alibaba, Cherry Bomshell, McWoody, and Brave Monarch.
Dual group 1 winner Tentyris received the Magic Millions champion Victorian-bred 3-year-old award following a season highlighted by two high-class performances down the Flemington straight.
The colt's speed and elite-level record established him as one of the leading members of his generation and a significant representative of the Victorian breeding industry.
Blue Diamond Stakes (G1) winner Streisand was crowned the Inglis champion Victorian-bred 2-year-old. She heard the Inglis gavel in Melbourne as often as she won being a graduate of both the Great Southern Sale, sold for AU$22,000 to Northmore and Waterford, and the Melbourne Premier Sale where she realized AU$100,000 to the bid of Shane McGrath Bloodstock and Clinton McDonald Racing.
The promising juvenile was bred by Don and Elizabeth Byrne's Eldon Park Stud and is a daughter of the late Victorian stallion Magnus.
The Lindsay Park training partnership of Ben, Will, and JD Hayes retained the Racing Victoria VOBIS trainer of the year title.
The trio successfully programmed a number of eligible horses throughout the season, with Kindhearted, Apulia, and Hydrobomb among the stable representatives to collect valuable VOBIS bonuses in addition to their race prize money.
Rosemont Stud stallion manager Matt Taylor received the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association Rising Star Award.
Taylor has played an important role in the development of Rosemont's stallion roster and was recognised for his knowledge, leadership and commitment to mentoring younger staff.
The Inglis Service to the Industry Award resulted in a rare three-way dead-heat, with Bucklee Farm's Leeanne Smith and Three Bridges Thoroughbreds' Peter and Pauline Liston sharing the honor.
