A year of G1 highs for Avenue Bloodstock

From the Breeders’ Cup to multi million guinea sales, 2025 was a year of memorable highs for Avenue Bloodstock and its clients.

Porta Fortuna’s sale for 4,500,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale capped a momentous late season period for Avenue Bloodstock and ownership group Medallion Racing that also featured the $3.7 million sale of Grade 1 winner Lush Lips and a Breeders’ Cup victory for 2yo Balantina.

The Donnacha O’Brien-trained Balantina, an Arqana August yearling purchase, carried the colours of Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Lissa Ann McNulty to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar. The Ten Sovereigns filly produced a brilliant turn of foot to shoot through a gap under Oisin Murphy and win easily from Pacific Mission.

It was a deserved success at the top level for Balantina, who had previously run second in the Group 3 Prix Six Perfections and third in the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot following her maiden win at the Curragh in May.

“Our goal every year is to make it to the Breeders’ Cup with a 2-year-old,” said co-owner Steve Weston. “I believe that we are better off, the Americans, buying our horses and leaving them in Europe for a time and letting them grow; having the advantage to compete against possibly the best turf horses in the world.”

Bred by Summerhill, Lynch Bages and S Murphy, Balantina was purchased by Avenue Bloodstock alongside Parkland and Bawnmore for €100,000 as an Arqana August yearling from Camas Park Stud.  She is particularly well related as a half-sister to Group 3 winner Baiykara out of the winning Balankiyla, a Montjeu half-sister to Group 1 winner Bayrir.

Balantina wasn’t the only Avenue Bloodstock-bought filly to taste Grade 1 success in 2025. Lush Lips, a private purchase on behalf of Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Hoffman Thoroughbreds, Mrs. Paul Shanahan and Mrs. M.V. Magnier, gained her Grade 1 breakthrough in October when successful in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Dixiana at Keeneland.

Another by Ten Sovereigns, she powered past pace-setting Opulent Restraint to win by a length and a quarter for trainer Brendan Walsh. It was a deserved Grade 1 success for Lush Lips who had previously run second in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks among other Graded stakes placings.

“If you’d have said, ‘Pick any race the partnership could win, it would be this one here at Keeneland’,” said Phillip Shelton, racing manager to co-owner Medallion Racing. “The (credit) goes to (trainer) Brendan (Walsh) and his team and the filly. She’s just got a ton of heart, and we’re very lucky.”

Lush Lips topped the Keeneland November Sale. Photo – Keeneland

Lush Lips later sold for a sale-topping $3.2 million at the Keeneland November Sale to Dixiana Farm, for whom she made a winning return in the Grade 2 Mrs Revere Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Champion Porta Fortuna, meanwhile, returned with a bloodless display for Donnacha O’Brien in the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes at the Curragh. Unfortunately niggling injuries prevented her from running again and come the end of the year, the daughter of Caravaggio was sold at Tattersalls by Taylor Made Sales for 4,500,000gns to M V Magnier. With that the curtain came down on a journey of a lifetime for owners Medallion Racing, Steve Weston, Dean Reeves and Barry Fowler that began with her private purchase through Avenue Bloodstock and went on to include wins in the Group 3 Albany Stakes and Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at two and the Group 1 Coronation, Falmouth and Matron Stakes at three.

“I was talking to my wife earlier – this is why everybody tries to be in the game to have horses like this,” said an emotional Phillip Shelton, Medallion’s racing manager, following the sale. “For our partnership and me personally, Porta Fortuna has taken us to a stratosphere that we could never have dreamed about. It’s been a huge honour and a privilege to be a part of the journey.

“This was the end of our chapter and it’s been the most unbelievable journey and we wanted it to go well, more for her because we’re already so far ahead financially. At the end of the day, she didn’t owe us anything. She’s going to a great home and it’ll be fun to watch it.”

Ireland was also the scene of Magical Hope’s win for Paddy Twomey in the Group 3 Munster Oaks at Cork. The daughter of Frankel had been bought by Avenue Bloodstock on behalf of owners Steve Weston, Ballylinch Stud, Mrs Paul Shanahan and P J O’Brien at the 2024 Arqana December Sale and went on to resell for 780,000gns at Tattersalls in December.

Yearling purchase Glittering Legend also won the Listed Burradon Stakes at Newcastle for Bon Ho and James Fanshawe while in Australia, the evergreen Arapaho added another Group 1 to his record in the Sydney Cup at Randwick.

Arapaho was a €140,000 purchase by Avenue Bloodstock at the 2020 Arqana Autumn Sale in conjunction with his trainer Bjorn Baker and Clarke Bloodstock and currently boasts A$4.3 million in earnings.

Zavateri sticks his neck out at the Curragh

Among the mare purchases, Zeroua has made an immediate impact as the dam of leading 2yo Zavateri.

Bred by John Gunther and Ttr Bloodstock, Zavateri is the first foal out of  Zeroua, a Siyouni relation to Zarkava who was bought by Avenue Bloodstock on behalf of the Gunthers at the 2021 Arqana December Sale.

Trained by Eve Johnson Houghton on behalf of Mick and Janice Mariscotti, Zavateri swept the Group 2 July, Group 2 Vintage and Group 1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes to advertise the merits of his exciting young sire Without Parole.

Following Zavateri’s win in the Vintage Stakes, co-breed John Gunther told the Racing Post: “We tried to purchase some nice mares for Without Parole and, the way I look at it, if you send him a nice mare, he can throw a good horse. That’s really what it’s all about. Hopefully Zavateri can be a game-changer for him.”

North Coast, a son of Starman bred by Ringfort Stud out of Avenue Bloodstock mare purchase La Australiana, also looked a colt out of the top drawer when running away with the Group 3 Tyros Stakes at Leopardstown. He went on to run a great third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf for Joseph O’Brien.

Avenue Sales was also well represented in the ring throughout the year, with lots selling for up to 210,000gns (Invisible Friend, bought by Plantation Stud at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale).

With Zavateri, North Coast, Lush Lips and Balantina, not to mention December’s exciting debut winner Extremely Zain to look forward to, 2026 promises to be another big year for Avenue Bloodstock.

A Happy and prosperous New Year to all our clients.