Rich history celebrated at Arrowfield Scone Racing Carnival
The Fraser family's brilliant international sprinter Ortensia, trained by Paul Messara to win Group 1 races in Australia, Dubai and England. (PHOTO: Bronwen Healy)
The six stakes races on the program for the two-day 2026 Arrowfield Scone Racing Carnival celebrate the rich history of thoroughbred breeding & racing in Scone and the Hunter Valley, and some of the outstanding people & horses that have made the region nationally significant and internationally renowned:
Denise’s Joy (1972-2000)
Champion 2YO & 3YO Filly Denise’s Joy was bred by Sydney bookmaker Tom Powell and Dick Smith, whose brother, champion trainer Tommy prepared the filly to win the 1975 VRC Oaks and 3 other races that now have Group 1 status.
However, Denise’s Joy’s enduring fame rests on her record as a “blue hen” broodmare and ancestress of 93 stakeswinners including 15 Group 1 winners, among them Arrowfield graduates Joie Denise (by Danehill), Sunday Joy (by Sunday Silence) & Secret Agenda (by Not A Single Doubt). Denise’s Joy was a cherished resident at Arrowfield for the latter part of her life and today the Stud’s broodmare band includes her descendants Miss St Tropez (dam of Group winners Althoff & Scheelite) & Group 2 winner Wee Nessy.
Sponsored by Coolmore in 2026, the Denise’s Joy S. LR for 3YO fillies has previously been won by Godolphin mare Zapateo (also winner of The Galaxy G1 & 4 other Group races) and the Kia Ora-bred Miss Debutante (dam of G1 winner Lady Of Camelot & two other Group winners).
Woodlands Stud
Established on land near Denman that was originally settled by Europeans in the 1820s, Woodlands Stud was purchased in 1946 by the visionary George Ryder. Celebrated as the founder of the Golden Slipper, he sold Woodlands in 1970, the year he launched Australia’s first public syndication company, Australian Racing & Breeding Stables Ltd (ARABS), subsequently acquired by John Messara and re-named Arrowfield. George Ryder’s famous Black & Yellow Diamond silks are now Arrowfield’s silks and were carried to victory by Autumn Glow in the 2026 George Ryder S. G1.
The Derby-King Ranch partnership, which bred Marscay, owned Woodlands from 1970 to 1985 when it was purchased by Jack & Bob Ingham and re-developed as part of their brilliantly successful racing & breeding operation. In 2008 Woodlands was sold as part of Darley’s acquisition of the Inghams’ thoroughbred assets and now operates under the Godolphin banner as a farm for mares & foals, weanlings, yearlings and retired horses.
Sponsored this year by Yarraman Park, the Woodlands S. LR for 2YO fillies has been held since 2013, and past winners include subsequent Group 1 winners In Secret and Arrowfield graduate Lazzura.
Ortensia (2005-2016)
Bred by Len Rhodes and raced by current Scone Race Club Chairman Alister Fraser & his family, Ortensia was trained at Scone by Paul Messara, and travelled with then-strapper Leah Gavranich to compile an unprecedented (and so far unmatched by any other Australian horse) sequence of Group 1 sprinting victories in three countries: the 2011 Winterbottom Stakes in Perth, the 2012 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai and the 2012 York Nunthorpe Stakes in England.
In all, Ortensia won 13 races (10 black type) and $2.4 million across 6 seasons, but sadly died after leaving two daughters, Artefiori & Infiorata, dam of Group winner Genzano who fittingly became the first stakeswinner trained by the Messara & Gavranich partnership.
Supported this year by Emirates Park, the first four runnings of the Ortensia Stakes, 2012-15, were won by progeny of Arrowfield sires: Motspur, Satin Shoes & That’s A Good Idea (all by Flying Spur) and Unanimously (by Not A Single Doubt). Notable winners since then include subsequent Group winners Dirty Work, Viridine, Kaepernick and the 2025 winner Caballus, who progressed to Group success at Flemington and Doomben before claiming this year’s Newmarket H. G1.
PHOTOS: Arrowfield, Bronwen Healy, Darren Tindale & Georgia Young
Luskin Star (1974-2002)
If there is one horse that epitomises Australian racing’s fascination with precocious speed, it’s Australian Racing Hall of Famer Luskin Star, the “Colt from the Coalfields”. His incredible two-year-old season in 1976/77, when he won 8 of his 9 starts, including the Sydney 2YO Triple Crown (Golden Slipper, Sires’ Produce & Champagne Stakes) with a total winning margin of 16 lengths, remains the benchmark of juvenile excellence.
The following season Luskin Star added the Caulfield Guineas & The Galaxy to his record before embarking on a successful stud career, siring 30 stakeswinners including Group 1 winners Midnight Fever, Flying Luskin & Nick’s Joy.
The 1300-metre Luskin Star S. LR, sponsored this year by Darley, has been held at Scone since 2013. Past winners include two horses that won Group 1 races at the subsequent Queensland Carnival: Trekking (2019 Stradbroke Handicap) and Not A Single Doubt’s son Clearly Innocent, who won the Luskin Star in 2016 for Scone trainer Greg Bennett and again in 2017, before taking out the Kingsford-Smith Cup G1. And his trainer in 2017? None other than Kris Lees, son of Max who trained Luskin Star.
Dark Jewel (1953-1971)
One of the most famous broodmares in Australian thoroughbred history, Dark Jewel (by Star Kingdom) was owned by Griff & Daisy Tait (grand-parents of Olly) and left 5 stakeswinners of 28 stakes races. Three of her progeny, the colt Baguette, the gelding Cabochon and the filly Heirloom won 11 Group 1 races, among them the Golden Slipper, Doomben 10,000, Thousand Guineas & Epsom Handicap.
Dark Jewel’s influence now extends across 8 generations, 43 stakes-winning descendants and two 21st century Group 1 winners, the Tait family’s mare Spinning Hill (Lightning Stakes & Manikato Stakes – twice) and The Quarterback (Newmarket Handicap).
The Dark Jewel Classic G3 over 1400m for fillies & mares, sponsored this year by Arrowfield, was first contested in 1996 when it was won by Tripping, part-owned by Arrowfield’s Bloodstock Manager Jon Freyer. Since then, the list of Dark Jewel winners features two subsequent Group 1 winners (Con Te Partiro & Daysee Doom) and so far, 7 stakes producers including Sung (dam of Champion 2YO Microphone) & Rosa’s Spur (by Flying Spur; dam of Arrowfield graduate stakeswinner & producer Members Joy).
Scone Cup
The first Scone Cup was run in 1947, three years after the Scone Race Club was established, towards the end of World War II. The Club moved to its present location west of Scone in 1994 and in 2011 made history by hosting Australia’s first metropolitan-level, stand-alone, two-day carnival at a country club. The Club now presents around 17 racedays each season and the Carnival offers prizemoney of more than $2 million.
Arrowfield sponsors the Scone Racing Carnival and the Scone Cup for the first time in 2026, but has also been among the major Hunter Valley studs supporting the Carnival over the past 15 years. Like every other local farm and owner, Arrowfield is always keen to win the Scone Cup and has managed it once, when the Paul Messara-trained Obvious Choice (by Redoute’s Choice) won in 2009.
The only other Scone-trained winner in the past 20 years is Commando Hunt, successful in 2023 for Cameron Crockett. The 2024 & 2025 Scone Cups were won by Newcastle trainers Paul Perry (with Arrowfield graduate Sky Lab) and Kris Lees (with Tavi Time – his second winner after Rustic Steel in 2023).
