THE calendar year was ushered in with a bright start to the yearling sales as 31 yearlings made A$1 million or more at the three major sales. As ever the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale led the way bringing a top of $2.8 million and an average of $353,511 from 349 yearlings sold. Those and the rest of the 35,000 plus horses registered in Australia will be set to vie for over $810 million in prize money spread across just over 19,000 races in Australia.

At the peak of summer the proverbial hit the fan in Victoria as police raided the stables of Darren Weir. This set in motion the demise of the country’s leading trainer with police laying charges and the alleged use of ‘jiggers’ or electrical devices, seeing Weir disqualified for four years. With his stable imploding, many of Weir’s top horses were quickly moved as the partnership of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stepped in to absorb his Ballarat training base.