Contenders revealed for the 2025 Victorian Racehorse of the Year award

The three equine athletes in the running to be crowned the Victorian Racehorse of the Year have been revealed today by Racing Victoria (RV) as the build-up continues to the 2025 Victorian Racing Awards presented by Pace Development Group.

The prestigious award, which is this year presented by Evans & Partners, considers performances on Victorian racetracks across the 2024-25 racing season with the winner set to be unveiled this Saturday night (9 August) when they will join an illustrious honour roll. 

Following a vote by a panel comprised of industry officials and members of the racing media, the three finalists are Lindsay Park’s banner horse Mr Brightside, Chris Waller’s Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) heroine Via Sistina and Matt Laurie’s winning machine Treasurethe Moment.

The ultra-talented trio claimed seven Group 1 races in Victoria between them last season and all would be worthy of succeeding 2024 winner Without A Fight as the state’s pre-eminent racehorse. An overview of their achievements in the state last season follows:

Mr Brightside

Mr Brightside faced the starter nine times in his home state, each with Craig Williams in the saddle, and finished inside the top two on all but one occasion. 

The now-eight-year-old remained at the peak of his powers with three Group 1 victories on tracks ranging from Good 3 to Heavy 9, starting with a prized pair over the Flemington mile in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) and Champions Mile (1600m), before successfully defending his Futurity Stakes (1400m) title at Caulfield in the autumn. 

That carried his tally of elite level wins to nine and moved his prizemoney haul past the $17 million mark, which is testament to his sustained excellence and remarkable longevity at the top. 

Treasurethe Moment

Treasurethe Moment’s progression from finishing second in a Benchmark 64 Handicap at Sandown in mid-September to winning the time-honoured Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) at Flemington just four starts later was nothing short of extraordinary. 

The homebred filly backed up her stylish success in the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) for trainer Matt Laurie with another dominant display in the Oaks, before embellishing an already glittering CV with back-to-back Group 2 triumphs in the Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m) and Kewney Stakes (1600m) under her regular rider Damian Lane during the autumn. 

In total, the daughter of Alabama Express posted six consecutive metropolitan wins in Victoria, including four black type titles, to herald her arrival as a bona fide star.

Via Sistina

Much like the chic street in Rome after which she is named, Via Sistina is a supremely stylish product who has more than justified the $5 million-plus fee Yulong paid for her at the 2023 Tattersalls Mares Sale. 

Three of her seven Group 1 wins across the season came on Victorian soil, starting with her breathtaking burst in the Turnbull Stakes (2000m) under Damian Lane. 

James McDonald then took over in the saddle – following a midweek track gallop mishap – in the Cox Plate (2040m), and the pair proceeded to put on a clinic in Australasia’s weight-for-age championship as a world-class field of middle-distance horses were made to look somewhat second-rate.

Her subsequent victory in the Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington set the seal on a superb spring campaign in Victoria.

Hosted by Jason Richardson and live streamed via the Racing.com digital platforms, Saturday night’s Victorian Racing Awards will climax with the announcement of the 30th recipient of Victorian racing’s highest individual honour, the Scobie Breasley Medal presented by Pace Development Group.