Ruby Racing & Breeding can continue its kick-start season with 2021 graduate Starry Heights in the LR Kalgoorlie Cup (2300m) this Saturday.

Starry Heights will be pursuing a Goldfields feature double after his LR Boulder Cup (2100m) victory a fortnight ago.  (Photo: Carwyn Monck / Kalgoorlie Miner).  Ruby sold him for $35,000 at the 2021 Perth Magic Millions (as agent) for south-west breeder Ellie Giles.

Grant & Alana Williams bought him for a stable syndicate and he’s earned $360,000 going into the Kal Cup as an odds-on favourite.  Among the part-owners is Grant’s father Ray and he’s confident of a repeat performance in a race carrying prizemoney of $150,000.

“Grant has always thought he needed more distance to show his best and was confident he would handle the extra ground in the Boulder Cup,” Williams snr told the Kalgoorlie Miner.  “It was a great effort and we will be in the winner’s stall again on Kalgoorlie Cup Day!”

Ruby Racing & Breeding will be back in force for Ascot’s opening meeting on October 12 after finishing the Belmont season with winning graduate Bohemian Diamond (Maschino).  She was sold as agent for Ross Price as was fellow graduate Girls Day Out (Long Leaf) who followed up at Northam on September 15.

The pace picked up at Monday’s Belmont trials with Ruby’s G1 Railway Stakes graduate Bustler (Playing God) winding up for his next campaign with Onemoretwomany (Tassort) and Earthstorm (Calyx).

The mid-west vendors pinhooked Bustler as a foal for $32,500 at the 2020 Mungrup Stud Dispersal and stayed in when Neville Parnham bought him for $130,000 at the 2021 Perth Magic Millions.  “Bustler is doing as good as ever and will have the same Railway prep as last year,” Ruby’s Daniel O’Bree said following his midfield warm-up in a 1000m trial won by Baby Paris (Playing God).

All going well, the G3 Eurythmic Stakes (1400m) on October 19 will be followed by the G2 Lee-Steere Stakes (1400m) on November 9 into the $1.5 million Railway Stakes (1600m) on November 23.

Onemoretwomany finished third to September Born (Playing God) in a 1000m hit-out on Monday morning.  He will likely head to the Max Simmonds Stakes (1000m) on opening day as the first step on a 3yo black-type path at Ascot.  Neville Parnham jumped him straight out of the blocks to win the Crystal Slipper Stakes (1000m) last November after making $70,000 through the Ruby consignment to the 2023 Perth Magic Millions.

Earthstorm won her trial by two lengths from Zoomachino (Maschino) and is another member of the Ruby team that was consigned to last year’s Swan Valley Sale making $60,000 to Russell Stewart.  She was last seen running second to Bustling in the G2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m) and has done very well in the lead-up to the LR Burgess Queen Stakes (1400m) at Ascot on Melbourne Cup Day.

Looking ahead to 2025, Ruby Racing & Breeding has yearlings by its 2020 graduate Tiger Of Malay (Extreme Choice) catalogued for the Magic Millions.  He sold for $255,000 to China Horse Club at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale and won the G2 Brisbane Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) and the G3 Up And Coming Stakes (1300m) before retiring to Newgate Farm.

“Across the board, the Tiger of Malays are some of the most mentally relaxed and easy to deal with young horses,” Daniel O’Bree said.  “The pick of ours would be the second foal of Dundeel mare Silk Touch who is from a successful international family.  He’s a wonderfully balanced, strong colt and is improving every month.”