Annual Awards
2026 Champion First Season Stallion -
BARBARIC
Top Performer: The Barber (g. 2023 – Plumage). 1 start. 1-0-0. A$96,100.
Barbaric has made an encouraging start to his stud career by claiming the title of Queensland Champion First Season Stallion for 2026. From his first crop to race, the Lyndhurst Stud resident was represented by nine runners, producing five winners and seven wins, with progeny earnings totalling A$232,165.
Leading the way was the exciting gelding The Barber, who made a perfect start to his racing career with a debut victory and earnings just short of $100,000. His performance provided an early glimpse of the potential within Barbaric's first crop as the son of I Am Invincible begins to establish his reputation at stud.
A Group-winning son of champion sire I Am Invincible from the stakes-winning mare Mimi Lebrock, Barbaric retired to Lyndhurst Stud with an outstanding pedigree and race performance behind him. His first runners have shown encouraging signs, providing breeders with confidence that he can build on this promising beginning in the seasons ahead.
Barbaric's success also completed a remarkable result for Lyndhurst Stud, which secured a quinella in Queensland's stallion honours, with Better Than Ready again crowned Champion Stallion. It is a fitting reward for the Darling Downs nursery, whose continued investment in proven and emerging stallions is delivering results both on the racetrack and in the breeding barn.
2026 Champion 2YO Stallion - SPIRIT OF BOOM
Top 2YO Performer: Boomelli (f. 2023 – Foxarelli). 6 starts. 3-1-1. A$240,100.
Spirit of Boom has claimed the title of Queensland Champion 2YO Stallion for the sixth time, further cementing his standing as one of Australia’s greatest producers of juvenile talent. During the 2025–26 season, his 40 two-year-old runners produced 12 winners and 15 wins, including one individual stakes winner responsible for one stakes victory, while accumulating A$1,456,760 in prizemoney.
The season's standout performer was the talented filly Boomelli, who enjoyed an impressive debut campaign, winning three of her six starts while also recording a second and a third. Her earnings of A$240,100 highlighted another successful crop for the Eureka Stud resident.
A dual Group 1 winner by Sequalo, Spirit of Boom has earned a reputation for producing precocious, tough and durable racehorses that excel from an early age. His progeny continues to deliver consistent results on the racetrack, making him one of Queensland's most respected and commercially successful stallions.
The Queensland and Australian thoroughbred breeding industries farewelled Spirit of Boom earlier this year, marking the end of an extraordinary chapter in the state's breeding history. While his loss will be deeply felt, his legacy lives on through the outstanding horses he sired, with this sixth Queensland Champion 2YO Stallion title providing a fitting tribute to a stallion whose influence will continue to shape the breed for generations to come.
2026 Champion Stallion - BETTER THAN READY
Top Performer: Chidiac (m. 2020 – Bewitchment). 13 starts 7-1-1 Earnings: A$1,111,750.
For the fourth consecutive year, Better Than Ready has once again claimed the title of Queensland Champion Stallion, continuing his remarkable record as one of the state's most consistent and influential sires. During the 2025–26 season, his 278 runners produced 128 winners and 220 wins, including four individual stakes winners responsible for four stakes victories, while his progeny amassed A$10,378,727 in prizemoney. Impressively, this was the fourth year in a row that Better Than Ready has finished in the Top 20 Stallions in Australia.
Leading the way was outstanding mare Chidiac, whose earnings exceeded A$1.1 million to finish the season as Better Than Ready's highest-performing progeny. Her success highlighted another exceptional year for the Lyndhurst Stud stallion, whose offspring continue to perform across metropolitan and feature race level.
By More Than Ready, Better Than Ready has firmly established himself as Queensland's premier commercial stallion. Trained by Kelly Schweida during his own racing career, he retired to Lyndhurst Stud in 2016 and has developed into a cornerstone sire for the Queensland breeding industry, consistently producing quality performers with durability, versatility and class.
Year after year, Better Than Ready continues to set the benchmark for Queensland stallions, with his sustained success on the racetrack ensuring his lasting influence on the state's breeding industry and further strengthening the reputation of Lyndhurst Stud.New Paragraph
2026 Broodmare of the Year - Sheza Gypsy
Top Performer: Sheza Alibi (m. 2021 – by Saxon Warrior). 10 starts. 7-2-1. A$3,719,945.
Sheza Gypsy has been crowned Queensland Broodmare of the Year following the extraordinary season enjoyed by her outstanding daughter, Sheza Alibi. The four-year-old mare emerged as one of Australia's elite performers during the 2025–26 racing season, capturing two Group 1 victories in the Randwick Guineas and Doncaster Handicap, together with Group 2 successes in the Armanasco Stakes and Sandown Guineas, and the Group 3 Vanity Stakes.
Bred in Queensland by long-time hobby breeders Fred and Desley Monsour, Sheza Alibi completed the season with seven wins, two seconds and a third from just 10 starts, amassing A$3,719,945 in prizemoney. Her remarkable rise began after being purchased by Queensland cattle breeder Fred Noffke for just A$10,000 through the Inglis Digital June (Early) Online Sale as a weanling. She was initially entrusted to Toowoomba trainer Matt Kropp before beginning her racing career with Rockhampton trainer Kris Hansen, whose patient handling laid the foundation for her progression to the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman stable.
The success of Sheza Alibi is a testament to the breeding program developed by Fred and Desley Monsour over several decades. A true Queensland story, both Sheza Gypsy and her star daughter were bred by the Monsours, whose patience and dedication have been rewarded with one of the state's most memorable breeding achievements. Adding another Queensland chapter to the story, Sheza Gypsy was purchased last year by Queensland breeders Cameron and Kellie Bond (pictured), ensuring the Broodmare of the Year remains in the hands of local breeders.
Sheza Gypsy's Broodmare of the Year title is fitting recognition of the influence she has already had on Queensland breeding, with Sheza Alibi's outstanding achievements ensuring her place among the state's most accomplished producers.
The other finalists were
Huss on Fire (dam of Rothfire)
Transonic (dam of Abounding)
You can read about the awards criteria here TBQA Awards Criteria - Thoroughbred Breeders Queensland Association (queenslandbreeders.com.au)
