Rowe on Monday – Farnan flying in Hong Kong, Rebel’s improving cause and Moroney seeks Defining moment

Farnans find their Hong Kong groove with Cummings

Golden Slipper-winning stallion Farnan has sired two winners in Hong Kong – and both have been trained by James Cummings.

In the space of a week, Hong Kong newcomer Cummings prepared Grand Eagle to score last Monday and at Sha Tin on Sunday Speedy Power broke through over 1200m, 

They’re important results, not only for Cummings, but also for Farnan who crossed from Kia Ora to Vinery this year.

And we won’t be surprised if Farnan’s representation in Hong Kong increases on the back of his recent success.

Retired champion Hong Kong trainer John Moore, who provided Cummings with his maiden Sha Tin win via Grand Eagle, hopes to send Farnan colt Blessed Eagle to Asia if a deal can be struck.

Wearing Moore’s white, maroon band, armbands and cap-coloured silks, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained three-year-old Blessed Eagle raced four times during his first racing campaign, winning twice before an unplaced run in the Group 2 Roman Consul Stakes. 

“My Farnan horse, and unfortunately I believe that he was over the top when he raced (in the Roman Consul),” Moore told us at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale. 

“It was his first prep … and he was showing the right signs for Hong Kong. But he didn’t run well (at Rosehill) and he was paddocked straight away. 

“But I still think Hong Kong is on the cards once we can get the other side of the syndicate or the partners to agree with respect to a sale, but that’s all up in the air at the moment.”

Whether Cummings trains Blessed Eagle, if a sale proceeds, is another question altogether, but considering he’s trained both of Farnan’s winners in Hong Kong, he’d be entitled to be in the box seat.

Rebel with a cause

It’s no secret Rebel Dane has had to do it the hard way as a stallion at stud.

After starting out at Swettenham Stud and three seasons at Glen Eden Stud in Victoria, Rebel Dane’s early success from limited numbers – Group 3 winner Subterranean and Golden Slipper winner Fireburn – prompted the stallion’s shift to Widden.

His third and fourth crops numbered just seven and eight foals respectively and 35 in his fifth.

It more than doubled to 71 in his first crop foals conceived at Widden Stud and already it has produced two stakes winners, filly Rebel Tuesday, and Saturday’s Moonee Valley Vase winner True Rebel.

Rebel Dane is standing for just $6,600 (inc GST) this year and in terms of value for money for breeders, he’s hard to knock as he tends to sire genuine racehorses.

On the other end of the scale, Coolmore’s late sire Wootton Bassett was backed to the hilt from the time he was acquired by the Irish conglomerate mid-stud career.

He unfortunately died suddenly last year as he was three weeks into his fifth southern hemisphere season.

His second crop three-year-old crop produced a new stakes winner on Monday, with the lightly raced Coniston winning the Group 2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial on his way to a possible tilt at the 2000 Guineas at Riccarton.

Trained by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, Coniston is the eighth southern hemisphere-bred stakes winner and third from his second crop so far.

The commercial shine may have dropped off Wootton Bassett, but again, there will be talented horses to emerge from his two-year-olds, yearlings and final crop of foals to come.

The Vase | True Rebel

Favourite wins! True Rebel races into VRC Derby favouritism with an impressive audition for the 3YO staying feature 😤

📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/HEhdpozFmy pic.twitter.com/MPmh4vS2ad

— Racing.com (@Racing) October 24, 2026

Moroney’s Defining moment with eye on Tatts sale

The Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale starts at Newmarket in the United Kingdom tonight and Australian buyers are expected to be among the key players looking for carnival contenders for next year.

Agent Paul Moroney is among those who has done his due diligence on the catalogue, but he also revealed that he’s already been active in the private market this year, purchasing Dubawi gelding Defining after his most recent start in August.

“I bought him privately for a client who has placed him with the Hayes team at Lindsay Park, and he came out of quarantine last week, so we’re very excited about him,” Moroney told Straight Talk. 

“Obviously, looking at the Geelong Cup result (with Point Of Law), the horses that are coming out, even with the European trainers, they are very good. There’s no doubt about it.”

A three-year-old to northern hemisphere time, Defining raced four times for Francis-Henri Graffard in France, winning at Compiegne over 2400m in May.

Moroney suggested the catalogue for this year’s sale did not have the depth of past years, citing a variety of reasons for that being the case.

“It’s an interesting one because try buying them (European horses), they’re very expensive. That’s one thing I will say,” he said.

“People expect to get paid for a good European horse now. The days of going up there and stealing them are gone. And probably looking at the depth of the current Tatts Autumn Horses in Training Sale, which I’m knee deep in at the moment doing the analysis on, the quality is getting bought privately.

“I think that’s not probably the strength of high-end horses going to the sales now. Perhaps Arqana has taken over a little bit there with their Arc Sale.

“There’s some very good European horses going through that sale, more so French and German horses … and they’re stacking up very well.”

Dubawi 3yo DEFINING breaks his maiden third time out

Brother to Gr1 Ancient Wisdom & SP Intricacy

Dam Gr3 Golden Valentine@LNJFoxwoods @EcurieMonceaux @GraffardRacing @DarleyEurope @DarleyStallions pic.twitter.com/TUzrNCsh1g

— Pedigree Update (@pedigreeupdate) May 22, 2026