07/01/2026
Blake Ryan Racing has a particular explanation for why he likes training fillies and mares!
“They might be only 80 per cent, but will give you 100 per cent every time,” the Hawkesbury Race Club Limited trainer said after scoring with Heaven Bound at Warwick Farm.
“They’re tough and I enjoy training them.”
Ryan’s victory with Heaven Bound ($10) in the 1600M BM72 Hand for mares four-year-old & upwards was his fourth (her career tally stands at six) with the five-year-old daughter of Pierro.
And he has won five (four in town) with another mare, stable star Lady Extreme.
Ryan booked apprentice Mitch Stapleford for Heaven Bound’s city breakthrough today to offset her 61kg after regular jockey Jay Ford suggested claiming on the mare. Read more 👇 📸 Bradley_Photos https://www.provincialracingnsw.com.au/post/ryan-s-success-with-mares-is-heaven-sent
25/08/2025
NEWS: The strongest collection of sire power ever assembled for an Australian 2YO Sale will be offered at the Sale, for which the catalogue is now available online.
A catalogue of 222 lots has been finalised for the auction, which is to be held at Riverside Stables in Sydney on Thursday October 16, two days before the running of the world’s richest race on turf, the $20m The Everest at Royal Randwick. Read more: https://bit.ly/464TzUu
21/08/2025
https://www.racingjobs.com.au/job/casual-ground-staff-required-3/
CASUAL & FULL TIME GROUND STAFF
Due to expansion and development of another barn, Blake Ryan Racing is currently seeking both Full Time and casual ground staff members to join our stable. We are a young racing stable and also one…
21/07/2025
Check out our Horses Available page and get in touch about becoming part of the team!
Blake Ryan
Welcome to Blake Ryan Racing.
15/07/2025
DON'T DRINK & DRIVE
All your transport needs taken care of for the races this Wednesday and Thursday.
Further information about the # # July Racing Carnival and online tickets can be found at www.crjc.com.au or https://graftontickets.com.au
THE # # JULY RACING CARNIVAL – IT’S FUN YOU CAN BET ON!!
PLEASE SHARE
09/05/2025
“SIXTH SENSE” GETS A HAWKESBURY TREBLE
TWO tracks equated to three winners for Hawkesbury trainers today.And coincidentally, it had everything to do with horses all having their sixth career starts.Blake Ryan and Michael Vella scored at Goulburn with Mission Giant and Cosmeena respectively, and Mike Van Gestel was successful at Wyong wit...
23/04/2025
EXPERIENCED GROUND STAFF REQUIRED
Blake Ryan Racing is currently seeking a long term full time ground staff member to join our stable. We are a young, fresh racing stable and also one of the leading Two Year Old Sale Vendors in the Southern Hemisphere. The Position is available for full-time work. We are based in state of the art facilites at Hawkesbury Racecourse, Clarendon NSW. All applicants should be reliable workers with horse skills essential. Racing experience will gain preference. In addition, the following will be required:
Ability to work as part of a dedicated team
Willingness to work early morning shifts(4am-9am approx) with two (2) Rostered afternoons off per week with every second weekend off.
Willingness to attend paid trials and race days if required. (any race days will not count towards any rostered afternoon off)
A positive and friendly manner essential
Above Award Salary
No Visas or accom unfortunately at this time and we are not eligible for the 88 days due to location . Come and join our young and enthusiastic team ! NO TIME WASTERS PLEASE email : [email protected] Mobile (text only) : 0415 585 464
08/03/2025
There are champions, and then there are legends—horses who defy expectation, rewrite history, and leave the sport forever changed.
Zarkava was one of those rare, untouchable forces.
She didn’t just win—she made it look effortless. She didn’t just defeat rivals—she crushed them. And all the while, she carried an air of mystery, an untamed spirit that made her both thrilling and unpredictable.
She was a queen who ruled her way. Fast. Fearless. Unbeaten.
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A Filly with Fire
From the moment Zarkava stepped onto a racetrack, it was clear she wasn’t like the others.
She was bred for greatness—by the mighty Zamindar, out of the staying mare Zarkasha—but it wasn’t just bloodlines that set her apart.
It was her raw speed, her explosive turn of foot, and her unshakable will to win.
She had a mind of her own, too. A little wild. A little stubborn. But that only made her more fascinating.
Her trainer, the legendary Alain de Royer-Dupré, knew she was special. But even he didn’t realize just how much she would change the game.
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An Unstoppable Force
Zarkava’s two-year-old season was a warning shot—two races, two wins, and a glimpse of her brilliance.
But at three?
She became something else entirely.
First came the Prix de la Grotte—a comeback run, a warm-up. She won it without breaking a sweat.
Then, in the French 1000 Guineas, she faced her biggest test yet. She missed the break badly, giving her rivals a head start.
Did it matter?
Not one bit.
She simply ate them alive in the final furlong, flashing past like they were standing still.
She was unbeaten. Unchallenged. Unmatched.
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Dominance Like No Other
Next came the Prix de Diane, France’s Oaks.
They said 2100 meters might stretch her.
They were wrong.
She barely had to try, cruising past the best fillies in the country as if they didn’t belong on the same track.
By now, the whispers had turned into certainty—Zarkava wasn’t just good. She was a phenomenon.
But her true masterpiece was yet to come.
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The Arc: A Queen Against the World
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is the ultimate test. It breaks champions, turns dreams to dust.
No filly had won it in 15 years.
No three-year-old filly had won it in over 20.
No horse—not even the great ones—had ever dared to do it the way Zarkava would.
The start was a disaster. She broke dead last, almost losing touch with the field. The crowd gasped. The dream was slipping away.
But then, like a storm building strength, she began to roll.
Through the pack she weaved, passing horses like a ghost slipping through shadows.
And when she saw daylight in the straight—she exploded.
In a few strides, she was gone.
Sixteen of the world’s best colts had tried to stop her.
Not one of them stood a chance.
As she thundered past the finish line, history was rewritten.
Zarkava—the filly who raced on her own terms—had conquered the greatest race in Europe, unbeaten, untamed, unforgettable.
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The Queen Walks Away
And then, just like that, she was gone.
No four-year-old campaign. No farewell tour.
Her owner, the Aga Khan, retired her unbeaten, a perfect 7-for-7.
Because Zarkava wasn’t just another champion. She was a legend that refused to be diminished.
She came, she ruled, and she left before the world could ever see her fall.
A queen of the turf. A force of nature.
And one of the greatest fillies the world has ever known.