Maori Miss Award winner Keayang Yankee
THE greatest certainty of the 2024 Horse of the Year Awards was Lettucereason winning her category.
The dam of Leap To Fame and Swayzee unanimously won the Winona Award for the Broodmare of the Year for the second successive year.
Between them, Leap To Fame and Swayzee raced 26 times for a remarkable 22 wins and four seconds. The wins included: Miracle Mile, Hunter Cup, NZ Cup and Blacks A Fake.
Their combined prize money was $2,365,307.
Lettucereason is on the verge of becoming the first Australian broodmare to produce two winners of over $2 million with Swayzee on $1,998,593. Leap To Fame has earned $3,427,535.
Other noteworthy 2024 broodmares include 2022 Winona Award winner Lady Euthenia.
Her key performers last year were Max Delight (six wins, $338,250), Major Delight (six wins, $134,744) and Spitfire (two wins, $17,370).
Catch A Wave’s dam, Coppagoodone, also rates a mention with Yambukian contributing as well. The siblings won five races – including the Nullarbor, Fremantle Cup and Len Smith Mile - and earned $852,547.
On the trotting front, voting for the Maori Miss Award was close between Keayang Yankee and Heavens Above.
Keayang Yankee narrowly got the nod, largely through the deeds of unbeaten three-year-old filly Keayang Zahara. She won 14 races, seven at Group 1 level, and earned $664,330. Her sibling, Keayang Xena, added a win, nine placings and $33,399.
Heavens Above, who won the title in 2023, is the dam of recently retired champion Just Believe, who had a mammoth 2024 with 18 starts for 15 wins, three seconds and $974,580. He won five Group 1 races for the year.
