Four predictions for the 2024/25 season which starts this week

There is a lot to look forward to this season. The spring is just around the corner and with it, some of the top horse races in Australia. Add to that an improvement in the weather and this is a time of year that we all look forward to.

Storm Boy to bounce back for The Everest

It’s fair to say that what looked like the best two-year-old that we had seen this season turned into a bit of a bust in the autumn. The key with him might be to keep him fresh. In a recent interview, Adrian Bott felt that they overraced him during a long prep and he was not able to cope. 

Early on in his racing, his physical size made him stand out. It made him look like he was going to be a better horse as a three-year-old once he had grown into his frame.

If that initial impression does happen and he is given an easier time in the run-up to October, we could see a very different Storm Boy at Randwick. Coolmore owns a slot so if he can win a prep race or two in style early in the spring, surely he ends up as their representative.

Melbourne Cup for Warmonger

In contrast to Storm Boy, Warmonger is a horse who thrives on a busy schedule. The longer the season went on, the better he looked. His Queensland Derby romp by 10 lengths was one of the most impressive all season. 

There is another fair whack of improvement required to make the step up to winning a Melbourne Cup. His best run in the spring, however, was at Flemington and the further he has gone, the stronger he has looked. The longer distance again will be a big plus for his chance. 

Celine Gaudray to add her name to Group 1 winners

Gaudray has only been given seven chances at the top table so far in her career, finishing third on two of them. She rode 42 metro winners in Victoria this season with only Damian Lane, Blake Shinn and Michael Dee riding more. That is smart company for the 22-year-old to be keeping.

She is being trusted more and more by the bigger stables. It will be a natural progression for her with those opportunities at a lesser level to start to get more opportunities in better races. She is 16 winners short of 200 for her career so that will be aim number one for the season but she should be aiming higher and looking for her maiden Group One win.

100 up this season for Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young

The team have knocked on the door in recent years finishing with 99 in 2019/20 and 97 in 2021/22. The last two seasons have been a bit below that, only seeing 72 winners during the year but from almost 200 fewer runners.

They maintained a similar strike rate to those most successful years, they simply lacked the volume of runners. A lesser campaign should light a fire under the team so it is easy to think that they will have a bigger season this time around.  

So there we have it. Four predictions for the upcoming 2024/25 season. We hope that next season is as exciting as this one was, if so, then we are all in for a treat. A lot of stars have been retired but there are some exciting potential stars ready to take their place.