Price/Kent Strike Gold With Circus Maximus

Gold Chariot (Circus Maximus) continued his rise through the grades with an impressive victory over 1600m at Sandown Lakeside on Wednesday to make it back-to-back victories. .

Prepared by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, he produced a sustained finishing effort under Blake Shinn to overcome a race shape that was firmly against him and score in Benchmark 66 company.

“Mick and I plucked him out of the Windsor Park Stud draft at Karaka,” Kent Jnr said.

“We like the stallion. He’s going very well, Circus Maximus. He sired the New Zealand Derby winner this year and he’s just a beautiful, big, sound horse.”

Gold Chariot was expected to settle much closer to the speed, but Shinn elected to come back after being caught wide early. That left the lightly-raced gelding well off the leaders when the tempo slackened mid-race, before he rapidly made up the deficit from the 600m.

“It was a good win in the end. It was not where we wanted to be,” Kent Jnr said.

“I thought we’d be in trouble with the way the track has played. He was 12 lengths off them, but in a matter of strides he picked them up.

“It was a most impressive win. He’s a beautiful horse. He’s a nice horse for the future.”

“A lot of horses make a long run and their run ends when they get to the second horse, but for him to keep going away is a sign of a good horse.”
 

Circus Maximus a sire off to a great start to the season with 4 wins in Austraila since the 1st of August and with already impressive first crop statistics with eight individual black-type performers, led by:

• Road To Paris – Group 1 New Zealand Derby winner, now being prepared for a Group 1 weight-for-age campaign this spring.
• Paltrow Miss – Dual Group 1 placegetter in the Australasian Oaks and Queensland Oaks, set for another exciting campaign in mares' company this season.
• Towering Vision – Stakes-winning juvenile and Group-performed 3YO who trialed impressively earlier this week ahead of his spring campaign.
• Circus Dancer – Stakes-winning three-year-old with an exciting spring ahead.
• Ha'Penny Hatch – Australian black-type 2YO.

Along with Australian Group performed metro winner Engine Of War and Group placed filly Circus Trix. 

With an outstanding 14% of his runners earning black type, Circus Maximus continues to deliver exceptional results from his first crop, underlining his credentials as one of Australasia's most exciting young sires.

Circus Maximus stands the 2026 breeding season at a fee of $20,000 + GST, including a Live Foal Guarantee.