Dual Cox Plate Winner Via Sistina Retired to Be Covered by Dubawi

Via Sistina, the reigning Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year and back-to-back Cox Plate winner, has been retired from racing and will be sent to the United Kingdom to be covered by leading global sire Dubawi. The announcement, confirmed by owners Yulong and trainer Chris Waller on Jan. 19, 2026, ends the competitive career of one of Australia’s most accomplished weight-for-age performers and marks a high-profile pivot into the international bloodstock market.

On track Via Sistina combined tactical speed and durable cruising speed to dominate at the top level, converting multiple Group 1 opportunities into headline victories and securing consecutive Cox Plates - a rare achievement that underscored her class and adaptability. Those performances cemented her status as the nation’s champion racehorse and made her one of the most valuable broodmares to emerge from recent Australian racing seasons.

The mating with Dubawi reflects a deliberate breeding strategy aimed at maximizing both genetic potential and commercial value. Dubawi has established a global reputation as an elite sire and a sire-of-sires, and he has a shuttle history to Australia that has brought his influence into southern hemisphere pedigrees. Sending Via Sistina to be covered by Dubawi in the U.K. pairs an outstanding racemare with one of the modern era’s most influential stallions, a match designed to produce a foal with international appeal on racetracks and at sales rings.

This decision has immediate business implications for the bloodstock industry. An outcross to Dubawi both elevates the marketing narrative for Via Sistina’s first foal and signals Yulong’s appetite to invest at the highest level of broodmare mating. It also underlines the continued globalization of stallion selection; top Australian mares are increasingly flown overseas to access elite sires, and that flow will reinforce demand at major auction houses and influence future mating patterns across stud farms.

Culturally, the retirement of a mare of Via Sistina’s stature feeds into the storytelling that sustains racing fandom. Her move from the racetrack to the paddock will be followed closely by breeders, owners, and punters alike, who see the mare’s racing résumé as part pedigree, part legend. For the industry, her transition highlights how performance shapes bloodlines and how owner decisions can shift genetic trajectories for a generation.

For readers, the immediate takeaway is that Via Sistina’s legacy now extends beyond her race record into the global breeding ledger. The next chapter will be watched at foaling, auction and on future racecourses, where the offspring of this high-profile mating will carry both expectation and the commercial weight of a carefully chosen sire.