The star studded Night of Champions awards evening celebrating the best Australian racehorses of the past season was held in the Winx Stand at Royal Randwick on Thursday night and taking Australian Horse of the Year honours was brilliant mare Autumn Glow.

Beaten just once in 13 lifetime starts, Autumn Glow is the younger three-quarter sister to Newgate Farm’s exciting young sire In the Congo, who will have his first runners this season.

Like his champion sibling, In The Congo was also a Group I winner capturing the Group I ATC Golden Rose in 2021when beating Anamoe, who would later go on to become an Australian Horse of the Year.

Everything that surrounds In the Congo in terms of his pedigree and race performance indicates a horse of exceptional class.

His sire Snitzel has just claimed his fifth Champion Australian Sire title and his dam Via Africa (SAfr) was the Champion South African Sprinter in 2013/2014.

The first crop of yearlings by In the Congo were in strong demand with his top seller a colt from Stolen Jade bought from Newgate by Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott/Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $625,000 at Magic Millions.

He has been entered for the Golden Slipper and named Drums are Beating… over the next few months the drums may well and truly be beating for In the Congo!