Look at the ears! Brave Xena didn't want Athena's Treasure to get past her in Saturday's TAB Highway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Had Brave Xena not been on the small side as a yearling, she almost certainly would have found her way into a sale ring. Breeder Glenn Burrows’ soft spot for the tiny Saxon Warrior filly was such that he elected to leave her on the rich pastures of his Willow Park Stud in the Hunter Valley, while contemplating her future. Glenn waited many months before having her broken in, by which time he’d made the decision to race her himself. His trainer of choice was Luke Pepper with whom he’d enjoyed a long and successful association.
Brave Xena impressively won her maiden at Nowra just two months after another Saxon Warrior filly had created a few ripples by winning two stakes races in Melbourne. Shortly after Brave Xena’s debut that “other” filly suddenly landed in Sydney to win the Gr 1 Randwick Guineas. Three weeks later Sheza Alibi generated a tsunami of publicity by winning the Doncaster Mile in sensational fashion. Glenn Burrows was by now smugly satisfied that he’d made the decision to keep the little Saxon Warrior filly who’s the first foal of two time Mornington winner Warrior Woman. Glenn, or a member of his family obviously had prior knowledge of a 1990’s television series called “Xena-Warrior Princess”. It’s a safe bet Brave Xena’s name was inspired by the deeds of the fictional hero in the high rating series starring Lucy Lawless.
The four legged Brave Xena followed her Nowra maiden success with a Cl 1 win on the same track, this time by an emphatic 4.8 lengths. Luke opted for a quick back up just six days later in a 1000m TAB Highway at Randwick, with satisfying results. Aided by Mollie Fitzgerald’s 3kg claim, the three year old filly raced on the pace before charging down the outside to swamp Neil and Satin Stiletto. Her rich vein of form prompted Luke to give her a crack at stakes level. “She missed a place in both the P.J. Bell at Randwick and the listed Denise’s Joy at Scone but wasn’t far away in either race,” said the trainer. “In hindsight it was probably all a little too soon for her. She’s a much stronger mare this time around.”
Brave Xena (Keagan Latham) made quite a statement in scoring her second win - a Cl 1 at Nowra 22/02/2026 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Brave Xena resumed with a cracking third to two smart ones in Cruizingthestars and Oh Arthur in a 1000m TAB Highway at Randwick on September 19th. Her next assignment resulted in a desperately unlucky second to Hellabella in a BM64 at Hawkesbury, when she had a chequered passage in the straight. Luke opted not to run her again for close to a month with a soft Canberra trial in between, and his strategy worked out perfectly. Brave Xena began well enough from an inside gate on Saturday but a surge of horses crossing from wider barriers saw her pushed back to midfield on settling down.
At the 600m Just Hear Me Out led Brave Xena’s stablemate Defiance with Comongin handy but trapped three wide. Yesspecially was perfectly placed on the outside of Nevermista while Brave Xena and Athena’s Treasure were racing 6th and 7th respectively. Brave Xena appeared to come off the bridle on straightening but started to pick up the moment she switched across the heels of Yesspecially. The pony sized mare grabbed the lead close to home and comfortably staved off a late dip from Athena’s Treasure with Yesspecially a good third. Brave Xena’s current record stands at 8 starts for 4 wins, two placings and $180,050. She’ll improve on those figures before she hits her mark.
Jockeys don't look much neater than this! Mollie Fitzgerald was all poise in winning Saturday's TAB Highway on Brave Xena - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
It’s been a fascinating journey for 46 year old Luke Pepper from the Ryde Pony Club to a high level of competition in the show jumping arena on the NSW south coast. A childhood aspiration to become a jockey was appeased to some degree when young Luke tried his hand on the picnic circuit, riding around fifty winners over four seasons. Eventually his weight exceeded even the amateur limit, forcing the equine fanatic to seek other avenues. He was delighted to gain a start at the Meringo Stud at Bergalia south of Moruya where he’d spend five happy years learning about the science of horse breeding.
He delights in recounting the story of the arrival at Meringo of broodmare Shady Stream, a daughter of Arch Regent who was carrying a foal by former topline British racehorse Celtic Swing. “That colt foal arrived safely in 1999 complete with his striking white blaze,” said Luke. “I was one of several employees of the day who still dine out on the fact that we had a connection to one of the greatest sprinters of his generation. Takeover Target’s 21 wins in four countries yielded $6.3 million. Can you imagine what he’d be winning today. Little did I realise I’d be linking up with Takeover Target again a few years later.”
From Meringo Luke went on to learn the basics of racehorse management from experienced trainers Barbara Joseph and Nick Olive both of whom recognized his rapport with horses and his talents as a work rider. It was during his time with Olive that Takeover Target’s trainer Joe Janiak asked him to ride the emerging superstar in some of his trackwork. Luke’s affinity with the sprinter was such that Janiak later invited him to accompany Takeover Target on two of his overseas missions.
The first adventure in October 2006 took him to Nakayama near Tokyo where the gelding led most of the way before decimating a quality field in the Gr 1 Sprinter’s Stakes. Almost three months later Luke was in Hong Kong to ride the celebrated sprinter in all of his work leading up to the Hong Kong International Sprint, only to share Joe Janiak’s disappointment when stewards ordered the gelding’s withdrawal on race morning. A hormone injection administered seven weeks earlier in Australia had failed to completely clear his system. Not only was Takeover Target deprived of the opportunity to race for lucrative bonus prize money, but his owner-trainer was hit with substantial fines.
Joe Janiak and Jay Ford with Takeover Target on the occasion of the legendary sprinter's farewell at Royal Randwick 2014 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Luke spent his early years as a trainer in Canberra and would never have left had it not been for the tough Worker’s Compensation costs imposed by the ACT Government. He fled to Scone in mid 2022 and enjoyed some of his finest moments over the next two years including a wonderful sequence of wins with massively talented filly Opal Ridge. She won seven races on Luke’s watch including three at stakes level and pocketed $1.2 million for connections. An easing of the Workers Compensation burden in 2024 saw Luke return to Thoroughbred Park at Canberra where he has 36 horses in work - more than double the number he was able to accommodate in the Hunter Valley.
This may have been Opal Ridge's best performance - a barnstorming finishing from near last to win the Darby Munro Stakes at Rosehill in April 2023. Tyler Schiller was the jockey - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
In pinpointing members of his team likely to excel in the future he came up with Defiance and a couple of unraced ones. Luke was asked to take over the training of Defiance by Darby Racing a few months ago and quickly reeled off a hat trick of wins with the son of Zoustar - two at Canberra and the other at Nowra. He had a soft trial at Canberra on October 23rd before lining up against his stablemate Brave Xena on Saturday. He did a power of work from a wide gate and was still with the leaders at the 200m before feeling the pinch. “He’ll have a break now and I’m confident he’ll do a good job next preparation for his big group of owners,” said Luke. “I’ve had a good association with Darby Racing who operate a very professional outfit.”
A young Luke Pepper soon after launching his solo training career - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Luke also spoke highly of an unraced two year old half sister to his former stable star Opal Ridge. Her name is Zenara and she’s done enough to suggest that some of the family genes have rubbed off. Luke’s also mildly excited about the prospects of an unnamed Kings Legacy two year old who’s showing all the right signs. He’s a half brother to Czech Me, a recent Moruya winner for the stable. “We knocked back a pretty tempting offer for Czech Me from the Hong Kong agents, and it looks like we’ve pulled the right rein,” said Luke. “He has miles of speed and only needs to strengthen a bit to develop into a pretty handy horse.”
In the meantime, Luke is pondering Brave Xena’s immediate future. The four year old mare pulled up perfectly after her Rosehill win, but the trainer isn’t anxious to back up too quickly. One possibility is a quick trip to Brisbane for a black type race in three weeks. Luke Pepper has paid little attention to statistics since winning his first race as a trainer with Ganesan at Queanbeyan seventeen years ago. He got a pleasant surprise at Rosehill when a member of the Sydney racing press corps told him that he’s within a couple of wins of the four hundred mark - a tidy effort in view of very limited horse numbers over the years. “That news has fired me up a bit,” said Luke. “I’ll focus on the five hundred milestone from here on.”
Luke looked quietly chuffed as he collected the trophy after Bank Of Erin's win on the Sapphire Coast in 2018 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Can't recall having seen JMac plant a kiss on one of his winners but Mollie was unabashed in showing her affection for Brave Xena - courtesy Bradley Photographers.