Racing
The BYD Quokka 2026: West Star Runner Profile
The Northam Stakes winner West Star is back in Perth and looking to conquer The BYD Quokka.
After a Victorian sojourn in the spring, West Star is back in Perth and taking aim at The BYD Quokka again in 2026.
The son of Playing God, who finished seventh in the 2025 edition of The Quokka, has been snapped up after Magic Bloodstock, Magic Millions and Bangaloe Stud joined forces.
After a somewhat disappointing campaign where the target was the Golden Eagle, connections pulled up stumps following a four-length defeat in the Moonga Stakes at Caulfield, where he wasn't too far off his form by Racing and Sports' measure.
Given plenty of time off, Miller has openly stated that the gelding has continued to improve since his time in the east, trialling strongly behind stablemate Petula and beating home fellow Quokka contender Luana Miss in a Belmont trial on March 16.
Miller will follow a familiar path with West Star, tackling the Roma Cup on resumption before heading into the $5 million feature second-up.
West Star currently holds a peak RAS Rating of 114 for that win in the Northam Stakes, which isn't too far off the early benchmark for The BYD Quokka this year with Caballus and Rey Magnerio at 118 and 117 respectively.
That isn't to say West Star can't reach that mark, he is more than capable of doing so this time in work being a more mature commodity and having the hardening of racing in strong company and a trip away can see the son of Playing God go to a new level in 2026.
He'll need to if he was to win The BYD Quokka, though he may represent some value at the early price.
Currently a $21 chance with TABtouch at the time of writing, the market has him in line with the 107-rated Talkanco, which seems a little harsh considering the profile he has.
West Star's racing pattern is also a big key, meaning he'll be in front of those like Talkanco and Luana Miss. The gelding may concede them upside, but he's better than both 3YO's at the same stage of their careers.
After jumping a $15 chance in last year's Quokka as a three-year-old, a more mature West Star will look to make it back-to-back wins for the locals in 2026.

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