There has been few horses in the past 30 years the public took to heart as much as "The Big O"

Octagonal, was a renowned New Zealand-bred and Australian-raced Thoroughbred, widely celebrated as "The Big O" or "Occy." Sired by the distinguished champion Zabeel, Octagonal's lineage boasts the exceptional champion broodmare Eight Carat, who also produced notable Group One winners such as Mouawad, Kaapstad, Diamond Lover, and (Our) Marquise. A near Golden Slipper winner at the age of two, Octagonal came out on top in a battle against perhaps the best three-year-old crop of modern times. Mr. Bob Ingham and his brother, Mr Jack Ingham, jointly acquired Octagonal, but little did the Ingham family know, when they purchased Octagonal for $215,000 at the 1994 New Zealand Premier Sales at Karaka, that he would go on to become one of the most revered horses in the history of Australian racing. Under the expert guidance of trainer John Hawkes, Octagonal commenced his racing career in the latter part of 1994. He achieved notable success by securing the title of Australian Champion 2yo during his autumn campaign.

Octagonal’s career began with a flourish as a two year-old. He won comfortably on debut in December 1994 before trainer John Hawkes put him out for a short spell and brought him back for a campaign the autumn, in which he resumed with a win in the Gr.2 Todman Slipper Trial before tackling the Gr.1 Golden Slipper. A near Slipper winner at two, Octagonal came out on top in a battle against perhaps the best 3YO crop of modern times. He resumed in September 1995 as a three year-old, finishing second to Kiwi speedster Our Maizcay in the Gr.3 Roman Consul Stakes, before winning both the Listed Heritage Stakes and the Gr.3 Stan Fox Stakes and heading to Melbourne for the Caulfield Guineas, where he ran home strongly for third place behind Our Maizcay once again. Both horses would then headed to Moonee Valley to take on the older horses in the WFA championship race of Australia, the W.S Cox Plate.

At a three, Octagonal won seven of his eleven starts, and took his record to 10 wins from 16 starts. In addition to beating a high-standard crop in Sydney's three-year-old autumn triple crown, the Canterbury and Rosehill Guineas and the Australian Derby, Octagonal won the two richest weight-for-age races on the Australian calendar, the Gr.1 W. S. Cox Plate and the  Gr.1 Mercedes Classic. Octagonal’s stoushes in the Canterbury and Rosehill Guineas and AJC Derby against Saintly, Nothin’ Leica Dane and Filante are still remembered vividly as some of the finest contests ever witnessed in Australia. With earnings of just short of A$4 million, Octagonal was voted the 1996 Australian Champion Three Year Old, Australian Horse of the Year, and remains the last horse to have won the triple crown. The Victoria (spring) and Australian Derby (autumn) double eluded him, however, as he was narrowly defeated by Nothin' Leica Dane in the Victoria Derby.

Octagonal went into the 1995 Cox Plate on the back of a third place finish in the Caulfield Guineas and in fantastic condition for the 2040m, while Lloyd Williams-owned Mahogany was set for the Australasian Weight-For-Age Championship after winning the Lightning Stakes in the autumn. It was in the Cox Plate that both Octagonal’s staying credentials and his iron will first came into the public spotlight. While Our Maizcay was gone before the home turn, Octagonal had responded so strongly to a couple of whips from jockey Shane Dye around 700 metres from home that he hit the lead approaching the home turn, which appeared too soon. Multiple Group 1-winner Mahogany dived back up inside Octagonal to take the lead with 100 metres to go but the three year-old wasn’t done yet, surging again to take the lead in the shadows of the post and hold on.

Octagonal returned to the track as a four-year-old, but his win the Underwood Stakes was the only highlight of a spring campaign that saw him unplaced in six of his seven starts. Meanwhile, the horses who had finished second to him in the triple crown - Saintly and Filante - won three races each, including the Epsom Handicap, the W.S. Cox Plate (where they were first and second), and the Melbourne Cup. In that final campaign Sydney clubs offered patrons pink doughnuts in honour of his all cerise silks and a plane painted a Big “O” in the sky after his narrow Mercedes Classic (BMW) win. It didn’t take long for Occy to prove that he was back in full flight in the autumn of 1996, running second to Juggler in the Gr.2 Apollo Stakes before a daring ride by Shane Dye saw him capture the Gr.1 Chipping Norton Stakes. With the field bunched and the tempo muddling, Dye took off for home well before the turn, skirting around the field and holding off all challengers comfortably. From there he headed south to Flemington and in another of his nail-biting finishes, took out the 1997 Gr.1 Australian Cup.

His final tally was 28 starts for 14 wins, 7 seconds and one third to go along with just shy of $6 million in purses. Octagonal backed his track exploits standing stud at Cootamundra from 1997. Octagonal most notable progeny includes four group 1 winners, Lonhro with 11 being foremost. Lonhro's brother Niello has produced three group 1 wins. French Laverock and South African Sontagonal complete the list. The Big O, spent most of his retirement at Darley Woodlands near Denman in the Hunter Valley but had been struggling physically. Octagonal was humanely euthanised in 2016.

RACE RECORD - 28: 14-7-1
EARNINGS - A$5,892,231

AJC Sires Produce Stakes (1995)
W. S. Cox Plate (1995)
Canterbury Guineas (1996)
Rosehill Guineas (1996)
Australian Derby (1996)
Mercedes Classic (1996, 1997)
Underwood Stakes (1996)
Australian Cup (1997)
Chipping Norton Stakes (1997)