Cover image courtesy of Desleigh Forster Racing
Exo Lady, whose three wins include her last-start victory in the Listed Calaway Gal S., had already earned over $200,000, four times what she cost Giltrow's wife Rita through the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale and nearly five times what Miss Petty earned in her 37-start career, which featured an amazing 27 wins.
The Giltrow's family stars have competed in very different eras, with Miss Petty's winning streak coming at tracks such as Muttaburra, Tambo and Jericho. It concluded on a memorable day at Longreach in 1989, where the then 8-year-old registered her 22nd-straight win for trainer/jockey Charlie Prow, breaking the 1100-metre track record in the process.
Miss Petty and Charlie Prow | Image courtesy of Red Ridge Interior Queensland
Inducted into the Queensland Country Racing Hall of Fame in 2020, Miss Petty has become a legend of the track and a timber sculpture of her was erected in front of her home track at Blackall, some 1000 km north-west of Brisbane.
Her Australian record winning streak was only surpassed by the superstar Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) with her third G1 Lightning S. victory in 2013, one which was bettered again by Winx (Street Cry {Ire}).
Fred Giltrow reflects on those days fondly, having picked Miss Petty out as a young horse, after she had reportedly been pronounced dead as a foal and then narrowly avoided a second catastrophe when a goods train derailed in her paddock.
Miss Petty timber sculpture | Image courtesy of Red Ridge Interior Queensland
"I bought her at Carl Waugh's, who was the boss of the Golden Nugget at that stage. I saw her as a foal on her mother. She was a half-sister to a Sydney winner out of beautifully bred mare. I was fortunate enough to buy her," Giltrow told TDN AusNZ.
"I had an exceptionally good Todwana filly as well, and Todwana was one the leading sires in the state at the time. Unfortunately she died about a week before her first start, so I thought I better try this chestnut mare out.
"She was country trained by a station manager who had a couple of horses. She had a bit of ability then. We were good friends with Charlie Prow, who was a bit of a legend in the west, and I met him out there many years ago. A friend of mine, Dick Banks, and Charlie and I decided we’d give her a run out there."
The streak
Prow initially thought the mare was a bit lazy, but over the next three years she would create Australian racing history, carrying big weights, breaking track records and opposition hearts and developing a huge bush following no matter where she went.
Miss Petty | Image courtesy of Red Ridge Interior Queensland
"She was a lovely mare. A big, strong type of mare, who didn't like getting beaten on her worst day, let alone her best," Giltrow said.
"I had people say to me, she wouldn't have won all those races in the city, but there are many city horses who couldn't do what she did in the bush. She had to travel a long way, she had big weights to carry. She ran records under 66kg, she had to do it the tough way."
"I had people say to me, she (Miss Petty) wouldn't have won all those races in the city, but there are many city horses who couldn't do what she did in the bush." - Fred Giltrow
Miss Petty proved the gift that kept on giving for the Giltrow family, producing five foals to the track, which won a combined 48 races. Chief among them was Acceleratic (Breakfast Creek), who emulated his dam by also winning 27 races at many of the same venues.
"They were unbelievable and some of them were quite brilliant. She was one of the mares which have the goods and could breed a good foal, which is not often the case with top-line mares," he said.
That winning feeling
What the Miss Petty experience taught Giltrow was that there is nothing like winning, no matter what the venue is.
"Whether you are at Birdsville or Blackall, or Betoota or in Brisbane, it’s the thrill of winning. We have won all over the place, but every time they win is great fun. It's just great for people getting together and having social fun," he said.
"Whether you are at Birdsville or Blackall, or Betoota or in Brisbane, it’s the thrill of winning. We have won all over the place, but every time they win is great fun." - Fred Giltrow
He races three horses now with a few friends. He affectionally tags the ownership group as 'two worn-out cockies and the three rogue agents', and they continue to have plenty of fun, with 4-year-old Boom Spender (Spirit Of Boom), a winner of five of his 22 starts and nearly $300,000 for Forster, the star of the show until Exo Lady's emergence in the past couple of months.
"We bought him as a yearling from Bob Frappell at Clear Mountain Fairview. We have had a lot of fun with him. He's a maturing horse. We never thought he'd be a 2-year-old, but he did win a couple of 2-year-old races," Giltrow said.
Boom Spender as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
"He's just getting stronger and stronger and is just coming into his own now. He's won close to $300,000 and we paid $35,000 for him after he passed in as a yearling."
A fast and forward filly
The ownership group is traditionally not that keen on racing 2-year-olds, but Exo Lady made a strong case to Forster that she should be sent out early in the season.
"Desleigh was always keen on her, right from the start. She didn't make any big claims, just that she liked her. Obviously she moved nicely and she is very much a relaxed filly," he said.
Exo Lady as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
"I'm not really a big 2-year-old racer. We have raced 2-year-olds over the years, but we generally look to have horses that last more than one season."
Exo Lady won on her debut at Eagle Farm in October and followed that up with another all-the-way success at Doomben. Off a freshen up, she then defied all her rivals to secure a stakes breakthrough in the race named after another flying Queensland filly, Calaway Gal (Clang).
"She would be the most progressive 2-year-old that we have had, but she always showed ability and Des liked her and so we went with her. I buy them, Des trains them and Jimmy Byrne rides. It’s quite a handy combination," he said.
"I buy them, Des (Forster) trains them and Jimmy Byrne rides. It’s quite a handy combination." - Fred Giltrow
Giltrow usually buys out of the March QTIS Sale, looking for value and the Exosphere filly from Glenlogan Park took he and Rita's eye last year. Bred by Winjana Park, she is out of Falvelon mare Sheza Falvelon, a three-quarter sister to stakes-performed Falvelon's Dream (Falvelon) and a half-sister to Group 3 placegetter Heza Jetsetter (Jet Spur).
"She was a nice fluent type. When she was going anywhere, she was business-like and she had a good temperament. We are not in it for buying expensive horses. We don't want to get burnt if they are no good," he said of the $50,000 filly.
Saturday presents as another challenge for Exo Lady, but one which her owner feels she is up to.
Desleigh Forster | Image courtesy of Desleigh Forster Racing
"Saturday is a tough race. You are facing horses from other states. She's the only horse in it to get a penalty and she has drawn the carpark. We don't know what the track will be like, but that is racing, and we are lucky to be in the position to have her," he said.
"She's with the best trainer in the state in my opinion, on the basis of the number of winners she gets compared to the number of horses she has in work. It’s only a small stable but Desleigh is a very good trainer.
"This filly is getting all the opportunities in my mind, and we'd rather that than be with a bigger trainer."
