Will the dominance of fillies continue in the WA Guineas?

Cover image courtesy of Western Racepix

Dating back to 1937, the G2 WA Guineas has long been a key junction for separating out the good 3-year-olds from the elite 3-year-olds.

Earning classification as a Group 2 in 1979, the honour roll of winners boasts the likes of Raconteur, Nicopolis and Ngawyni, enshrining the race in a rich history of Western Australian racing icons.

Gallery: Some of the honour role of WA Guineas winners, images courtesy of Racing and Wagering WA

Moving into the 21st century, the Guineas has provided two current-day stallions, Playing God, a son of Blackfriars, and Rommel, a son of Commands, successful in the 2010 and 2014 editions respectively.

With $500,000 in prizemoney and valuable black-type on offer, The Thoroughbred Report takes a look at the recent winners of the race, along with a few of the key contenders for Saturday.

Girls rule the recent roost

In recent years however, there have been few opportunities for stallion prospects to announce themselves in this race, owing to the high tide of top-class fillies that have been emerging in recent years.

Since 2017, only one colt or gelding has secured victory, with the Neville Parnham-trained War Saint resisting a late surge from stablemate and subsequent Group 1-winner Kay Cee (Playing God) in 2019. Sadly, War Saint couldn’t be saved in early 2020 after an ongoing battle with laminitis, leaving a stallion career unfulfilled.

Dominant owner-breeder Bob Peters has been responsible for three of the last six Guineas heroines, starting in 2017 with Perfect Jewel (Redoute’s Choice) getting the better of Achernar Star (Gingerbread Man). She would go on to have a successful racetrack career, and has now begun life in the breeding barn, being served by Ocean Park (NZ), a stallion Peters has repeatedly looked to for success. In the 2022 breeding season, he sent Galaxy Star (Redoute's Choice), Royal Star (Redoute's Choice), Hollywood Queen (Redoute’s Choice), Arcadia Princess (Domesday) and Arcadia Dream (Domesday) to Ocean Park alongside Perfect Jewel.

Arguably the best horse to race in the famous cerise and white, Arcadia Queen (Pierro), would add her name to the Guineas honour roll 12 months later, scoring a dominant victory by 3l from Lady Cosmology (Universal Ruler), giving Peter Walsh’s Amelia Park Farm a second consecutive runner-up finish. Flirtini (Artie Schiller {USA}), who sold for $385,000 in the 2022 Inglis July Digital (Late) Sale, ran third, meaning fillies filled all the placings. The 2023 Kimberley Cup winner True Attraction (More Than Ready {USA}), who at the time was raced by Peters, ran fourth. Arcadia Queen was sold to Arrowfield Stud for $3.2 million at the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. She has twice visited star stallion I Am Invincible, with her first foal being offered as Lot 442 in the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

After missing out in the next two years, Treasured Star (Toronado {Ire}) would provide Peters with another winner in the 2021 edition, storming away under William Pike to beat Stay Safe (Safeguard) by 1.8l. Third was another Peters-owned horse, Devoted (Xtravagant {NZ}), who now races in Victoria under the tutelage of veteran trainer John Leek Jnr. Herself a half-sister to prolific winner Battle Hero (Stratum), she has joined Devoted with Leek Jnr in Victoria, however she has not been seen publicly since running sixth in the Listed Starstuck Classic for fillies and mares in December 2022.

Albany-based Steve Wolfe, who was a sheep shearer before finding his calling as a thoroughbred trainer, tasted success with his tough filly Watch Me Dance, the most successful progeny of the late I’m All The Talk. Also successful in the G3 Champion Fillies S. in her 3-year-old campaign, the $34,000 2019 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale purchase fetched $600,000 when sold to Lloyd Kennewell at the 2022 Magic Millions Perth Winter Racehorse Sale. She had two starts in Victoria in early 2023, and is now listed as retired.

The most recent winner of the race is possibly the most well known to a national audience, the scintillating filly Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni {Fr}). Having been stunned by Laced Up Heels (Toronado {Ire}) in the Listed Burgess Queen S. at her previous start, she responded with a gallant win, defeating Bustler (Playing God) by 0.6l. Already the winner of the feature Western Australian 2-year-old race, the G2 Karrakatta Plate, the Amelia Park-owned filly would go on to claim the G1 Northerly S. at weight-for-age two weeks later. Now a winner of nine from 13 starts, she has returned home to Western Australia after receiving heavy interference in the Golden Eagle on November 4.

Will the trend continue?

This running, on paper at least, looks likely to provide us with another victorious filly, with both Super Smink (Super One) and Keshi Boom (Spirit Of Boom) putting forward their cases to be crowned champion 3-year-old.

Having won the G2 Karrakatta Plate in April as a 2-year-old, Super Smink has been the ‘clubhouse leader’ for most likely Guineas victress. Purchased for $45,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale, she has gone on to win four black-type races and accrue over $660,000 in prizemoney from seven career starts. She is Super One’s first Group winner, who stands at Lincoln Park in New South Wales for a fee of $8800 (inc GST).

Her iron grip on being the number one seed has been disrupted by the undefeated Keshi Boom, who sits on the precipice of an unprecedented treble. No filly has ever been successful in the Listed Burgess Queen S., the G3 Champion Fillies S. and the G2 WA Guineas. Having defeated Super Smink in the Burgess Queen on November 7, she returned last Saturday to comfortably win the Champion Fillies. This Saturday will be her third run in three weeks, and if she comes out on top, she will own a unique piece of Western Australian racing history. The sixth Group-winner for Eureka Stud’s Spirit Of Boom, who stands for a 2023 fee of $38,500 (inc GST). She was picked up by Williams Racing at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, with the powerful operation parting with $120,000 to secure her.

Aspiring stallions

Outside of the two well-regarded fillies, there are a number of handy colts entered that would be assured of a future as a stallion if they could secure victory.

The Neville Parnham-trained Investmentstrategy (Playing God) was victorious in the Listed Fairetha S., which is the last major race for colts and geldings prior to the Guineas. By a winner of this race in Playing God, he is out of Manhattan Rain mare World Class, and is related to G1 Queensland Oaks winner Miss Danehill (Danehill {USA}) and G2 Craiglee S. winner Pentastic (Pentire {GB}). Playing God is the highest-priced stallion to currently stand in Western Australia, commanding a fee of $33,000 (inc GST) for Darling View Thoroughbreds.

If Autumn Rebel (The Autumn Sun) could achieve success on Saturday, he would provide his sophomore stallion with a third Group-level win as a producer, whilst guaranteeing himself local interest as a stallion down the track. He broke his maiden over 1500 metres on the same day Keshi Boom won the Burgess Queen, and is from a strong family, boasting relation to multiple Group 1-winner Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars {USA}) and G1 WS Cox Plate winner Savabeel. His dam, Rebel Queen (Universal Ruler) delivered a St Mark’s Basillica (Fr) filly this year, and has recently been served by Grunt (NZ). The Autumn Sun resides at Arrowfield Stud in New South Wales, for a fee of $66,000 (inc GST).

Gallery: Some of the handy colts looking to add the WA Guineas to their CV's, images courtesy of Western Racepix

Stablemate Masamune (Universal Ruler) is another being targeted for a future as a stallion. Still looking for a first win, he finished 2.4l adrift of Investmentstrategy when the pair last met. He is out of Testa Rossa mare Shibita, herself a three-quarter sister to Geblitzt (Testa Rossa), who produced G1 Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare (Declaration Of War {USA}). Masamune’s grandam, Youthful Presence (Dehere {USA}), produced G1 Epsom H. winner Hauraki (Reset) and G1 South Australian Derby winner Kidnapped (Viscount). She also produced the winner of this race in 2012, with Academus (Lonhro) successful for Sydney-based trainer Peter Snowden. Universal Ruler stands at Scenic Lodge in Western Australia for $7500 (inc GST).

The last of the colts engaged to contest the 2023 edition of the race is A Lot Of Good Men, for veteran trainer Trevor Andrews. Part of the second crop of A Lot (USA), he could provide his sire a breakthrough stakes win, should he be successful on Saturday. He is out of Oratorio mare Cosmah Domination, who has produced two foals to race, A Lot Of Good Men and Bustler, who ran second in this race last year. Residing at Westbury Park Stud in Western Australia, A Lot's 2023 fee is $9350 (inc GST).