Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Race-day Recap
In Flight (Flying Artie) made it three stakes wins in succession when showing her class in her first run at Caulfield in the G3 Sir John Monash Stakes for trainer Joe Pride. Jockey Craig Wiliams made it a treble for the day with the victory.
Flying Artie enjoyed a double at Caulfield with the emotional victory of 3-year-old filly Illyivy, trained by Ray Besanko who will retire at the end of the season and hand the stable to his daughter Kasey, who bred Illyivy.
Ocean Park (NZ) added stakes winner number 23 when Bob Peters-bred and owned 3-year-old gelding Arcadia Park (NZ) won the Listed Aquanita Stakes at Bunbury for trainer Michael Grantham and jockey Clive Johnston-Porter.
The Listed Belmont Oaks was won by Oakland Park Stud’s homebred Fancy Red (Sessions) becoming the seventh stakes winner for her sire, and the seventh Belmont Oaks for jockey William Pike. Trainer Adam Durrant has won the race five times.
Private Eye’s half-brother King’s Secret looks like another star in the making for the Joe Pride stable and Proven Thoroughbreds.
A treble for Williams, and three in a row for In Flight
Jockey Craig Williams has closed the gap in the Melbourne Jockey’s Premiership to four with a treble at Caulfield. After winning the opener on exciting juvenile filly Signature Scent (Written Tycoon) trained by Ciaron Maher, he won the second race on Signature Scent’s stable mate 3-year-old gelding Scampi (Blue Point {Ire}), then waited until the feature event, the G3 Sir John Monash Stakes to make it a treble on Joe Pride-trained 4-year-old mare In Flight (Flying Artie).
At her first start in Melbourne, In Flight sprinted clear easily to win by a length from the consistent Enver Jusufovic-trained 5-year-old mare New York Lustre (Manhattan Rain) with Ciaron Maher-trained 5-year-old gelding Recommendation (Shalaa {Ire}) in third.
“I thought we would be, in the run, a lot closer and not probably tracking out so wide,” Pride said.
“I thought we would be, in the run, a lot closer and not probably tracking out so wide.” - Joe Pride
“That’s probably what made it awkward for her, but as soon as she straightened up and balanced up – (she’s a) pretty good mare, this mare. I’m sort of thinking in the autumn, she’s a likely type for an Oakleigh Plate, or a Galaxy. A couple of nice 1100 metre races for her, she doesn’t have to prove herself too much to get there.”
Now the winner of eight of her 18 starts, with earnings over $808,000, In Flight was purchased by Proven Thoroughbreds and Pride Racing for $220,000 from Goodwood Farm’s Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale draft of 2023. One of ten stakes winners for Flying Artie, In Flight won the Listed Bob Charley AO Stakes last start and the Listed Bright Shadow Handicap the start prior, so today’s victory makes it three black type wins in succession.
Gallery: Images courtesy of The Image Is Everything
A half-sister to stakes placed Waimea Bay (All Too Hard), In Flight is out of Listed Hollywood Park B Thoughtful Stakes winner Waveline (USA) (Stravinsky {USA}), who is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Eddie Haskell (USA) (Square Eddie {USA}) and to the dam of Group 3 winner El Inquebrantable (Per) (Badge Of Silver {USA}). Waveline has a yearling colt by Rebel Dane and she sadly died a month after foaling him.
A double for Flying Artie
Flying Artie enjoyed a double at Caulfield with the win of Ray Besanko-trained 3-year-old filly Illyivy. The win comes in the same week that Besanko announced his retirement, with the stable to be taken over by his daughter, Kasey.
“Unbelievable. With me daughter, it couldn’t be better. She’s going to take over the reins, and she does all the work with this horse, she does everything with her. It’s more her, and I’m just so proud of her. I couldn’t be prouder,” Besanko said.
Illyivy was bred by Kasey Besanko out of her mare Indirect (Elusive Quality {USA}). “She means a lot to me – obviously, I bred her, and when you breed them, you don’t get to choose, you get what you’re given,” Kasey Besanko said.
“I remember when I first saw her, I said to dad, ‘she’s just beautiful, she’s the most amazing thing ever,’ and “Dad was sort of like, ‘here we go again.’ She’s honest, she’s hard work but yeah, she means a lot.”
“I remember when I first saw her (Illyivy), I said to dad, ‘she’s just beautiful, she’s the most amazing thing ever,’ She’s honest, she’s hard working but yeah, she means a lot.” - Kasey Besanko
The consistent filly has won two of her last three starts, and has won or placed in all of her six career starts, with earnings over $170,000. Her dam Indirect was bought by Besanko Racing for $22,500 at the 2020 Inglis Digital October Sale.
Ray and Kasey Besanko with Illyivy after winning the Handicap at Caulfield | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
Illyivy is one of five winners for Indirect whose two wins came in Sydney and Melbourne, and she also ran fourth in the Listed Nivison Handicap. Indirect is a half-sister to Listed winner Blessus (Fusaichi Pegasus {USA}) and stakes placed God’s Hand (Galileo {Ire}), and all are out of juvenile winner Blessed Be (Brief Truce {USA}), who is a half-sister to Horse Of The Year Saintly (Sky Chase {NZ}).
Peters’ Arcadia family adds another stakes winner
Bob Peters-bred and owned 3-year-old gelding Arcadia Park (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) won Saturday’s Listed Aquanita Stakes at Bunbury for trainer Michael Grantham, holding on to his lead to defeat the fast-finishing short favourite Russell Stewart-trained gelding Our Paladin Al (A Lot {USA}) by 0.3l with jockey Clint Johnston-Porter in the saddle. In third, a length back was Simon Miller-trained gelding Elite Missile (Smart Missile).
Arcadia Park was coming off a last start win and takes his record to three wins and three placings from nine starts with earnings over $210,000. He becomes stakes winner number 23 for Waikato Stud’s Cox Plate winner Ocean Park (NZ), and Arcadia Park may head to the Belmont Classic in two weeks.
“He seemed to be all over the place, didn’t he?” said Bob Peters.
“On form the other horses had it on him, but I was quietly confident. The Domesday’s handle the wet, the Ocean Park’s handle the wet, so I thought he might be able to run a nice race. It was nice to see him do it. He’s got to start going straight, doesn’t he?”
This is one of Peter’s great families, with Arcadia Park’s dam, Arcadia Dream (Domesday) winning the G2 WA Derby for him. Her five wins earned over $600,000 and she’s been a successful producer with four runners for four winners, with Arcadia Park being her first stakes winner. Peters has replicated the mating, and Arcadia Dream has a 2-year-old gelding, yearling filly and weanling colt all by Ocean Park.
Arcadia Park (NZ) winning the Listed Aquanita Stakes | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
Arcadia Dream is one of four stakes winners for winning mare Arcadia (Redoute’s Choice), headlined by triple Group 1 winner and Champion Female Sprinter in Australia in 2019/20 Arcadia Queen (Pierro) who Peters sold to Arrowfield Stud at the 2023 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $3.2 million. Arcadia Queen’s first foal is 2-year-old colt and $1 million yearling Federalist (I Am Invincible) who had three starts this season, running mid-field in both the G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes and G1 Champagne Stakes, and she has a yearling full brother to Federalist who sold for $440,000 this year at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.
Arcadia Dream is also a half-sister to Group 3 winner Arcadia Prince (Pierro) and Listed winner Arcadia Rose (Kheleyf {USA}). This is also the family of dual Group 1 winner Regal Power (Pierro).
Fancy Red makes it look easy in Belmont Oaks
Winner of her two starts coming into the Listed Belmont Oaks, 3-year-old filly Fancy Red (Sessions) was sent out as favourite by punters and duly delivered with an impressive last-to-first run that continued to stretch as stretch the further she galloped, officially winning by 2.4 lengths for trainer Adam Durrant and jockey William Pike. She took her record to five wins from nine starts with earnings over $250,000.
Back in second was Simon Miller-trained Kimberley Rose (Hellbent) who has been consistent all season, with Michael Grantham-trained and lightly raced Lillian (NZ) (War Decree {USA}) in third.
It was the fifth Belmont Oaks for Durrant and the seventh for Pike. “A really good effort from the start, it might have been a blessing because she relaxed and then ran it out nice and strong,” stable representative Jason Miller said.
“(2000 metres) is always a test, you always have a question mark, and the only way to find out is to try them and she ran out a nice trip.”
“(2000 metres) is always a test, you always have a question mark, and the only way to find out is to try them and she (Fancy Red) ran out a nice trip.” - Jason Miller
Owned by Oakland Park Stud, Fancy Red becomes stakes winner number seven for their resident sire Sessions, a son of Lonhro.
Fancy Red winning the Listed Belmont Oaks | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
A half-sister to G3 Adrian Knox Stakes winner Diamond Made (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), Fancy Red is out of Showme Thediamonds (Show A Heart) who was a winner over 1200 metres, and has been a massive upgrader for her family which has no stakes winners in six generations. All her four foals to race are winners, with two stakes winners, and she has a weanling filly by Rommel.
BOBS Horse Of The Year is King’s Secret
Trainer Joe Pride’s excellent day out continued with 3-year-old King’s Secret (Shalaa {Ire}) winning at Randwick. The gelding made it two in a row and four from eight with the half-length victory. With earnings of $345,000, he has a long way to go to match his half-brother, stable star Private Eye (Al Maher), who has won over $12.2 million.
Saturday’s victory earned King’s Secret the BOBS Horse Of The Year title for 2024/25, and he’s certainly heading in the right direction to emulate his older half-brother. Of note, stablemate and Saturday’s G3 Sir John Monash Stakes winner In Flight won the BOBS Horse Of The Year title last season.
“Joe and his team keep raising the bar and he keeps saying, 'how high?'. He's going obviously super this preparation. He is really coming to, he's maturing,” said jockey Andrew Adkins.
“I was a bit worried going to the gates. That was the calmest he has ever been. It's just him maturing, him switching on and learning to do all the right things and all the basics. He is really getting a hang of that winning style now.”
Private Eye and King’s Secret are two of the four winners, from four foals to race, produced by Confidential Queen (Shamardal {USA}) who has unraced 2-year-old filly Confidentiality (Shalaa {Ire}) and a weanling filly by Anamoe.
Gallery: Images courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Confidential Queen didn’t trouble the judge in three starts, and is a half-sister to stakes placed King’s Troop, a son of Redoute’s Choice who stands in Western Australia. This is the family of Snitzel and Hinchinbrook, as well as Group 1 winner Rediener (Redoute’s Choice) and 2020/21’s Champion 2YO Filly in Australia Arcaded (Street Boss {USA}).
