Besanko bears no ill will towards her flying filly
A Jekyll and Hyde character she may be, but Illyivy’s (Flying Artie) breeder – and soon to be trainer – Kasey Besanko is willing to forgive the progressive filly almost anything given the inseparable bond the pair have formed.
Besanko will officially become the fourth generation of her storied family to enter the training ranks when she follows in her father Ray’s footsteps next season, and there is every reason to believe she will hit the ground running given the scintillating start Illyivy has made to her racing career.
Named in honour of Besanko’s beloved grandmother Ivy Lillian, the filly was the first foal she bred out of Indirect (Elusive Quality), one of two broodmares in residence at the family property in Pearcedale which is located a 15-minute drive from the Cranbourne stables she will assume day-to-day control of once her training licence has been rubberstamped.
With two metropolitan wins and four minor placings from her six starts so far, it’s fair to say that both Illyivy and Besanko have already made a promising start to a journey which the pair are hoping culminates in some coveted black type being added to the pedigree page of a previously unheralded broodmare, who had won two of her 26 race starts for the late, great Bart Cummings.
Indirect was a $22,500 purchase via the Inglis Online Sale in October 2020, and her relatively reasonable fee was reflective of the fact that, with three provincial wins in NSW to his name, Highjacker (High Chapparal) was probably the best performed of her progeny at that point.
But a change of scenery has worked wonders, and with a foal by Artorius (Flying Artie) due this spring and a repeat mating with the globetrotting sprinter’s Group 1-winning sire pencilled in for the upcoming breeding season, Besanko is understandably keen to continue mining the same rich earth which has so far produced some equine gold.
“The mare has been such a good buy for us,” Besanko told ANZ News.
“She hadn’t really produced many good ones before we picked her up through one of the online sales, I think she had mainly colts and her previous owner wanted fillies who might then become broodmares, which is one of the reasons he sold her on. Funnily enough she’s now produced three fillies since we bought her, so he might be regretting selling to us now.
“She’s carrying a foal by Artorius, so we’re excited to welcome another addition to the family this year. It would be lovely to have another filly but we’ll be keeping the foal regardless, because I wouldn’t be able to afford to buy a horse like that at the yearling sales – especially if Illyivy could win a stakes race.
“We’d love to spend big money at the yearling sales but that’s just not an option for a stable of our size, which is the reason why I started breeding our own horses in the first place. Maybe it’s been beginner’s luck, but it’s certainly worked out well so far with Illyivy.”
Given how well she came through her last-start win at Caulfield, which carried her earnings past $200,000, Illyivy will have at least one more run this preparation before she is wrapped up in cotton wool for the remainder of the Victorian winter.
Whether she returns in late spring or enjoys an extended spell until the New Year is yet to be ironed out, but what is beyond doubt is that the filly has improved out of sight this preparation and has really come of age after breaking her maiden at Sandown at the start of June.
What perhaps hasn’t improved sufficiently just yet, however, are her raceday manners, with a relaxed and affectionate demeanour at home replaced by a beastly competitive streak as soon as she arrives on track.
“When she gets to the races it definitely becomes her world and we’re just living in it,” said Besanko.
“She was actually pretty well–behaved at her first start, but that was probably because she didn’t know what it was all about. Since then, she’s been a real handful and it’s really surprised me, because at home she’s really beautiful and professional.
“For her first start this prep at Pakenham, I couldn’t put her in the stalls and she was kicking out when I walked her. Then the day she broke her maiden at Sandown, she was next level. If a horse walked past and looked her way, she would just lose it. She wasn’t too bad at her next start but then it was back to the same old story at Caulfield last Saturday, when she was rearing in the mounting yard. I had to reassure Logan [Bates] she had been like that when she won her maiden, and there was nothing to worry about.
“So we’ll have to work on her behaviour but, having said that, at least we know when she’s acting up it means she’s on and is ready to run a big race. And you often get that bit of raceday nastiness with the good ones. Dad reminded me the other day that Sunline was a bit of a brute at the races, so if this filly can have half of her ability then we’ll be pretty happy.
“We’re trying to keep a lid on it and take her through the grades, but we’d like to think she’s up to stakes level in time. We won’t test her out at that level this prep, but when she comes back we’ll probably look to raise the bar with her and see where she sits.”
Illyivy is one of ten horses the father and daughter team currently have in work, and while stable staff are like parents in that it’s almost taboo to have favourites, there is no denying where Besanko Junior’s affections lie.
Together with her fellow homebred Jakivy (Toronado) – whose name is an amalgamation of Besanko’s grandparents, Jack and Ivy – Illyivy is the apple of her breeder’s eye and was always going to hold a special place in her heart, regardless of ability.
“We’re all she’s ever known since the day she was born,” said Besanko.
“She’s never going anywhere, she’ll be with us for life and we’ll always look after her. We’ll obviously think about breeding from her at some point, but hopefully she’s still got a long racing career ahead of her before then. It’s a bit different when you go to the sales and can choose a yearling, when you’ve bred a horse you get what you’re given and you have to work with that, which I love.
“We obviously love all our horses and it gives us a massive thrill when any of them win, but it does mean a little bit more when you’ve bred them too. Dad was never really into the breeding side of things, so it’s just something I’ve picked up myself and I really enjoy it. I’m sure we’ll breed some slow ones in the future, so you’ve got to appreciate the fast ones when they come along.”