Bold Benita set to boss her rivals again
Having come perilously close to suffering a career-threatening injury in a trackwork mishap some six months ago, Bossy Benita (So You Think) would now appear to have a new lease on life and the stakes-winning mare will aim to extend her imperious recent form at Caulfield this Saturday.
The last-start Mannerism Stakes (Gr. 2, 1400m) heroine will be one of the headline acts at the 12th annual Victorian Owners and Breeders Raceday, but she is fortunate to be racing at all after dumping her trackwork rider and repeatedly crashing through the running rails in a state of sheer panic during an otherwise routine morning at Mornington racecourse last spring.
Mercifully, Bossy Benita escaped from the frightful incident with only some minor abrasions to show for it, but Michael Mehegan nonetheless regrets subsequently running her in the Let’s Elope Stakes (Gr. 2, 1400m), which resulted in one of only four unplaced runs in her 14-start career. However, it is perhaps the only mis-step the emerging trainer has made with the daughter of the late, great So You Think (High Chaparral) since acquiring her for $85,000 at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale three years ago.
Her all-the-way waltz in the Mannerism extended the mare’s record at Caulfield to two wins and a pair of placings from five starts, so whether she lines up in the new VOBIS Gold So Si Bon (1400m) – named in honour of Lindsay Park’s enigmatic galloper who will be trackside to crown the inaugural winner – or Mehegan’s preferred option of the VOBIS Gold Distaff (1400m), she is likely to jump as one of the more favoured runners.
Both are run over her pet distance of 1400 metres – three of her last four wins have come at that trip – and carry the same prize purse of $200,000 (plus an additional $50,000 in VOBIS bonuses), so the composition of the final fields and barrier draw on Wednesday morning will determine which path connections ultimately take.
Regardless of which rein he chooses to pull, however, Mehegan is firm in his belief that his stable star is in career-best form – and he is also mightily relieved that she isn’t carrying any mental scars from her near-death experience.
“It was a really scary incident, and at one point I was genuinely worried that she might kill herself,” Mehegan told ANZ News.
“Luckily she came away with only minor abrasions which we were able to treat, so that was a huge relief. Because of the form she was in we decided to press onto the Let’s Elope Stakes, but in hindsight I probably shouldn’t have run her in the race. Externally she looked absolutely fine, but maybe internally she hadn’t completely recovered from the shock of it all. She ran well below expectations that day, so we decided to give her a spell and she’s come back in great order.
“It was a special win in the Mannerism for the stable and for her owners. I actually thought she would win first-up in the Bellmaine Stakes, it’s a race we’ve had a bit of success in previously with [two-time winner] Prussian Vixen so it would’ve been nice to continue our strong record.
“With a more positive ride I think she would have won that race, we’ve worked out that she needs to be ridden forward which is exactly what Daniel [Stackhouse] did in the Mannerism. She likes being in control, so as long as we draw a good gate on Saturday we’ll be looking to go forward with her, and I think she’ll be very hard to beat again.
“We’re back at Caulfield where she’s got a great record, she’s third-up and she’s very fit, so there’s a lot in her favour and I’d be very disappointed if she’s not highly competitive. At this stage I think 1400 metres is her preferred distance, we have tried to stretch her out to the mile in the past and it hasn’t really worked, so I think she’s probably more effective over the shorter trips for now.”
Her dam Bossy Woman (Fastnet Rock) never made it to the racetrack but there is certainly plenty of speed in the family, with her granddam Tracy’s Element (Last Tycoon) – herself a freakish filly in South Africa – producing multiple Group 1-winning sprinter/miler Typhoon Tracy (Red Ransom).
With that in mind, Mehegan fully expected to be priced out of the market when Lot 306 from the Springmount Farm draft entered the Oaklands Junction auditorium back in 2023, so he was delighted when the bidding stopped well short of what he considered her true valuation.
“I was very surprised we were able to pick the filly up for $85,000,” said Mehegan, who trains ten horses from his boutique stables including Prussian Vixen’s second foal The Benchmark (Frosted), a recent heat winner of the lucrative Future Stars Series at Pakenham.
“I really liked her when I first saw her at the farm so I went back to Springmount a few more times, and she impressed me every time. I was really keen on her at the sale but I didn’t think we’d be able to afford her. I’m not sure why she wasn’t more popular, but we definitely got a bargain that day. We bought four yearlings at that sale and they’ve all won at least one race for us, but she’s obviously been the standout.
“She’s got a great page, so when you combine that with her confirmation and constitution she filled every criteria. The depth of pedigree on her dam’s side was one of the main reasons why I didn’t think we’d be able to afford her, so I was really happy when the bidding stopped and we were able to take her home.”
On the other side of the ledger, Bossy Benita’s breeder Bryan Cousins would have been hoping to make at least six figures for the second foal produced by his mare Bossy Woman, having sold the filly’s sister – the now deceased So Bossy – for $130,000 the year before.
Cousins had been recommended Bossy Woman by his close friends Michael and Anna Flannery, who relocated ten years ago from Western Australia to Romsey in Victoria, where they operate Springmount Farm.
The hobby breeder’s admiration for the married couple’s knowledge and passion for the industry is exceeded only by his obsession with So You Think, having been trackside for two of the global trailblazer’s eight wins on Australian soil.
After enjoying some previous harness racing success, primarily as the owner of four-time Group 1 winner Innocent Eyes, Cousins’ close encounter with So You Think persuaded him to switch codes and pursue a new-found passion for thoroughbreds.
That passion would culminate in his $145,000 purchase of Bossy Woman at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2020, when she was in foal to Coolmore’s revered stallion. His investment in a mare he had never seen before represented a fairly sizeable sum for a small-time breeder – Bossy Woman remains the only broodmare on his books – but Cousins concedes he may have been influenced by a sentimental attachment to the foal’s famous father.
“So You Think would have to be the most magnificent looking horse I’ve ever seen,” Cousins told ANZ News.
“I saw him run live twice, and I was gobsmacked by his presence and the way he carried himself in the mounting yard. After he went to stud I bid on a couple of So You Think weanlings, but I didn’t manage to get them. So I thought the next best thing would be to buy a mare in foal to So You Think, which is one of the main reasons for buying Bossy Woman on the advice of Michael and Anna [Flannery].
“Sadly her first foal died in a paddock accident before she could get to the racetrack, but I sent her back to So You Think and the resulting foal was Bossy Benita. The original plan had been to keep her and race her myself, but I soon worked out that I probably couldn’t afford to do that so I took her to the sales and I’m really pleased that she ended up with Michael [Mehegan].
“I met Michael for the first time when he bought her, and he asked for my email address so I could be included on all her stable updates. We speak from time to time and I’ve told him I could be any more excited about Bossy Benita if I owned 50 per cent of her.
“It’s been a real thrill for me and I get such enjoyment from seeing her win races, especially for a smaller trainer who is trying to establish himself because it can be a very tough game. It’s always the highlight of my week when she runs, so I’m really looking forward to Saturday and hopefully she can get another win on the board.
“I have kept Bossy Woman’s last two foals [a filly by Palace Pier and a colt by Fierce Impact] and we sent her back to So You Think before he died, so all being well we’ll have another full sibling to Bossy Benita later this year, which is very exciting.”