Lead Story
Beiwacht emulates his father Bivouac with record-smashing Golden Rose win
By Lydia Symonds
ANZ News
The Chris Waller-trained Beiwacht emulated his sire Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) when winning Saturday’s Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) in a record-breaking time, handing Godolphin a first Group 1 since the operation made the decision to switch to a public training model.
Beiwacht's time of 1:20.79 smashed the previous track record of 1:21.22 held by Cepheus (Sea The Stars) leading to Waller to say he was ‘humbled’ to deliver Sheikh Mohammed’s new-look set-up its first winner at the highest level.
Considered the third string of Waller’s four runners in the Rosehill highlight, Beiwacht took up the running for Adam Hyeronimus and emphatically dispelled pre-race concerns over his ability to stretch to 1400 metres by running out a 4.1-length winner over stablemate Wodeton (Wootton Bassett), who delivered his fourth second-placed finish and second in the highest company.
Godolphin's other runner, filly Tempted (Street Boss), who came into the race off the back of a victory over Saturday’s winner in the Run To The Rose (Gr 2, 1200m), was another 0.2 lengths away in third.
"Godolphin has been an amazing story for Australia and they've been my biggest competitor for so many years consistently in these big races, the stallion-making races," Waller said.
"We had four great colts in the race and unfortunately there is only one winner."
A winner of the Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) under the tutelage of James Cummings as a two-year-old, Beiwacht finished ninth in the Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) and down the field in the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m), his final start as a juvenile.
Godolphin is yet to fill their slot for The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) this year and managing director Andy Makiv said it is now between Beiwacht and Tempted.
"Three weeks in is a really good lead-up for either Beiwacht or Tempted to go back to the 1200 metres," Makiv said.
"They seem to be our logical choices and really our only choices."
In winning the 1400-metre contest, Beiwacht becomes Godolphin’s seventh winner of the time-honoured Sydney Group 1, joining not only his father Bivouac, who won it in 2019, but an illustrious list of the operation’s horses which includes last year’s winner Broadsiding (Too Darn Hot) and Astern (Medaglia D’Oro).
Out of Sheikh Mohammed’s homebred stakes winner Metastasio (Street Cry), Beiwacht is a half-brother to Listed winner Gravina (Sebring). The colt’s second dam is Libretto (Singspiel), the dam of dual Group 1 winner Collette (Hallowed Crown).
Godolphin sold Metastasio for $110,000 to Hirsch Racing at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale in 2024, when carrying a filly by Microphone (Exceed And Excel). She was most recently covered by Woodside Stud shuttler Benbatl (Dubawi).
Beiwacht is the headline act of three stakes winners for Darley’s second-season sire Bivouac, whose total number of winners stands at 12. He is standing for a fee of an unchanged fee of $55,000 (inc GST).
Prior to his second-placed finish in the Run To The Rose, the colt opened his three-year-old preparation by running third in the San Domenico Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Rosehill in August.
Waller said he was confident the horse could make his Group 1 breakthrough, having continued to mature.
"We've had confidence the horse has continued to mature," Waller said. "What struck us the most today, he was so calm and relaxed. He is a proper racehorse.
"He's got good looks, he's got proper two-year-old form and he's backed it up at three."
What's On
Ferivia punches Thousand Guineas ticket
Talented filly Ferivia (Astern) advertised her Group 1 credentials with a narrow but brave victory in the Thousand Guineas Prelude (Gr 2, 1400m) at Sandown on Saturday.
In a blanket finish in which a half-length separated the first five horses across the line, Ferivia prevailed by 0.1 lengths under Lachlan Neindorf from the $2.80 favourite Ole Dancer (Ole Kirk) with Salty Pearl (Tagaloa) the same distance away in third.
Ferivia is in her first preparation of racing, having made her debut with a win over 1000 metres at Murray Bridge in July and won the Quezette Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) two starts later. She came into Saturday’s contest off the back of a sixth-placed finish in the Atlantic Jewel Stakes (Listed, 1200m) on September 6.
The filly was scratched on the morning of last weekend’s Jim Moloney Stakes (Listed, 1400m) and Phillip Stokes described that twist of fate as a blessing in disguise, adding she would now head straight to the Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at Caulfield on October 18 without another start.
Had Ferivia been able to start at Caulfield last week, Stokes said the filly would most likely have needed to line up in the Edward Manifold Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) at Flemington next Saturday.
He said: "She was meant to run last week but we had to scratch her on race morning, but it has turned out to be a blessing.
"She missed a bit of work, so there is improvement to come and by the time the Guineas is run, she should be on song.
"I don't think the mile will be a problem. They really ran along, and she was strong late and I would like to think she could run out a strong mile.
"She does hit a flat spot and takes a while to wind up, but Lachie [Neindorf] knows her well."
Neindorf has always felt Ferivia would appreciate 1400 metres and is confident the mile trip in the Thousand Guineas will pose no issues for the filly.
"I thought I was gone at the 100 [metres], but she changed legs and found again," the rider said.
"She was tough. I've always said from day dot that she would be a 1400-metre to a mile horse, and I feel she's starting to make her presence felt.
"There was a good tempo, and she toughed it out late, and to be honest I felt I was only hitting my straps on the line.
"I think she'll get a mile for sure."
Ferivia is the third of five foals for Streetcar Express, who was a nine-start maiden in mostly country South Australia. Her dam, Streetcar Stella, managed to win a Balaklava maiden among eight starts.
Streetcar Express now has a yearling colt by Rich Enuff (Written Tycoon) and was covered last year by Flying Artie (Artie Schiller).
On the paternal side, Ferivia is one of eight Australian stakes winners for Astern, the 2016 Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) hero, who’s had a varied career as a stallion.
Astern shuttled five times to the USA for Darley, despite his Australian service fee dropping as low as $16,500 (inc GST) in those years.
He hit the highs by siring two Australian elite winners in 2022-23, with Golden Mile claiming the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and Affaire A Suivre the SAJC Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m).
But ultimately Astern’s successes were insufficient to keep him on the Darley roster, and he was exported last February to Turkey, where he stands for fee-on-arrangement.
Fine stakes double for Emirates Park, Freedman and Berry
Emirates Park, Michael Freedman and Tommy Berry enjoyed a terrific stakes double at Rosehill on Saturday courtesy of Marhoona’s (Snitzel) victory in the Heritage Stakes (Listed, 1100m) and Manaal’s (Tassort) triumph in the Pendant Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m).
Saturday’s pair of success stories capped off a brilliant 24 hours for Emirates Park with the operation having also bred and sold Friday night’s Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Charm Stone.
The stakes brace was kicked off by Marhoona, who broke the so-called ‘Golden Slipper’ curse when she defeated Akaysha (Capitalist) by 0.7 lengths on her first start back from a spell, having not been seen since her impressive triumph in the coveted Rosehill juvenile Group 1 in March.
In winning Saturday’s Listed race, the daughter of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) became just the second Golden Slipper winner in the past eight years to add to her resume, with Fireburn, who won the juvenile Group 1 in 2022, the last winner to add another win to her record.
Berry admitted he was trying not to get ahead of himself ahead of her return given his experiences with previous Slipper winners Vancouver (Medaglia D’Oro), Overreach (Exceed And Excel) and Stay Inside (Extreme Choice), who all failed to go on as older horses.
"You know how well they're going at home but I have been tricked into two-year-olds coming back from winning a Slipper three times," Berry said.
"It's always in the back of your mind that they've got to come here and do it again."
The Roman Consul Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) is her likely next stop ahead of a tilt at the Coolmore Classic (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington.
"The plan was to come back here for the Roman Consul and then three weeks' into the Coolmore with a trial up the straight beforehand," Freedman said.
Marhoona is the sixth named foal of the 16-year-old Salma (Encosta De Lago) and is the best - in a hot field.
The mare’s first foal, Trojan Harbour (Harbour Watch), was a Listed winner in South Africa, while her second named foal, Salateen (I Am Invincible), was a Listed winner and Group 2 placed. And next in line Hilal (Fastnet Rock) was a Group 2 winner who was placed at the top level.
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Meanwhile, Marhoona’s stablemate Manaal added Saturday's Group 2 feature to her victory in the Sheraco Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) a fortnight earlier and Freedman was thrilled to see her frank his opinion that she had only lost form during the autumn due to wide gates and bad luck.
"She was in the wilderness a little bit for eight or nine months and has come back from a disappointing run at Caulfield and then to win the Sheraco and back it up here today, it's a big thrill," Freedman said.
"I probably sound like a broken record but she has been going so well at home for quite a long time.
"It has been really frustrating going to the races previously where we've been hampered with bad barriers et cetera
"But I've always felt if she got the right run in a race she has still got plenty to give and you're never really sure with these mares as they start to get a little bit older."
Freedman will weigh up whether to freshen Manaal for the Silver Eagle (1300m) or head towards The Invitation (1400m) but says those two races shape as the "most logical options".
Manaal is out of the US-bred Listed winner Red Lodge (Midshipman), who Emirates Park picked up for $500,000 at the Keeneland Breeding Stock Sale in 2018.
In 2023 Red Lodge produced a filly by Zoustar (Northern Meteor) and a colt by Justify (Scat Daddy) came the following year and missed to Tassort last season.
Emirates’s co-own stallion Tassort (Brazen Beau), who stands at Newgate Farm. He commands a fee of $38,500 (inc GST).
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