Flying Artie Stars In The Coolmore Stud Stakes
Which colt would emerge as the best of the best?
The scratching of Capitalist (Written Tycoon) due to a stone bruise took out one of the stars but left to do battle were Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), Astern (Medaglia d’Oro), labelled by trainer John O’Shea as his best ever horse, Star Turn (Star Witness), Flying Artie (Artie Schiller), Russian Revolution (Snitzel) and several more.
While most punters expected Astern, Extreme Choice and Star Turn would fight out the finish, it was 10/1 shot Flying Artie who emerged as the decisive winner by a length and a quarter after jockey Hugh Bowman produced him from the rear with a well judged ride showing his colt’s exciting turn of foot. Astern was second with Star Turn just a short half head away in third place. Russian Revolution finished fourth ahead of Extreme Choice in fifth place. Time was a slick 1:08:98 with the last 600 metres run in 33.40.
For the consistent Flying Artie it was a victory well deserved after some fine performances as a two-year-old including a win in the Blue Diamond Prelude (Gr 3, 1100m), a fast finishing second to stablemate Extreme Choice in the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and a third to Capitalist and Yankee Rose (All American) in the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
Bred by Mr J Shannon and offered in the Goodwood Farm consignment at the 2015 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Flying Artie was initially passed in for $40,000 before NSW breeder Paul Whelan purchased him shortly after for $50,000.
Paul Whelan, owner of Luskin Park Stud, normally is a buyer only of fillies or broodmares but he had seen and admired Flying Artie parading at the sale. He did not bid on him but on learning the colt had been passed in, decided to buy him, bringing into the ownership members of his family and old friend and racing partner Wilf Mula.
Flying Artie is one of 34 stakes winners worldwide for his sire Artie Schiller (El Prado) who stands at Winstar Farm in Kentucky and since 2007 has also shuttled each year bar 2010 to Australia for Emirates Park Stud, standing his earlier seasons in Victoria but this year he is available in NSW and fully booked at a fee of $22,000 (inc GST).
Winner of ten races and of more than US$2,000,000, Artie Schiller was a high class middle distance dirt performer in the United States whose seven stakes successes were highlighted by his win in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (Gr 1, 8f) and four Grade Two races.
Sire of close to 66 per cent winners-to-runners, Artie Schiller has two Grade One winners in North America, My Conquestadory and We Miss Artie, and now two in Australia, Flying Artie and Laser Hawk, winner of the ATC Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m). Other stakes winners for him in Australia are the promising Group Two winner Good Standing, Big Chill, Lady Melksham, Secret Liaison, Vain Queen, I Love It, Daytona Grey, Moving Money and Mezeray Miss.
Like Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado), sire in Australia of Astern and Vancouver and in the United States of outstanding fillies Rachel Alexandra and Songbird, Artie Schiller is a son of champion sire El Prado (Sadler’s Wells), a speedy and precocious son of the renowned Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer) who introduced that branch of the sire line to American breeders and is now asserting a world wide influence with another well performed son, Kitten’s Joy (El Prado), the leading turf sire in the United States for the past four seasons.
Flying Artie is the third foal and third winner from former smart Melbourne racemare Flying Ruby (Rubiton) whose six wins from 1200 metres to 1600 metres included a stakes win in the 2009 Bow Mistress Stakes (Listed, 1200m) in Tasmania and who placed in four other stakes races. Following Flying Artie for the mare are an unraced two-year-old colt by Helmet (Exceed and Excel) named Give, a yearling filly by Pierro (Lonhro), nominated for next year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, and a 2016 colt by Dissident (Sebring).
Rubiton (Century), Flying Artie’s maternal grandsire, was a champion racehorse, sired 43 stakes winners and his daughters have produced 25 Group winners headed by Flying Artie, Dash For Cash (Secret Savings) (sire), Amber Sky (Exceed and Excel), Playing God (Blackfriars), Seventh Rock (Rock Of Gibraltar), Fontein Ruby (Turffontein), God Has Spoken (Blackfriars), Divine Calling (Stratum) and Fontiton (Turffontein).
Parkhill’s Flyer (Brigand), the unplaced dam of Flying Ruby, is a half-sister to Australian Horse of the Year Better Loosen Up (Loosen Up), a great warrior who recorded seven Group One wins in Australia plus an historic victory in the 1990 Japan Cup (JPN Gr 1, 2400m) in Tokyo.
From a female line which has its stout origins in the famous Kia-Ora Stud in NSW, Flying Artie has a diverse pedigree which will make him an especially valuable stallion proposition and well suited to the many Danehill-line mares in the Australian broodmare population. Of particular interest to me is the construction of his dam’s pedigree which features a 3m x 3f cross of four times champion Australian sire Better Boy (My Babu) and a 4 x 3 double of the brothers Todman (Star Kingdom) and Noholme (Star Kingdom), both champion sires.