Group 1 goals for Ferivia
On Friday, trainer Phillip Stokes told ANZ News he hoped homebred filly Ferivia (Astern) might measure up to a Guineas.
Specifically, he conceded his sights were set fairly modestly on the Morphettville Guineas (Listed, 1600m) next March, rather than anything too highfalutin.
But a day later, Stokes had major cause to revise those hopes upward after Ferivia produced a powerhouse display to beat several more vaunted opponents in the important fillies’ spring launcher of the Quezette Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield.
After an impressive win as a relative roughie at $10.70, jockey Lachy Neindorf hopped off the filly declaring a Guineas should be her target – but that it should be leagues above a listed affair in Adelaide, in Caulfield’s Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) instead.
Lining up for her third start after a debut win at Murray Bridge and a second at Sandown – in midweek class but against the males – Ferivia was largely unwanted in the Quezette as the two starters by Written Tycoon (Iglesia) dominated betting. Ciaron Maher’s Signature Scent firmed to $2.80 favouritism, ahead of Team Hayes’s Scenic Point at $4.20.
John McArdle’s resuming My Gladiola (I Am Invincible) was fancied at $6.90, with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s The Playwright (Written By) at $8.40.
But despite bearing the second-lowest rating in the field (65), the raw, late-blooming Ferivia upstaged them all, adding another chapter to the remarkable story of her sire Astern (Medaglia D’Oro), and further franking that Sandown midweek form. The horse who beat her home that day – Express Class (Exceedance) – took second one race before the Quezette, in the Vain Stakes.
Ferivia found a handy spot in midfield after jumping well from gate two, but after The Playwright and, to her outside, Signature Scent set a decent pace, Ferivia gradually drifted rearwards until finding herself second-last entering the straight.
Stoked up by Neindorf, Ferivia began to make solid ground through the middle from the 300-metre mark as Signature Scent kicked clear up front, but as the leaders tired, Stokes’s filly burst through to take the lead at the 50 metres, producing a stronger final thrust than the fast finishing My Gladiola to her outside to prevail by 0.4 lengths.
Mark and Levi Kavanagh’s Thanks Gorgeous (Peltzer) grabbed her first slice of black type at start number four by taking third, with Signature Scent fourth and Scenic Point never a factor, in eighth.
“I think she might be on a Thousand Guineas path,” Neindorf told Racing.com, noting Ferivia had more stamina than he’d seen from other offspring of her South Australian first and second dams, Streetcar Express (Not A Single Doubt) and Streetcar Stella (Blevic).
“She’s got a lovely big stride on her, and I always thought she had the depth to get 1400 or a mile, even though she’s from a Streetcar family and they don’t normally stretch out to that distance.”
Neindorf rode Ferivia on debut at Murray Bridge before relocating to Melbourne, where he’s continued to partner her.
“She’s a lovely filly on the up and she deserved that win today,” he said.
“It’s full credit to Phil and the team, because she’s quite a hot filly. I wasn’t confident she was going to see out a big preparation. I thought she might taper off a bit because she is so hot, but Phil got the pony on her at trackwork, and every run she’s come through, she’s gotten better and developed and matured as a professional racehorse. It’s going to take her a long way.
“She’s right up there with the good fillies I’ve ridden. She’s got good qualities about her. She knows when to switch on and switch off. She’s just very kind and she listens to the rider. I love fillies that do that and horses in general, because they’re not one dimensional.”
Stokes may be guided by the filly’s rider when he sets out further spring plans, after a win from the back which suggested longer distances could be to her liking.
“I’m not sure what distance she’s going to be – is she a sprinter or gets out in trip? We’ll have to assess all that,” the trainer said before his jockey returned to scale.
“Usually you go to 1400 and that sorts them out, doesn’t it? We’ll just see how she pulls up and make a plan.
“It’s very satisfying, a great team effort, from Adelaide to here. Lachy did the early work on her in Adelaide, and he’s stuck with her here, and gave her a good ride.
“We thought she’d take good improvement, which she had to because this was a pretty good race.
“Lachy got her out in the right part of the track. She was strong late and knuckled down.
“It’s great for [owner/breeders] the Brook family. They’re big supporters of our stable.”
In keeping with Stokes’ initially modest hopes for her, Ferivia is from a humble background.
She’s 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 became the eighth Australian stakeswinner 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.