King Of Pop leads home quinella for Farnan in Black Opal thriller
Kia Ora Stud’s first-season stallion Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) enjoyed a great result in Sunday’s Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) with the Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou-trained King Of Pop leading home a quinella for the sire when he defeated the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Farcited in Canberra’s juvenile Group 3.
King Of Pop had made a winning debut at Warwick Farm just two and a half weeks prior to Sunday’s $200,000 event and was sent off the $4 second-elect under Zac Lloyd, while Farcited had also scored on debut when taking out the Black Opal Preview (1000m) at Canberra on February 21 and jumped off as the $2.70 favourite.
Interestingly both King Of Pop, a $800,000 purchase for his trainers at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and Farcited, who sold to Waterhouse and Bott, Kia Ora, Farnan Partnership, and Mt Hallowell Stud for $1.2 million at the same sale, are the highest-priced yearlings sold by Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Farnan.
Jumping out well from barrier four, King Of Pop was then reined back behind the front-running Farcited. Turning for home and it looked as though the bird may have flown with Farcited out in front by a few lengths travelling strongly under Adam Hyeronimus.
However, as Farcited was pushed along approaching the final 200 metres, King Of Pop emerged from the chasing pack and, finding plenty for his rider’s urgings, narrowly got past the front-runner inside the closing stages to score by 0.3 lengths.
There was a further 1.1 lengths back to the winner’s stablemate Sanctified (Super Seth) in third place.
“I have had him down as a Golden Slipper horse,” Gerald Ryan revealed after the race, with King Of Pop sitting at $21 in the Slipper market.
“It would be great to get him into the Slipper but I don’t know whether he’s earned enough prize-money for that or not.”
Ryan was winning the Black Opal Stakes for the fourth time in his training career, with the first coming with his Blue Diamond (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Paint (Raami) in 1996.
“Paint came off winning the Blue Diamond, Trapeze Artist won it at his second race, and I think he [King Of Pop] is as good as any of them,” the co-trainer said.
The third-placed Sanctified also pleased Ryan, who said: “The third horse went super. He worked so well last Saturday that I said to Sterling that we might as well throw him in the race as well.”
Lloyd, who was landing the Group 3 race for the first time in his riding career, was impressed with the winner’s attitude throughout.
“Farcited won the Preview well and went along at a good gallop but my bloke was very sharp and he executed the race well,” Lloyd said.
“He jumped well, he settled nicely and is still learning but he is a nice horse going forward.”
King Of Pop (2 c Farnan – Za Zi Ba by All Too Hard) is the second foal out of the stakes-placed winning mare Za Zi Ba (All Too Hard), herself a half-sister to Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Rediener (Redoute’s Choice) and Listed winner Rathlin (Fastnet Rock).
Za Zi Ba is out of Wiener (More Than Ready), who was a Listed winner on the track and is a half-sister to Arrowfield’s gun sire Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), Hinchinbrook (Fastnet Rock) and Viennese (Redoute’s Choice). She foaled a colt by Russian Revolution (Snitzel) last season and was covered by Shamus Award (Snitzel) last December.
Farnan currently sits second in the first-season sires’ table by winners with five, one behind Vinery Stud’s Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) who sired back-to-back doubles on Friday and Saturday.
Snow In May continues O’Shea and Charlton’s good form
Having been provided with his first Group 1 winner when Linebacker (Super Seth) landed Saturday’s Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m), co-trainer Tom Charlton was again celebrating on Sunday when talented filly Snow In May (The Autumn Sun) took out the Canberra Guineas (Listed, 1400m).
Ridden by Tyler Schiller for the first time since scoring on debut in May last year, the daughter of The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) produced placings in both the Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) and Tea Rose Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) during the spring and was sent off the $2.70 for Sunday’s Listed contest in what represented a drop back in grade.
Sitting on the heels of the leaders turning into the home straight, Snow In May found a gap between horses coming into the final 300 metres and responded willingly to Schiller’s riding to grind out a half-length win over French Ruler (Nicconi), with a further 0.2 lengths back to Shangri La Spring (Castelvecchio) in third.
“It was probably a touch weaker grade than what she’s been in, against Lady Shenandoah and those. She’s been matching it well,” the winning rider said.
“She executed everything really well. Got a gap and we were lucky that she’s very brave.
“I had to expose her too soon when I got the gap. If I didn’t take it, I feel like it would have disappeared before I got there.
“She was a touch soft late but I also think she’s better being held up for another 100 metres.”
Bred by Woodpark Stud, Snow In May was purchased for $150,000 by her co-trainer John O’Shea and Suman Hedge Bloodstock from the Attunga Stud draft at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
She is the first foal out of the Group 2-placed Siyouni (Pivotal) mare See You Soon, who had a two-year-old filly, also by The Autumn Sun, make $200,000 at last year’s year’s Inglis Easter when selling to Peter Moody.
Snow In May was providing Arrowfield’s The Autumn Sun with a sixth individual stakes winner, with all of them being fillies.
Zouatica sizzles in National Sprint, Palmetto takes out Canberra Cup
The Barb Joseph and Paul and Matt Jones-trained Zouatica (Zoustar) produced a minor shock in Sunday’s National Sprint (Listed, 1400m) at Canberra as he ran out a narrow winner at odds of $15.
Making his return to action, having been off since running 12th in a Benchmark 78 (1800m) at Rosehill on November 30, the five-year-old gelding proved a different proposition on Sunday as he dug deep to repel the late challenge of Cliff House (Starcraft), coming out on top in a photo-finish. Magnatear (Written Tycoon) ran a further 0.7 lengths back in third place.
Zouatica, who was providing Widden Stud’s Zoustar (Northern Meteor) with his 64th individual stakes winner, was purchased for just $40,000 by his trainers out of the Torryburn Stud draft at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale and has now won eight of his 21 starts, earning $377,850 in prize-money.
Bred by Torryburn, he is the best of three winners to come out of the winning O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) mare Axiomatic, a half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Xtravagant (Pentire), who stands at Newhaven Park, and Group 3 scorer He’s Remarkable (Pentire).
Axiomatic produced a filly by Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) last spring and is back in foal to him again.
The other stakes contest held at Canberra on Sunday was the Canberra Cup (Listed, 2000m), which saw the John Sargent-trained Palmetto (Ghibellines) come out on top in what was another close finish.
Ridden by Tim Clark, who was aboard for the six-year-old gelding’s second placing in the Parramatta Cup (Gr 3, 1900m) on his prior start, Palmetto made all under his rider and, having kicked clear with 300 metres left to run, just held out to beat Matusalem (The Autumn Sun) by 0.2 lengths with a further 0.3 lengths back to Redstone Well (Cotai Glory) in third.
Clark, who was winning the race for the fifth time in his career, said: “It’s been a great race for me, I enjoy getting back to these areas. I done a lot of riding here as an apprentice and it’s always good to get back.
“He had to do it the hard way from the widest gate [11] and being topweight. They all had their chance to beat him and he was too tough for them.
“He gave a really good kick and 2000 [metres] is probably stretching his limit, so doing that bit of work early [to get the lead] meant he was probably going to be a bit vulnerable inside the last 100 [metres].
“It’s a well-deserved win as he’s been racing well. Hopefully we can come back again next year!”
Sunday’s win was Palmetto’s (6 g Ghibellines – Carolina Island by Darci Brahma) third at stakes level, with the gelding having also won the Dunedin Guineas (Listed, 1500m) and Southland Guineas (Listed, 1600m) in 2022, while he also counts The Coast (1600m) and Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) among his seven career wins.