2020 Golden Slipper winner Farnan has sired the quinella in the feature race on Canberra’s calendar with King Of Pop and Farcited one-two home in the Black Opal Stakes.
King Of Pop’s win continued the win continued the domination of colts and geldings in the Group 3 1200-metre event becoming the 39th of his gender to win the race first run in 1973.
“I have had him down as a Golden Slipper horse,” co-trainer Gerald Ryan said of King Of Pop.
“It would be great to get him into the Slipper but I don’t know whether he’s earned enough prizemoney for that or not.”
It was a first win in the Black Opal for jockey Zac Lloyd while Ryan claimed his fourth victory with his first delivered by Paint 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,” Ryan added of this two-year-old who won narrowly on debut at Warwick Farm last month before this trip to the ACT.
“Farcited won the Preview well and went along at a good gallop but my bloke was very sharp and he executed the race well,” Zac Lloyd said.
“He jumped well, he settled nicely and is still learning but he is a nice horse going forward.”
King Of Pop’s neck-margin win over Farcited with Ryan/Sterling Alexiou stablemate Sanctified ($11) a length away in third.
“The third horse went super,” Ryan added.
“He worked so well last Saturday that I said to Sterling that we might as well throw him in the race as well.”
Earlier on the card, Snow In May ($2.70) favourite provided co-trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton another feature race success in the Listed Canberra Guineas (1400m) after Linebacker’s win in the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) on Saturday, and Palmetto ($3.50) provided Tim Clark with a fifth Listed Canberra Cup (2000m) win.
