Rock Prophet has provided his trainer Ray Besanko with his first Flemington winner in eight years.
Cranbourne trainer Ray Besanko says if it was not for the support of his daughter Kasey, he would not have been in the winners’ stall at Flemington for the first time in eight years.
The victory of Rock Prophet in Saturday’s Breeders’ Handicap (1000m) was Besanko’s first success since Red Inca scored at the track in January 2013.
Besanko is a third-generation trainer and after Rock Prophet’s victory said he would have retired had Kasey and other staff members not been there to support him.
“If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be doing this anymore,” Besanko said.
“I’m too old and she’s the backbone of the place. She’s up at 3:30 every morning, I wander down the stables and she’s got them on the truck ready to go to the track.”
Ridden by Beau Mertens, Rock Prophet ($13) scored by a length from The Centaurian ($51) with Pinyin ($5) 1-¼ lengths away third.
Besanko said Rock Prophet took a lot of work, but at the same time was possibly the best horse through the stable since Red Inca, who retired a three-time winner from 65 starts.
“He’s still at home,” Besanko said of Red Inca.
“He fractured a bone in his leg on the way to the Australian Guineas and was never the same after that.
“We’ve always had a few but this is probably the best horse we’ve had for a long time.”
Mertens was not tied down with any instructions by Besanko with the trainer describing the rider a much under-rated jockey.
“His pattern is to go back and get to the outside but with the pattern in that first race where they came to the inside, I was happy to duck my way back in there and he did a good job,” Mertens said
