Miss Flirtacious had nailed a Narrogin maiden first-up in April and she confirmed fresh is best with another dominant display in the Reliable Asset Maintenance Hcp (1000m) at Belmont on Saturday.
The Safeguard mare has speed to burn and was backed from $2.40 into a $1.95 favourite before winning off a four-month spell for part-owner and trainer Luke Fernie.
Miss Flirtacious is also the latest winning graduate from Ridgeport Holdings having been knocked down for a bargain-basement $6,000 at the 2022 Perth Magic Millions Winter Yearling Sale. She has earned $122,000 including Westspeed Bonuses of $38,850 for Fernie and partners Kim Doak and Maria Manfredini.
Miss Flirtacious follows Ridgeport graduate Hez Got The Safe (Safeguard) who won a Bunbury maiden at the public-holiday meeting last Monday for Karnup trainer Graeme Ballantyne. The previous week it was the turn of Ridgeport graduate Desert Whisper (Rommel) to win at Belmont for Fernie.
“I expected to lead but we got crossed and had to take a sit,” jockey Chris Parnham reported. “She settled behind a fast one in a trial here last week and I also had to bide my time today behind Hang Glider (Flying Artie).
“You run the risk of getting held up and I didn’t want to burn her. When we came off his heels, she let go with a good turn to foot.”
Stable foreman Brian Carey predicted Miss Flirtacious will eventually get out to 1200m. “That was a 10 out of 10 ride by Chris,” he said. “Luke will make a decision on her next start when he gets back from Melbourne.”
Meanwhile, Ridgeport Farm owner Santo Guagliardo and the team at Waroona will be laser-focused on Monday morning’s Belmont barrier trials when Bustler returns for his first hit-out this season over 1000m. Guagliardo races Bustler (Playing God) with Neville Parnham and his wife Carolyn and Ruby Racing’s Rod O’Bree who kept a share after selling him for $130,000 at the 2021 Perth Magic Millions.
Bustler won last year’s G1 Railway Stakes (1600m) but there were concerns when he travelled to Melbourne only to fail badly in the G1 Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield and G2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.
“We gave him a good break after that trip,” Parnham told Racing WA. “He just wasn’t himself over there and raced well below his true ability. But he looks absolutely magnificent now and is bucking his brands off. He’s definitely a furnished horse and I expect him to bounce back and be a real Railway player again.”
Monday’s trial will be Bustler’s first step on a path to defending that title at Ascot. He races in Ridgeport’s blue & green diagonal-striped colours and has opened at $13 for back-to-back Railways on November 23.