 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2001
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Greg Brodie receives the trophy from Daren Garrard |
It is not time for Bruce Negus to say 'move over Courage.' There is no real danger of that. However, it seems certain that he will speak of Sly Flyin in the next breath.
Putting sentiment aside, Sly Flyin has Closed quickly on the achievements of the great Courage Under Fire, who Negus developed into a young champion, and there was fresh evidence of his endless stamina and stubborn determination following his powerful win in the $150,000 Garrard's Sires' Stakes Final on a slushy track at Addington.
The Greg Brodie-owned and Colin De Filippi-driven colt won with the same stamp of authority that Courage Under Fire issued in his year. Tricky Vic made a valiant attempt from back in the field on what was pretty much a front-runner's night to finish second; Hardly Matters had a good trip and made good use of it to get third and All Hart was fourth after sticking on well following a tough trip.
For Sly Flyin, it's a seven-week break, and the declaration of another career when his racing career has finished. Negus was more or less committed to geld Sly Flyin at the end of his campaign, and said so. "Courage was perfect in this respect. Anyone could give him a pat and show him some affection. He liked that. This fellow is a little more aggressive, and could bowl you over without being nasty at all. But I promised him he would stay a colt if he won. Gelding him, by the look of it, couldn't make him go any better," he said.
In the cold light of day, the run was exceptional, because there was some difficulty for him when a hopple shortener became stuck. It meant that he had one of 53 inches on one side and 56 inches on the other. "That is why Colin had to force the issue when he did. He is a short coupled horse but it would not have been comfortable for him. Colin's drive was very astute. He drove to the horse's strengths. In the last four or five years, Colin has just got better and better. He really is top class," he said.
The quality of Sly Flyin's win was not a revelation, and Negus no longer is afraid to give him the kudos he has deserved. "His trial a week earlier at Motukarara in 2:41.8 for 2200m did surprise me, but then he has improved many lengths since his Welcome Stakes win last months. He was not distressed, and it is hard to describe how well he did that. He is a great stayer, and to be honest I don't know how good he is. He could be a super horse, but here we have rated him a second behind Courage in all departments at this stage. Up till now, I have hesitated to say that he is up with him, but I think he has earned that right now. In a tight finish, he will win nine times out of ten," he said.
With his boyish tendencies needing to be ironed out at the start of his campaign, Negus went to a couple of senior horsemen for advice, his father Bob, and Doug Mangos. Through his time with George and John Noble, Mangos was an old hand with young horses, and won nine successive races at two with the brilliant filly, Roydon Roux. As a result of their wisdom, Negus worked Sly Flyin every day in the cart, for weeks on end.
Sly Flyin is a 15.2-hand son of Sands A Flyin, who achieved a remarkable and honourable double when his iron-willed daughter Sparks A Flyin won the Group 1 Nevele R Fillies Final on the card - in the same willing manner. Brodie bought Sly Flyin for a six-figure sum on the recommendation of Greg Payne. "I recall Greg saying after just his fourth hopple, 'here is a $100,000 horse'," said Negus. That was in September.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 16May01