Farnan (foaled 6 October 2017) is a

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...

winning

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n bred thoroughbred racehorse who is most notable for winning the 2020

Golden Slipper The Golden Slipper Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run over 1,200 metres on grass, turf at set weights conditions, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. It ...

Background

Farnan was purchased for $550,000 by Phoenix Thoroughbreds/Aquis Farms out of the Vinery Stud draft at the 2019

Magic Millions Magic Millions Sales Pty Ltd is an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse auction house which holds auctions around Australia each year including its world famous Gold Coast Yearling Sale at Surfers Paradise in Queensland. Seven days of auctions are j ...

Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Farnan was bred by Phoenix and is the sixth foal of the talented Tallow, daughter of Street Cry, and winner of a Group III race The Vanity.

Racing career

2019/20: two-year-old season

Farnan made his race debut on the 17 November 2019 at Canberra Racecourse. In a small field of 5 runners he started a $1.80 favourite. Ridden on the pace in the 1,000 metre event by jockey Winona Costin, Farnan raced away to win by 5 lengths. After the race Costin stated, “He’s a very kind horse. Even walking behind the barriers, he was nice and relaxed. He stood nicely in the barriers and flew out. The other one just wanted to take up the lead and I was happy to take the sit. He relaxed beautifully there, but when I asked him for an effort he had a really good turn of foot and I was able to ease him down on the line.” Four weeks later, Farnan ran in the

Wyong 2YO Classic over 1,100 metres. Ridden by Tim Clark he started second favourite at odds of $2.90 behind Every Rose, who had been successful in the

Gimcrack Stakes The Gimcrack Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Colt (horse), colts and geldings. It is run at York Racecourse, Yor ...

at his previous start. Farnan began the race smartly and camped outside the lead before shooting clear in the straight to score by a length over Every Rose. After the race co-trainer Adrian Bott commented on Farnan's professional attitude towards racing and that his next run would be in the Magic Millions Classic at the

Gold Coast Turf Club Gold Coast Turf Club is an Australian horse racing organization based in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. Race track The racecourse holds numerous Thoroughbred racehorse meetings each year. The feature event is the annual Gold Coast Cu ...

, a race worth $2,000,000 in prize money. A month later, Farnan competed in the Magic Millions Classic. Again ridden by Tim Clark he started the third favourite at odds of $7, however he tasted defeat for the first time when finishing in 10th position. Farnan then resumed racing six weeks later in the

Silver Slipper Stakes The Silver Slipper Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged two years old, over a distance of 1100 metres. It is held annually at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. The race is regarded as a tradition ...

Rosehill Racecourse The Rosehill Gardens Racecourse is located in the Sydney suburb of Rosehill, New South Wales, Australia. It is operated by the Australian Turf Club. Rosehill holds horse races for thoroughbred gallopers on a grass surface. It is one of the t ...

. With new jockey

Hugh Bowman James Hugh Bowman is an Australian Horse racing, thoroughbred racing jockey. Based in Sydney, Bowman has won the New South Wales Metropolitan Jockey Premiership four times (2008/09, 2011/12, 2014/15, 2016/17) and has ridden 100 Group One, Group ...

on board, Farnan was heavily backed from odds of $10 into $7.50. He won the race comfortably by over three lengths and booked a place in the

. Co-trainer Adrian Bott was full of praise for the colt after the race, “There is a great sense of timing about this horse. He has always proven to be a top-class colt for us and he showed that very early in his career. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to show that in the Magic Millions but he had genuine excuses for that.” Two weeks later, Farnan contested the

Todman Stakes The Todman Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race, for two-year-old colts and geldings, at set weights, over a distance of 1200 metres held at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March. Total prize money for the ...

Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney r ...

over 1,200 metres in what was to be his final lead up race to the

. Starting the $1.80 favourite, many believed his main competition would come from the colt

Tagaloa In Samoan mythology, Tagaloa (also known as Tagaloa-Lagi or Tagaloa, Lagi of the Heavens/Skies) is generally accepted as the supreme ruler,

, who at his previous start had won the

Blue Diamond Stakes The Blue Diamond Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds, at set weights, run over 1200 metres at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event is Victoria's richest two-year-old race ...

. Farnan jumped well at the start of the race and was taken straight to the lead by jockey

. The horse led all the way, beating

Tagaloa In Samoan mythology, Tagaloa (also known as Tagaloa-Lagi or Tagaloa, Lagi of the Heavens/Skies) is generally accepted as the supreme ruler,

by almost 2 lengths. Three weeks later on the 21 March, Farnan started the $4.80 favourite in the

, a race worth $3,500,000 prize money. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

, the race was run in front of no spectators at Sydney's

. Farnan produced an authoritative onspeed performance, holding off the challenge of runner-up, the Magic Millions Classic winner Away Game, by 1-3/4 lengths. The win was the first

victory for jockey

and co-trainer Adrian Bott. The victory was a record seventh for trainer

Gai Waterhouse Gabriel Marie "Gai" Waterhouse (née Smith; born 2 September 1954) is an Australian horse trainer and businesswoman. The daughter of Tommy J. Smith, a leading trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses, Waterhouse was born and raised in Sydney. After ...

, surpassing the six wins achieved by her father

T J Smith Thomas John Smith (3 September 1916 – 2 September 1998) was a leading trainer of thoroughbred racehorses based in Sydney, New South Wales. Inducted into the Australian Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in 2001 and elevated to Legend status in 2 ...

2020/21: three-year-old season

Farnan resumed racing on the 13 September 2020 in The Run To The Rose at Rosehill. He set a cracking speed throughout the race, leading by as much as 5 lengths, however he eventually faded running 5th. Jockey

was heavily criticised for his handling of the horse and was charged by stewards for failing to give the horse every reasonable and permissible chance to win. Bowman was replaced as Farnan's jockey by

Glen Boss Glen Boss (born 21 August 1969 in Caboolture) is an Australian jockey, who is best known for riding Makybe Diva to victory in three consecutive Melbourne Cups: 2003, 2004, and 2005. He has also been successful in four Cox Plates: Makybe Diva in ...

in his next start the

Coolmore Stud Stakes The Coolmore Stud Stakes, registered as the Ascot Vale Stakes, is a Victoria Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, at set weights, run over 1200 metres at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia, on Vi ...

at Flemington. The horse was beaten some 9 lengths and pulled up

lame LAME is a software encoder that converts digital audio into the MP3 audio coding format. LAME is a free software project that was first released in 1998 and has incorporated many improvements since then, including an improved psychoacoustic ...

after the run. This would prove to be Farnan's last race start.

Stud career

Farnan commenced stallion duties at

Kia Ora Stud The Kia Ora Stud is a Thoroughbred horse stud situated near Scone in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Percy Miller purchased the cattle property Kia-Ora from the established Segenhoe Stud in 1914 and from there developed the Kia Ora Stud. By ...

in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in 2021 for an initial service fee of $55,000.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia 2017 racehorse births