WINGED BEAUTY the legacy of Felidoma &

by John Hutchinson

The renowned Daily Telegraph Racing Editor, the late Keith Robbins, once wrote that as a young fella he stood close to the winning post at Randwick and witnessed Bernborough storm home to win the 1945 Villiers Stakes, the first victory of his sensational 15-straight winning streak. Keith was already hooked on racing and forever after he was hooked on Bernborough. A touch over 20 years later, on Sydney Cup Day, 11 April 1966, I reckon I stood on just about the same patch of the old lawn close to the finishing line in front of the towering Members Stand. What I recall as much as any race I have seen since was the thrilling blur of colour, noise, excitement and the dazzling finish of Winged Beauty to win the P.H. Osborne Hcp, one of those high-class races for fillies and mares at carnival time which were way ahead of the Pattern Race system we know today, but equal in stature. This was rather exciting stuff for a racing mad kid like me who would somehow manage to spend a lifetime in the industry, all the way down to writing this article for goodness sake. It was not my first day at the trackit was my second - and the P.H. Osborne Hcp was Race Two on the card, Great Trust having won the Fernhill Hcp earlier. The short-priced favourite, the three year old Prince Grant, ridden by George Moore and trained by T. J. Smith won the day’s feature. And so, while I had initially planned to dedicate this article solely to that beautiful black mare, Winged Beauty, it was impossible not to include her half-sister Admire and half-brothers and their dam, Felidoma, a brilliant racemare in her own right and a broodmare par excellence. Along the way, and in a way that was perhaps at the back of my mind when the opening whistle blew, I am hoping to join the dots connecting some of the history of the legacy of Felidoma, her people and, indeed, the County of Cumberland, the spiritual home of Bluebloods, that are so much part of their stories and mine too. It will amaze you as much as it did me. A homebred for her owner, Mrs. Elva Una Maude Cooper, Felidoma was by the successful imported stallion Jambo, a multiple winner in the UK from 5f to 10f and a son of the Ascot Gold Cup victor Felicitation and Nasrullah’s half-sister, Dodoma (the fifth dam of Shergar), making him a half-brother to an even more successful stallion Down Under in Nilo. Both Jambo and Nilo were excellent broodmare sires. Felidoma’s dam Bruness was a daughter of the Widden stallion, Brueghel, another outstanding influence, and did her part producing six winners from as many foals including the prolific Bruleur (23 wins), an older brother to Felidoma. On the track, Felidoma won 14 races from 35 starts graduating to open company in Sydney with her best win being the G.F. Wilson Hcp at Warwick Farm in late June 1959 as a short-priced favourite, that event being an upmarket Flying Hcp which were, by and large, the main Saturday race in town in those times. When retired, Felidoma’s initial mating in 1960 was to the chestnut Emperor (or Emperor II as I think he was known here), a brilliant two year old in Europe when winning the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket and the Prix Robert Papin in France. A son

MORE THAN READY (USA) B

PEDIGREE ANALYSIS Winged Beauty

WINGED BEAUTY, Black or Brown filly, 1962

PORT VISTA (IRE) B or Br 1943

of the outstanding Djebel and a product of the famous Marcel Boussac stud, Emperor came with a hefty price tag. Reports of the day have him as the most expensive stallion to land here to that time, his purchase funded by a syndicate of breeders headed by George Christmas, the owner of Oak Range at Scone, the property we know today as Turangga Stud. After being seventh on the Leading Sires list the season before, Emperor improved to be fourth on the table in 1959/60, behind Star Kingdom, Delville Wood and Nilo. But by then, Emperor had moved to the Richmond district and was standing at Dr. Norman Larkin’s Stoneleigh Stud at Wilberforce, a Tiger Woods tee shot away on the other side of the Nepean River to the historic NSW town. Little wonder then that Mrs. E. Cooper selected Emperor as the stallion of choice for her beloved mare as throughout her stud career with only the odd exception, Felidoma visited stallions in the County of Cumberland. The resultant colt foal of that mating was named Arcadus, brown or black in colour like his dam and like all of Felidoma’s progeny and so many immediate descendants of the old mare. Arcadus was sent to the Warwick Farm stables of Ron Shirtliff, the trainer of the brilliant Wiggle. Without a doubt, Arcadus was among the best two year olds in training in Sydney in the 1963/64 season, winning four races by the end of February but he was a non-runner in the Golden Slipper won by the brilliant Eskimo Prince, who carried the black and orange colours of the flamboyant (or as some would say) colourful racing identity, Perc Galea. Certainly, as we go on, I can join the dots between Perc Galea and our subject mare,

Winged Beauty. But firstly, consider this. On 15 February, 1964, Arcadus carrying 9st 2lb defeated Aranulla and Royal Sovereign over 6f at Randwick while conceding 7lb to the runner-up and 11lb to the future triple Derby winner, Royal Sovereign. Six weeks later, Royal Sovereign and Aranulla filled the placings in the Champagne Stakes behind the Wilkes colt, Farnworth, who had been runner-up to Eskimo Prince in the Golden Slipper. Unlike today, there were little or, actually, no opportunities for sprinting three year olds in black type races against their own age in 1964. After all, the stakes race system we now know had not even been considered at the time and so in a three start campaign that spring, Arcadus’ best efforts were third placings in Welter Hcps. Better days lay ahead. After a minor placing in open company at Randwick in May the following year, Arcadus was shipped north for an ambitious and highly successful campaign during the Brisbane Winter Carnival, winning twice from four starts including the E.E.D. White Lightning Hcp, an important lead-up to the feature sprints on the horizon. Six weeks later, Arcadus took his place in the Doomben Ten Thousand as a relative outsider but ran way above his station to be narrowly beaten by the find of that particular carnival, the emerging superstar Winfreux, whose whirlwind finish denied Arcadus in the last few strides. Arcadus shared second place with the very smart Brisbane sprinter, Todwana. Arcadus raced only once more when again runner-up, this time to the in-form Aureo, in the Canterbury Stakes with Time and Tide in third place. Arcadus retired with a most admirable 17:6.4.3 record.

Felidoma’s second foal was Winged Beauty, a daughter of the 3-time winning English sprinter Port Vista, who in the early ‘60s was standing at Ron Barr’s Osborne Stud at Agnes Banks, a mere hop, skip and jump south of Richmond. Today, that property is owned by Godolphin and plays a pivotal role as the group’s private training base. Port Vista was imported to Australia by Stanley Wootton and, like Emperor, the son of the brilliant speed influence Panorama was one of the earliest syndication examples some 70 years ago. Standing originally at Laurie Morgan’s Redbank Stud (nowadays Wakefield Stud) at Scone, Port Vista relocated to Oak Range within a few years where he stood alongside Emperor albeit at a considerably less fee. I managed to join those very unexpected dots rather well I thought and make no mistake, Port Vista was a very good stallion getting 17 stakes winners which counted Gay Vista (VRC Lightning Stakes), Our Cobber (VRC Newmarket Hcp), the dual Epsom winner Toi Port as well as four winners of the Karrakatta Plate among them. Mrs. Cooper also sent Winged Beauty to Ron Shirtliff’s stables where the filly made the perfect start to her racing career winning her first two races at Canterbury and Warwick Farm. This time, Mrs. C. did have her Golden Slipper runner and although Winged Beauty finished midfield in seventh place the filly was far from disgraced behind the glamour two year-olds Reisling, Star Affair and Citius. Winged Beauty resumed in sparkling form the following season, taking her record to four wins from five starts with twin victories at Canterbury in August, the second of which coming one race prior to Arcadus’ final start. Two runs later and at her only attempt at a mile the daughter of Felidoma weighed-in fourth in the Flight Stakes won by Fawnia.

Winged Beauty’s win in the P.H. Osborne Hcp came at her fourth run of her autumn preparation and victory two starts later in the Malaya Hcp at Randwick on ANZAC Day took her record to six wins from her first 14 starts. Subsequent successes were harder to come by but to be fair the rising four year old was asked to compete at a very high level over the following seasons. Now, here are some dots I cannot join. At the start of the 1966/67 season Winged Beauty had been transferred to the Rosehill stables of Bede Horan who trained the mare for the rest of her career, as well as several other progeny of Felidoma. I don’t know if Ron Shirtliff took some time away from training for a period, he certainly was back in the early morning ranks a few years later and then features significantly in the breeding career of Winged Beauty in particular. A first-up fourth at Rosehill was followed by the worst run of her career when Winged Beauty trailed home last of the 17 runners in the Kia Ora Hcp on Metropolitan Day. But don’t despair, Winged Beauty’s next start was her to be her best effort.

After a 10 month break Winged Beauty won The Lidcombe Flying Hcp at Rosehill In the pack chasing her home were the multiple Gr1 winners Black Onyx, Broker’s Tip, Foresight and Nebo Road.

In 1964, Bede Horan had shipped his stable star, Pardon Me, south to win the VATC’s feature sprint, the Oakleigh Plate. Three years later and resuming from her summer break, Winged Beauty faced what looked like mission impossible when saddled up for the same event. At least, the betting public thought so for the black mare started as the 100/1 rank outsider but Winged Beauty and Horan ignored the snub. Flashing home as usual, our subject ran the 3/1 favourite Marmion to three-quarters of a length with the second elect at 13/4, the brilliant filly Cendrillon back in third place and the 1966 Newmarket winner, Bowl King, fourth. Although Mrs. Cooper had now seen both Arcadus and Winged Beauty beaten narrowly in two of Australia’s iconic sprints, there can be no doubt she would have looked on at Felidoma’s first two foals with undeniable and justifiable pride. Placed fifth in the Newmarket next time out, Winged Beauty came back to Sydney to win the Dundas Hcp at Rosehill in late April and was then runner-up in the Civic Hcp before an unsuccessful Brisbane campaign. Two unplaced starts in the early spring the following season saw that preparation abandoned with an eye once again to the autumn.

Freshened, Winged Beauty’s trademark flying finish prevailed at her next start storming home to win the Carrington Stakes over Randwick’s 5f course, which would prove to be the mare’s only black type win. A minor placegetter in the Challenge Stakes on the Australia Day long weekend soon after had the apple of Mrs. Cooper’s eye Melbournebound once again, contesting the Oakleigh Plate (4th) and the Newmarket Hcp (5th). But as does happen, that time of year seemed to suit the mare so well and at the 1968 AJC Autumn Carnival, the daughter of Port Vista and Felidoma added a ninth victory when landing the C.W. Cropper Hcp, yet another of those long-forgotten quality races that the pattern system passed by. It would be another 10 months before Winged Beauty won again, but the old saying ‘that form is temporary, but class is permanent’ could not have a better example than this result. The Lidcombe Flying Hcp at Rosehill was never a chance to gain black type status but the mare’s victory sheds a different light. In the pack chasing her home were the multiple Gr1 winners Black Onyx, Broker’s Tip, Foresight and Nebo Road. Those Flying Hcps were something else back then!