Western Australia’s champion sire Playing God achieved a notable career milestone on Saturday when his son Almighty Class notched up a quarter century of stakes winners for the remarkable stallion, posting a commanding victory in the Listed Cyril Flower Stakes.
The five year old gelding was resuming from a spell in the 1200m feature for his third trainer, Trevor Andrews.
Almighty Class was first trained by Mitchell Pateman and showed plenty of ability when he won the Max Simmonds at just his second race start.
He then went straight into stakes company, and was only narrowly defeated by the exceptional filly Super Smink in the Listed Belgravia Stakes.
Pateman thought enough of the horse to run him in both Perth's premier sprints, The Quokka and the G1 Winterbottom Stakes.
Almighty Class was well down the field in those races, but had continued his good form in the lead ups, which included two wins over the extremely fast stakes winning Toronado mare Toropa and a solid fourth in the G3 Colonel Reeves Stakes.
Following the Winterbottom a change of scenery was in order, and the son of Playing God travelled to the Great Southern to be trained by Pateman's uncle, highly regarded Albany horseman Paul Hunter.
The gelding had three starts for Hunter which included a crack at The Quokka's “little brother” The Joey, in April last year, but could not regain his earlier form.
Now, after almost a year away from the track and a move to the stable of Trevor Andrews, Almighty Class is back!
Coming in off a nice trial and with champion hoop Willie Pike in the saddle, punters were firmly of the view that the talented gelding was ready to fire fresh and installed him as a $2.60 favourite over quality mare London's Image (Headwater), resuming for the Donna Riordan camp .
Despite presenting well in the yard, the mare was the subject of a notable betting drift late in the piece.
Good support came for the Maschino gelding Asphalt, freshened after his good third to subsequent carnival hero Cosmic Crusader in November at Listed level.
Sean and Jake Casey's Wind And The Lion (Written By), a very fast horse on his day, looked ready to improve third up and had his fans.
When the field jumped it was another son of Playing God, Neville Parnham's 30/1 shot Sky Duke, who flew the gates for Luke Campbell and shot straight to the lead.
Wind And The Lion ( Chris Parnham) and Almighty Class also mustered quickly to be up there on speed as Asphalt (Brad Parnham) motored across from his wide gate to sit outside the leader.
London's Image and Lucy Fiore dropped into a nice position behind the leading bunch as the race unfolded at a very genuine tempo.
At the 650m Sky Duke was rolling along strongly. He was out by a length to Asphalt, who was being ridden along to stay in touch with the tearaway leader. Wind And The Lion and Almighty Class were poised ready to make their moves as London’s Image eased off heels.
But Sky Duke was still travelling like a winner as they entered the straight!
He had a powerful kick and was two lengths clear at the 200m, as Asphalt began to melt and Wind And The Lion struggled to find another gear.
It was Almighty Class who showed that change up the good horses have, unleashing a smooth burst of horsepower to come out of the leader’s slipstream and overtake him in a couple of bounds.
It was a Playing God quinella in the Cyril Flower as Almighty Class went to the line hands and heels under Pike to record his first stakes win by an easy one and a half lengths from the gallant Sky Duke, who ran a bottler at odds!
Trevor Andrews was keen to give credit to his gelding's former conditioners after the race.
“He's been well cared for by his previous trainers, he's got a super big motor on him and he's obviously a well performed horse.” he said.
“Horses that go fast have issues and you've just got to manage them. They're not major issues, but good horses seem to have them. As long as he holds it together alright, he's got a good future.
"I thought he'd make good improvement after today's run, I didn't think I had him that wound up!” revealed the trainer.
“We’ll just look after him, we won't overwork him, my wife Joanne does all the work on him, so thanks Jo! He needs putting in cotton wool - because he's a really big horse and those sort of horses on firmer tracks, they feel the ground a bit.
"He'll go to the Pinjarra Classic and Bunbury Stakes, he's got a nice program in front of him. We think he should be getting a mile, so hopefully we can get him there this time around.”
Pike was impressed with Almighty Class at his first ride on the journeyman galloper.
“It was pretty snug in there on the fence when the leader got us off the bridle. That's where he actually won the race - when he got through that and got back on the bridle” said the champion hoop.
“He was the winner a long way from home after that. He raced well with the blinkers off, I don't know the journey the owners have been on with this horse - I'm just lucky enough that I've chimed in late!
"He worked nice for me on the grass here the other day and he's clearly a nice horse - a lovely big strong horse, very proud looking, and he's got some ability there.”
Almighty Class advances his record to 14 starts for 4 wins, 2 seconds and a third for earnings of $418,565.
Not only were the Cyril Flower winner and runner up both by Playing God, they were both bred by Willaview Park ( the old Mungrup Stud) and both were produced from daughters of their longtime resident sire Oratorio (Aus)
Almighty Class is one of only two foals, both winners, produced by the unraced Oratorio mare My Classy Lady who died in 2021.
He was retained by his breeders after being passed in at Perth MM as a yearling.
My Classy Lady was one of five foals from the eight time winning mare I'm Here To Win by the Mr Prospector grandson Numerous Times, (a G1 winner in Canada and USA) from Tribal Conquest, a daughter of noted broodmare sire Tribu.
This family goes back to the influential mare Worrolong, a grand daughter of the imported Sundridge daughter Sundream.
Almighty Class is bred
Northern Dancer 5m x 5m
But closer examination of his pedigree reveals one big key to the success of his dam’s only visit to Playing God.
His ancestress Worrolong was served by the leading sire St Magnus, an imported Royal Ascot winning son of the Derby hero Sansovino, three times.
To him she produced a colt and two fillies.
The colt, named St Joel, would become a star sprinter of the 1950s in Melbourne - winning three MRC Invitation Stakes (now the Sir Rupert Clarke) at three year intervals! - 1953, ‘56 and ‘59, as well as the Victoria Hcp and the Alister Clark Stakes at Moonee Valley.
Both his full sisters bred on successfully. Elmarita became the ancestress of our Cyril Flower winner Almighty Class.
The other Joeletta, would become the great grand dam of a special filly named Ruby, sired by the French-bred stallion Seventh Hussar, destined to become a breedshaping broodmare sire.
To the cover of Seventh Hussar, Ruby produced one of the all time greats of the Australian turf - the legendary racer and fantastic sire Rubiton - who is of course the damsire of Playing God!
Those two sisters born so many decades ago, are thus united once more in this pedigree.
The mating also creates sex balanced and speed-enhancing duplications of notably Vain, Star Kingdom, My Babu and Aureole among others.
One wonders what might have been had My Classy Lady had the opportunity to visit Playing God more often.
Fortunately she had a winning full sister Our Pandemonium and her first foal is a Playing God colt to be offered by Willaview Park as Lot 242 at the Perth Magic Millions
He is bound to attract plenty of interest.
The mare's second foal is a 2025 Playing God filly.
Willaview Park also own a half sister to these two Oratorio mares by Playing God himself.
Named Alpha And Omega, she won two and was twice placed in only 9 career starts.
Her first foal was colt Out The Window ( by A Lot) passed in at Perth MM last year and yet to race, and she produced a filly in 2025 by Ingratiating.
Playing God has fifty two yearlings catalogued at Perth Magic Millions.
WA’s champion sire stands at Darling View Thoroughbreds on a fee of $48,500.
