Impressing with a debut win in a Kilmore maiden, Dundeel (NZ) filly Billycart maintained her unbeaten run, charging clear over the 1800m to score a facile victory in the $200,000 Listed VRC TAB One Pool Trophy on Cup Day, giving trainer Taige Weir her first Flemington winner.
With the Blake Shinn ridden Zoustar colt Star Of Macedon jumping away the favourite for John Symons and Sheila Laxon, jockey Dean Yendall jumped away Billycart from the second outside barrier, dropping back to settle with just two behind her.
Looking to dictate from the front, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Waiheke Rose (NZ) took up the running, going a few lengths clear and really stretching the field out before slackening off the pace to suit.
Slowly making up ground along the inside rail when the leader slowed the tempo, Yendall was sitting just off the leading division as the home turn was reached.
As leading contender Mister Whisker got a great run closer to the inside to take the lead and kick clear, Yendall balanced up his filly before asking for an effort where she motored home.
Pulling clear to dominate her rivals, Billycart’s winning margin of two and a quarter lengths was impressive. Finishing in second was Mister Whisker with a further length and a quarter back to the favourite who worked home well for third.
With this race won in the past by future G1 winners Warmonger and Vow And Declare, connections look to have a very exciting filly on their hands.
That turn of foot ???? BILLYCART storms over the top to claim the @tabcomau ONE POOL Trophy for Dean Yendall and Taige Weir. #MelbourneCup https://t.co/ZBwx9EaO7P
— Victoria Racing Club (@FlemingtonVRC) November 3, 2026
With no better way to break your Flemington maiden than with your first runner and in a black type race to boot, trainer Taige Weir was clearly over the moon.
“That is amazing,” enthused Weir. “Look, I knew she has a bit of ability, this horse, but to do it today, I thought the experience might get the better of her. There's a lot of people here today, but to her credit, she just let rip and yeah, that's the horse we know and I'm so glad that she could get the job done today.”
“I can't thank Three Bridges, Gary Johnson and the whole team in this horse enough. She's a really well-bred filly and there was probably talk early days they were going to send her to somewhere else, but they left her with me, thank God, and I'm just so glad I could get the job done for them today.”
“They sort of eased off the pace there and I was like ‘oh god someone get on your bike get going please’ and they did and then she was able to sort of find a run and I thought she was going to run a really nice second but then I actually stopped watching, I got a bit carried away to be honest and then I didn't actually see how much she won by by gee that was cool.”
As for where she may head next, Weir hadn’t thought that far.
“I don't know, I was just a bit gobsmacked to be honest, I didn't make another plan, just get through today and go home and have a look at the calendar and go from there.”
For jockey Dean Yendall, it was clear the win meant a lot.
“Words can't describe it,” said Yendall. “Look, I get emotional when I ride for people that I love. And it's obviously been scripted through my latter career, through the obvious guys that I ride for, and it's only been the last sort of six weeks that I've really ridden for Tage.”
“Like they put me down on horses and keep scratching, they draw a bad gate or something goes wrong with them. And then Will (Gordon) got hurt, so I thought, I gotta lift my game now. So look, they're throwing me rides and I'm doing my best on them and winning on them so that’s a big plus.”
“Look she began clean enough, had to wait for Jordy to get going on his thing so I just had to duck back in towards the inside. I didn't really want to go to the rail but obviously I found myself there.”
“She was okay, she was a little bit wayward and a bit unsure of herself with the horse outside, just being jammed up a little bit. But she didn't pull, she didn't do things wrong, she just took it in her stride.
“Travelled really kindly, they backed off at the half mile and I just tried to follow the right horse but they're all traveling the same at that time so I had to just ride for a bit of luck towards the inside and be mindful of my other competitors around me.”
“When I asked her to quicken she just accelerated and I wasn't sure, I’d seen Jett get away on his thing up the straight. I thought I had a bit of a task catching him but I thought we'd run a nice second, but we got to 200 and I put three on her, she just went through the line just as she pleased.”
Retained to race by her breeders Three Bridges Thoroughbreds and partners after being passed in shy of her $200,000 reserve at the Magic Millions yearling sale, Billycart is the second winner, and first stakes winner out of the Sea The Stars mare Queen Of The World (GB) from the international family of G1 winners Pedro The Great and Footstepsinthesand.
The mare has an unraced 2yo colt by Toronado named Cyclone Crown and has yet to produce foal so far this season, having been covered last year by Cylinder.
Billycart became the 42nd stakes winner for Dundeel who stands at Arrowfield Stud with a service fee of $66,000 (inc. GST).
