Star Perth three year old colt Beatty confirmed his domination of the G2 WA Guineas market with a facile second up victory in the Listed Fairetha Stakes (1400m) at Ascot.
The crowd was denied an eagerly awaited contest between Sean and Jake Casey's proven topliner Beatty (Gingerbread Man) and Dan Morton's rising star Roger (All Too Hard), who was stepping up to stakes company after going undefeated in three starts.
Punters had already installed Roger as second favourite for the Guineas, after he had destroyed the opposition at his previous run - albeit a distant second favourite!
Unfortunately, the much anticipated clash didn't eventuate.
The striking Roger - a big, baldy-faced chestnut - had ideas of his own on the day, which didn't involve his jockey Chris Parnham.
The errant Roger set off on a solo gallop of his own around Ascot. Once he had been safely recaptured, scratched and escorted back to the mounting yard, the Fairetha Stakes field were ready to go on their way.
The small field included horses which red hot favourite Beatty had easily dismissed in the Belgravia Stakes first up, despite giving them weight - the third placed Godspeed ( Playing God) who came into 3/1 after the scratching of Roger, and last season's dual stakes placed juvenile He’s A Machino (Maschino) who was sent out at 16/1.
10/1 Swift Ruler (Universal Ruler), 12/1 Consignment ( Playing God) and 30/1 outsider Blue Sparx (Manhattan Rain) completed the Fairetha field.
Blue Sparx is the younger half brother to the current WA superstar and Railway Stakes favourite King Of Light and has shown some nice ability, but this was a massive step up. The gelding came out of the gates smartly for Holly Watson, but they were soon overtaken by He's A Machino who was hustled to the lead, while Godspeed charged forward from his wider gate to sit on his outside.
Blue Sparx sat on the rail in third accompanied by Beatty, who dropped in to secure the run of the race under jockey Lucy Fiore.
Swift Ruler settled two lengths behind the favourite and Consignment, beaten for early pace, was watching it all unfold in front of him.
Godspeed assumed control of proceedings at the 950m and ran them along at a solid tempo with ears pricked. He's A Machino was a length away in second and Beatty travelled sweetly, a clear third as Blue Sparx had dropped back to the rest of the field.
At the 600m Godspeed was still doing it pretty easily, but He's A Machino was looming up to challenge and Beatty was stalking the pair of them, coiled up ready to strike!
Into the straight, and Godspeed found a good kick. He's A Machino was up to that challenge, and briefly hit the front, but Beatty was in clear air and starting to hit top gear - while Consignment had hooked to the extreme outside.
Rarely do punters enjoy such an easy watch. Beatty again demonstrated his vastly superior turn of foot as he swept to the lead and pulled away from them, completely untouched by Fiore, to win comfortably by two lengths.
Consignment came home strongly to grab second from the tiring He's A Machino with Godspeed in fourth.
As if we need any more evidence that Beatty was a horse to watch this Pinnacles carnival, he records career number six from seven starts in the Listed Fairetha Stakes! https://t.co/BpZgTs6j6J
— Racing WA TV (@RacingWATV) November 7, 2026
“He's come back super, and he's showing that on the track” said co-trainer Jake Casey.
“He's a big brute of a horse. He can be a bit unruly, he's still an entire and he likes to throw his weight around - he can be a handful.”
“It was really good to see ( the horse relaxed in the run).
“In his first up run he wanted to get on the bridle a little bit, so we really got stuck into him with the work the last two weeks, because he pulled up so well. Everything's been tracking perfectly for these next two runs ( WA Guineas and G1 Northerly Stakes) and he's right on track.”
Casey compared Beatty as an athlete to the stable's former G1 star Dom To Shoot.
“It's funny, because they are so similar in stature and action. They've both got this big, flat action where they just cover the ground and it doesn't look like they're going quick, but they just do.”
The gifted colt was the Champion WA 2YO of last season, and would still be unbeaten if not for a desperately unlucky second in the G2 Karrakatta Plate to the current Placid Ark Stakes favourite Afireofgidgeecoals ( Too Darn Hot).
His Fairetha Stakes romp advances Beatty's record to six wins and one second from seven starts for $710,610 in earnings.
Beatty is a homebred for renowned WA racing identity Wally Daley.
The son of Gingerbread Man is the first stakes winner, fifth named foal and fourth winner from three to race bred from Femette (Murtajill) - a winning daughter of Wally and his late brother George’s 2004 Gimcrack Stakes heroine Refemme (Surtee).
Beatty's year younger half brother by Shooting To Win is named Peter Gunn and has won two and placed twice in just five starts, while half sister Camera Action by the same sire has won four races to date.
Femette has a Toronado daughter Toronado Magic who is retained by Daley -she has produced three foals for him by Maschino, Rommel and Beatty's sire Gingerbread Man - while Femette herself produced a full brother to Beatty last season and a colt by Rommel this spring.
Refemme was the only stakes winner from her dam Guinevere (Agincourt) and this speedy family descends from the VATC Debutante Stakes winner Limousine (Landau) - her best progeny was the Roma Cup winner Star Glitter.
This is a branch of family 2- which traces to a daughter of Heroic named Hall Mark's Sister and yes she was a full sister to that Hall Mark, the great champion of the 1930s who won the AJC / VRC Derbies and Melbourne Cup at three years, and many other major races over all distances!
This is the family of the legendary imported matriarch Teppo by Ladas, and many great horses have traced their ancestry to her.
Beatty is bred
Roberto x5m,5m
He is one of ten stakes winners to date for Yarradale Stud's ever-reliable Gingerbread Man, who is also the damsire of this Melbourne spring carnival's G2 McEwan Stakes hero Smooth Chino.
Gingerbread Man's sire Shamardal is bred 5f x 4f to Halo and 5m x 5m to his sire Hail To Reason - including an important sex balancing female line of Roberto, which comes via his sire Giant's Causeway.
That Storm Cat son was linebred to Roberto's family (12-c) as it is also the tribe of his damsire Rahy (by Halo)
As Roberto is a frequent presence in top class juvenile pedigrees, we can see why this mating brought forth such a precocious colt - who is going right on with the job at three!
Other notable aspects of Beatty's pedigree are his linebreeding to Blue Hens Almahmoud (Machiavellian, Danehill, Halo) Myrtlewood ( Mr Prospector, Seattle Slew, Never Say Die is by their relative Baldric), Cherokee Rose ( Storm Cat, Be My Guest, Bold Commander and relative Red God), Nile Lily ( Rock Of Gibraltar, Riverman) Betty Derr (Reverse, Swaps) and to old faithfuls Lalun and La Troienne.
The great sire Beau Pere makes many appearances in this pedigree - and he is sex balanced in Gingerbread Man's third dam Miss Diable - a descendant of Phar Lap's full sister Fortune's Wheel, the seventh dam of the great Sunline.
Beatty is linebred to Grey Sovereign, Star Kingdom, Nashua, Round Table and more.
Gingerbread Man commenced service in 2013, and be it summer or winter he is never without a good horse or two going around.
His nine year old warhorse Ginger Baker placed third in the Listed Luckygray Stakes (1800m) on the same Ascot program - which was taken out by the favourite Aberdeen Flyer (Astern) to give the Casey stable back to back stakes success.
Gingerbread Man stands at Yarradale Stud on a fee of $5,500
