VRC Members Race day - Racing undercard

First Settler remains unbeaten 

Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr will look to the spring three-year-old sprints at Flemington after Early Settler took out the VRC Member Richard Dawson Plate (1000m). 

The Listed Poseidon Stakes (1100m) on September 14, the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) on October 5 and the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) four weeks later are potentially on First Settler’s agenda. 

First Settler scored a comfortable 2-¼ length win on debut at Caulfield last month and backed it up with a solid win at his first shot down the Flemington straight. 

Price said the colt was there to be beaten on Saturday after taking the lead with 250m to run. 

“He’ll have a little breather now and be lined up for the nice three-year-old sprint races here which is probably the Poseidon, the Danehill and the Coolmore, I guess,” Price said. 

“I thought it was a tough win as he was there to be beaten. 

“I didn’t want to complicate it before the race. I said to (Michael Dee) ride him like the best horse, and if he gets beat, he gets beat. 

“I think the 1200 metres will be better for him as he's a big strong horse and he has a good set of lungs on him.” 

Arqana now a Flemington winner 

Anthony and Sam Freedman would have shaken their heads if anyone had suggested in form mare Arqana would be winning a race at Flemington. 

After going through her first two campaigns unable to win a race, Arqana is now a three-time winner after taking out the RMBL Investments Rising Stars Final (1600m). 

Arquana commenced her campaign with victory at Echuca and after three more starts was successful at Caulfield before her victory on Saturday. 

Now the father-and-son training team could potentially look for a Stakes race with the Listed Balaklava Cup (1600m) in September a potential target. 

“She’s a mare that if you had said at the end of the spring that we would be here at Flemington winning a race, we would have shaken our heads given that she was just battling,” Sam Freedman said. 

“But as it turned out she bumped into a Group 1 winner in a maiden at Geelong in the spring. 

“Black Type is the obvious carrot that every breeder wants, and we’ve had a quick look through and there’s the Balaklava Cup in September that could suit. 

“But we’ll just enjoy today and work it out from there.” 

Arqana was ridden to victory by Jaylah Kennedy who Freedman pointed out was getting hard to book for rides with her claim. 

“I think we locked her in five or six weeks ago for this race,” Freedman said. 

Luke Cartwright was crowned the 2023-24 Rising Star after securing four wins in the lead-up to Saturday’s final. 

Liberami does it for Deano 

On the day that the Deane Lester Flemington Cup is run, it was fitting the Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock stable should win a race. 

Lester was an integral part of the Griffiths stable when the former jockey first started out his new career as a trainer and continued conversing with him up until his death in February last year. 

Griffiths said Lester would have enjoyed Liberami’s victory in the VRC Members Leigh Hughes Trophy (1400m) and if he was alive may have moved earlier to ride the gelding just as he now is. 

“Deano would be pretty pumped up there with my brother (Rod) and Peter Mertens,” Griffiths said. 

Liberami has now won two of his seven starts and would have been unlucky if beaten on Saturday. 

“He’s always had a lot of talent, but his first three runs were hopeless, so we dropped him out to the backside at Sale and we saw a nice horse in the making,” Griffiths said. 

“He came out and won and ran second on the heavy at Sandown. We weren’t all that rapt with him on the heavy last start, but Brad Rawiller thought he ran super. 

“Today he was going to be unlucky, but in the end, he was very good.” 

Brown right with Mr Exclusive 

There had been calls to retire Mr Exclusive before the gelding produced a long overdue win in the VRC Member Lily Liu Sprint (1200m). 

Success on Saturday was Mr Exclusive’s first since April 2021, although the gelding had shown form in tougher races than what he was up against on Saturday. 

Trainer Matthew Brown entered Saturday’s race quietly confident the gelding would run well on the rain-affected track. 

“He’s a horse that has had a lot of problems, so you have to tinker with him, but he’s been an old marvel for the stable,” Brown said. 

“There had been talks of retirement, and I’ve said no way, he wants to be here and it’s all worthwhile again. 

“He had been going OK on good tracks, but he is a dead-set wet tracker, but for some reason he had been unable to find a heavy track. 

“Back in trip today, well-weighted after the claim and praying for rain, we thought we were a good chance.”