Winning Horse: Rock Prophet (Aus)

4yoG Moshe (Aus) - Stiletto Rock (Aus)(Fastnet Rock (Aus))

16 starts - 3 wins 3 seconds 1 fourth $175815

Other Wins

1st Bendigo Bendigo Locksmiths (Bm64) 1100m (2020)

1st Sale Subway Sale Mdn Plate 1005m (2019)

Other Placings

2nd Flemington Farewell To Rob Gaylard (Bm90) 1000m (2020)

2nd Flemington The Melbourne Town Plate 1200m (2020)

2nd Bendigo Brb Electrical Md 1100m (2019) (Debut Run)

Race Result:

1st: Rock Prophet (Beau Mertens/Ray Besanko) - $13

2nd: The Centaurian (Nathan Punch/Barry Fox) - $51
3rd: Pinyin (Carleen Hefel/Jim Conlan) - $5

Winning Time: 59.03 Last 600m: 34.35

Margins: 1L x 1¼L

Winning Trainer: Ray Besanko

“My daughter (Kasey) does all the work on this horse. Top credit to her. We’re a partnership and he takes a bit of work, this horse, and it is nice to win here.

“We bred him ourselves, us and our brother, and he’s a pet at home with a few brothers and sisters there as well.”

Pre-race instructions: “Leave him alone, don’t do anything on him at all. Wait until he’s probably going at the 200 (metre mark) and go. Beau rode him perfectly, exactly what I asked him to do. He’s a good rider and should be getting a lot more rides.”

The moment he felt comfortable the horse would win: “When he went past the post.”

10 years since last (and first) Flemington winner - Red Inca: “He’s still at home. He fractured a bone in his leg on the way to the Australian Guineas and he was never the same after that. We’ve always had a few but this is probably the best horse we’ve had for a long time.

“Me and my daughter, if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be doing this anymore. I’m too old. She’s the backbone of the place. She’s up at 3:30 every morning. I wander down the stables and she’s got them on the truck ready to go over (to the training track).”

Winning Jockey: Beau Mertens

“Ray said that I know the horse now - I’ve done a lot of work on him - and ridden him at a couple of starts this prep - so I’m starting to work him out now and Ray put his trust in me to ride the horse the way I think he should be ridden.

“His pattern is to go back and get to the outside but with the pattern in that first race where they came to the inside I was happy to duck my way back in there but he did a good job.

“The wet track was a massive difference and with Sartorial Splendour coming out, it was probably one of the biggest factors because he probably had him off the bridle a long way out so we’d have to be running good sectionals to run him down.

“Today we had a nice steady race and he travelled right up once I popped him out and produced him, he showed his nice turn-of-foot.

“I’d just like to send some love out to my family members today. My pop passed away overnight after his battle with cancer. My love out to them and this one is for them.”