A veteran gelding by a Melbourne Cup hero became an unlikely stakes-winner at odds of 200-1 on Saturday!
The Dan and Ben Pearce trained Fear The Wind went to the barriers as the despised outsider in the 2026 Listed Detonator Stakes field - and returned triumphant, a black type winner at his thirty seventh race start.
Stakes success had long eluded the eight year old - though placed last winter in the Listed South West Cup and the 2024 Pinjarra Cup, both run over much further than the 1800m of the Detonator Stakes - and his shock victory came 1,000 days since his last win!
In a truly run race expected leader Battle Commander (Rommel) charged to the front on jumping and set up a cracking early tempo with roughie Rocking Society (Awesome Rock) and race favourite Fly With Caution ( Galah) up there with him.
Second fave Redback Flyer ( Playing God) settled midfield with the only other two runners under double figure odds, Arcadia Park (Ocean Park) beside him and Soldanelle (Siyouni) tucked in on the rail.
Fear The Wind travelled just behind them.
Battle Commander strode out to lead the Detonator field unchallenged as they approached the turn, but the moves were coming.
Red Sun Sensation ( Awesome Rock) had worked hard mid-race to get up to third behind Fly With Caution, but was already feeling the pinch as Redback Flyer took off three wide, Arcadia Park four wide as they entered the straight and Fear The Wind still out of the picture!
Battle Commander put up the white flag as Fly With Caution surged past him to lead by a length at the 200m, with Arcadia Park and Redback Flier coming on strong.
But Luke Cambell on Fear The Wind were launching!
Down the middle of the track came the Fiorente gelding with a blistering burst of acceleration, cutting them down with every stride.
Fly With Caution was overhauled by the chasers but they couldn't hold out Fear The Wind, who motored past them to win by three quarters of a length as punters reeled in shock.
30/1 shot Rocking Society had found a second wind and poked through late to grab second by a head from 14/1 Arcadia Park and the bookies did a little celebration dance.
Siyouni mare Soldanelle ran on gamely to take fourth from River Rubicon (Rubick) with Redback Flyer and Fly With Caution just behind him.
Co-trainer Ben Pearce was as surprised as anyone by the veteran Fear The Wind's stunning form reversal.
“Yeah we all backed him, we were all really confident - ah,no” he joked after the race.
“He's been out of form for a long time, but he's shown glimpses along the way of still wanting to be a racehorse, that's what has kept us going with him.
He was super today, from about the 400 he was tracking up and I thought gee he's going to be right in this”
Ben revealed that there had been consideration given to calling time on the eight year old’s career.
“There was discussion with the owners after his prep coming into the Perth Cup about retirement, but he's such a nice horse and he loves what he does so we kept him going.
He did a tendon a couple of years ago but he came back well from that and just that bit of confidence to go around and race, it might have been what he needed.
The plan was to go to the Esperance Cup but he'll be too highly rated now - we might have to pull the pin on that!”
Jockey Luke Campbell said everything had gone right on the day to pull off the unexpected result.
“ I did the form for the race and there was a bit of speed in it on paper. He began well for me and we got a beautiful run. He travelled beautifully for me. Coming to the corner I put him under a bit of pressure and he put himself on the right leg and he relished the line.
The way the race was run, when the speed came out of it, the three wide line was the place to be.
He went terrific and I'm very proud of him.”
Bred by the Van Heemst family, Fear The Wind was a $50,000 yearling buy for Jason Ferguson from the draft of Lynward Park Stud at the 2019 Perth Magic Millions.
The Van Heemsts retained an interest in the youngster bred from their Danehill mare Windana, who died the year after he was born.
His Detonator Stakes win advances Fear The Wind’s record to 37 starts for 8 wins and 5 placings and earnings of $413 723.
He becomes the twelfth stakes winner for the mighty Fiorente, who died in 2023.
Windana was bred by Swettenham Stud and raced four times.
Her very first foal, the winning Angel Girl (Rory's Jester) was bred in QLD and she became a G1 producer when her son Southern Lord (Stratum) exported to NZ, won the Levin Classic.
Several of her daughters have bred on for Eureka Stud in QLD.
Windana headed west and for the Van Heemsts she produced nine foals, including the stakes placed Simplyirresistible ( Royal Academy) who has been an excellent producer.
Her dam Adagio was bred by Swettenham and foaled in the States.
She raced in both the USA ( where she earned black type) and the UK.
On her retirement she was at stud in NZ as well as Australia, and founded a good solid family which regularly produces stakes class gallopers.
A daughter of Lyphard's G1 winning juvenile Monteverdi, Adagio was out of Robert Sangster's fine mare Noble Mark, third in the G1 King's Stand Stakes and a three time Group winner in GB. Her sire On Your Mark (Restless Wind) was another talented sprinter.
This family goes back to the influential mare Aherlow, a great grand daughter of Eryholme (13-e) who was also the grand dam of a far more influential mare Scapa Flow - dam of the full brothers Pharos and Fairway. While Pharos sired Nearco and thus stands at the head of the world’s greatest tail male dynasty, Fairway’s line through Fair Trial and other sons, and the electricity between the brothers anchors the greatness of the modern thoroughbred.
In Australia we are familiar with a flourishing and very fast branch of the Aherlow family which comes through the French bred La Marseillaise and to which belong Snowland, Snippetson, Portillo etc, out of the Polish Precedent mare Snowdrift.
Interestingly it is a son of Danzig's Polish Precedent, Pilsudski, who is Fiorente's damsire.
Fear The Wind's grand dam Adagio had two stakes winning daughters bred in NZ - Captiva (Sir Tristram) who placed in a VRC Oaks and Adagietto (Sackford) - they both bred on successfully, as did Captiva's unraced full sister Tarasova.
In Australia the Adagio daughters Matter ( Octagonal) Musical Note ( by Marscay, dam of G1 HK Champion and Chaters Cup hero Packing Winner) and Fear The Wind's dam Windana all produced stakes winners.
Fear The Wind's barnstorming Detonator Stakes triumph had echoes of 2026 Perth Cup hero Apulia’s memorable charge to the line carrying 58.5kg to a historic win in the great race.
He too is a son of Monsun’s great Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente, also a G1 WFA winner. Fiorente also sired the Perth Stakes winners Cousin Ivan and Baronova.
Like Fear The Wind, Apulia has come back from tendon injury to only improve! What a tribute to the tenacity and courage of the Fiorente breed.
Fear The Wind is bred
Danzig 5m,5m x 3m
Northern Dancer x4m,5m
Blue Hen Natalma x5m,5f
Through her sire On Your Mark, his third dam Noble Mark brings a line of Swaps who is a close relative of Fiorente's second damsire Green Desert and a great nick for his third, Darshaan as well as Pilsudski.
Interestingly, Fear The Wind’s ancestress Anchora was described as a “rugged and coarse” mare. Out of a non-winner, she was a mid-level staying handicapper at best and not really the type of individual that would have been earmarked as a future breedshaper of the entire studbook!
But here we are.
Fear The Wind’s immediate family isn’t the height of glamour or fashion but it shouldn’t be underestimated as a consistent source of both good racehorses and very good broodmares.
Yearling shoppers might be interested in these upcoming offerings:
Magic Millions Gold Coast March Sale
Oaklands Stud QLD will present a filly by champion Lady Shenandoah's G1 winning half brother Stronger, a first season sire by sire of sires Not A Single Doubt.
She is the second foal from an unraced mare by the Snitzel son Time For War who is a half sister to Listed winner Bigelow out of a winning three quarter sister to Simplyirrestible.
Her second dam is Listed winner Captiva (Sir Tristram) placed in the Wakeful Stakes and VRC Oaks.
This filly is bred 4m x 5m to Redoute's Choice and to Blue Hen Easy Date.
Inglis Premier
Consigned by Merricks Station (AA) is this colt by by dual G1 winner Jacquinot (Rubick) a popular first season sire, from stakes placed Embark (Choisir) - her five to race are all winners and include Listed placed Naiconi (Nicconi).
Her second dam by Octagonal is an unraced half sister to Captiva and a multiple stakes producer.
An interesting pedigree, this colt is linebred (sex balanced) to both the great Octagonal and his grandsire Sir Tristram, is Danehill x 3 and also linebred to Lunchtime.
Also at Inglis Premier from the draft of Vinery Stud is Lot 526
A colt by Brave Smash from the excellent race filly Bonvicini (Danetime)
This is the first foal produced by the G3 Vanity Stakes winner who also placed in the Wakeful /Eclipse Stakes and won the Listed Morphettville Guineas.
She was the best of three to race, all winners, from the winning Testa Rossa mare Orvieto - yet another half sister to Captiva, the dual Listed winner Adagietto ( Sackford), Windana etc - plenty of black type on the page.
