King Of Pop tops the charts in the Black Opal Stakes

The Black Opal Stakes delivered a dream result for Farnan, as the 2020 Golden Slipper winner sired both the winner and runner-up in Canberra’s biggest race.

King Of Pop emerged victorious, holding off Farcited in a thrilling finish, further cementing the dominance of colts and geldings in the Group 3 event, which has now been won by 39 male horses since its inception in 1973.

Trainer Gerald Ryan believes King Of Pop has the potential to line up in the Golden Slipper if he makes the final field.

“I have had him down as a Golden Slipper horse,” Ryan said. “It would be great to get him into the Slipper, but I don’t know whether he’s earned enough prizemoney for that or not.”

For jockey Zac Lloyd, this marked his first Black Opal Stakes triumph, while Ryan added another victory to his tally, having previously won the race three times before.

“Paint came off winning the Blue Diamond, Trapeze Artist won it at his second race, and I think he (King Of Pop) is as good as any of them,” Ryan said, comparing his latest star to past champions.

King Of Pop’s winning margin was a neck over Farcited, who set a strong tempo, while stablemate Sanctified ($11) finished a further length back in third.

“The third horse went super,” Ryan said. “He worked so well last Saturday that I said to Sterling that we might as well throw him in the race as well.”

Earlier in the day, Snow In May ($2.70) secured victory in the Canberra Guineas (1400m), delivering another feature win for trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton, who also won Saturday’s Randwick Guineas with Linebacker. Meanwhile, Palmetto ($3.50) handed Tim Clark his fifth win in the Canberra Cup (2000m).