Saturday’s meeting at Belmont features the $125,000 Listed Black Heart Bart Stakes (1200m), named in honour of one of WA racing’s durable and successful gallopers.
After he was bought for a relatively modest sum of $20,000 by senior part-owner, Kim Renner at the 2012 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale, the son of Blackfriars banked $4.8 million in prizemoney following 17 wins and 19 placings.
Unraced as a juvenile, Black Heart Bart’s 62-race career launched in 2013 when ridden by Shaun Meeres and trained by Vaughn Sigley, he finished fifth to Chinetti at Ascot, the first of seven starts as a three-year-old that yielded no wins but five placings.
Black Heart Bart broke maiden status at Bunbury in 2014 and the winners continued to flow, the floodgates well and truly opened with the gelding collecting another six wins, the final four in sequence and in Listed company.
He won the Carbine Club Of WA Stakes (1400m), the Summer Scorcher (1000m), the Cyril Flower (1200m), the Pinjarra Classic (1300m) before ending his stellar campaign with an outstanding win in the Bunbury Stakes (1400m), lumping 61kg.
After a winter sojourn in Adelaide when 4th in the Group 1 Goodwood (1200m) and the Group 1 Stradbroke (1350m) in Queensland, Black Heart Bart returned home for the summer and took out the Birthday Stakes (1200m), Northerly Stakes (1420m) and Lee Steere Stakes (1400m) consecutively before another inevitable campaign over east.
Under the care of Melbourne supremo Darren Weir, Black Heart Bart won his first interstate race at Caulfield before winning his first Group in the Goodwood, charging home strongly in the straight for jockey, Brad Rawiller with Weir declaring it was great to see a good class horse win a Group 1.
Black Heart Bart then went on a Group 1 hunt at Caulfield by winning the Memsie Stakes (1400m), the Underwood Stakes, the Orr Stakes (1400m) and the Futurity Stakes (1400m).
Black Heart Bart secured his most spectacular or most surprising win the in the 2019 Group 1 Underwood, delivering two pieces of race history when he shrugged of Homesman to score a massive upset for new boss, former Perth trainer Lindsey Smith.
Coming out of retirement and a 12-month absence, the nine-year-old was the oldest horse to win the Underwood and his starting price of $101, eclipsed the record held by Rubiscent at $41.
The Underwood proved to be the final win for Blak Heart Bart who returned home to finish out his career, running his final race in the 2020 Hyperion Stakes (1600m).
Black Heart Bart is living out retirement on a 300-acre cattle farm, just outside of Albany.
Melbourne’s Living Legends offered a home to Black Heart Bart, but Renner and connections were keen to bring him home to his original state.
Renner said he’s owned more than 300 horses, but Black Heart Bart is right up the top as most special.
Trainers: Vaughn Sigley, Darren Weir & Lindsey Smith.
Jockeys: Shaun Meeres, Colin Haddon, Glenn Smith, Pat Carbery, Mitchell Pateman, Damian Lane, Brad Rawiller, Kerrin McEvoy, Damien Oliver, Ben Allen, John Allen, Paul Harvey & Shaun McGruddy.
