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Veterans came to the fore in Sunday's G1 Underwood Stakes at Caulfield when three of the first four placings were filled by nine-year-olds, raising serious questions about the standard of Australia's weight-for-age ranks.
The winner Black Heart Bart was deemed to be all but over 12 months ago after the then 8-year-old failed in the G1 Toorak Handicap at Caulfield when trained by Darren Weir.
Yet there he was on Sunday, now trained by Lindsey Smith and winning the Underwood Stakes for a second time, some three years since his first success in 2016 and over two and a half years since his last win in the autumn of 2017 in the G1 Futurity Stakes.
It's been extraordinary journey since the WA-bred Black Heart Bart started his career with Perth trainer Vaughn Sigley in 2013.
By the late Victoria Derby winner Blackfriars and costing a mere $20,000 as a yearling, he won for the first time in a maiden at Bunbury at his ninth outing. Some 12 months later he was the pin up horse of Perth, winning eight stakes races before his owners sent him to Darren Weir in Victoria.
Within another 12 months he had recorded five G1 wins in the Goodwood Handicap, Memsie Stakes, Underwood Stakes, CF Orr Stakes and Futurity Stakes before his form waned. After six unplaced starts in 2018 the cal was made to send him into "retirement" but his owners decided to give him a second chance and placed him under the care of Lindsey Smith following his move from Perth to Weir's former stables at Warrnambool.
Sunday's unexpected win at odds of 100/1 came at just his third start since into his comeback and came at the expense of some familiar 9YO veteran contemporaries Gailo Chop (third) and Hartnell (fourth) with the younger Homesman – last year's Underwood Stakes winner - filling second place..
Smith was hopeful but not confident Black Heart Bart could show something of his old form on Sunday.
"He's obviously a grand old horse," Smith said. "It was a good result but it was a bit unexpected I must say."
Black Heart Bart has now won 17 of his 56 starts with 18 placings, earning $4.47 million for his WA owners Kim Renner, Craig Delacy, Dave Richardson, Arthur Psaltis and Ian McCarthy.
They secured Black Heart Bart for $20,000 at the 2012 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale from the draft of Lakeside Thoroughbreds.
He is the last foal and one of three winners produced by the four-time winning At Talaq mare Sister Theresa, a half-sister to multiple G1 winner Savannah Success.
Sister Theresa died in 2012 while Savannah Success is now feted as the dam of New Zealand's champion sire Savabeel.
Rebel Sister, one of Black Heart Bart's unraced half- sisters, is the dam of Perth star Rebel King. his stakes performed brother Rebel Knight and stakes winning half-brother Rebelson.
Black Heart Bart's sire Blackfriars was WA champion sire nine times.