IT MIGHT be an exaggeration to describe Flying Artie (Artie Schiller) as a cast-off stallion, but it was only in 2023 that he moved on from Newgate in Australia to Blue Gum Farm.

At the time he was relocated, his start at stud was a little overwhelming, and now he is something of a household name internationally.

He is only 12, but Flying Artie has largely come to prominence thanks to the charismatic Asfoora, whose best runs have been in Europe where she won three Group 1s, the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot, Nunthorpe Stakes at York and Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp. His son Artorius won the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes and Canterbury Stakes, and later took his sires’ place at Newgate Stud.

Now, Flying Artie is the sire of a third Group 1 winner, thanks to the weekend victory of My Wish in the Champions Mile at Sha Tin in Hong Kong. Naturally enough, the Irish-bred Romantic Warrior and Ya King Rising captured the headlines at Sunday’s meeting, so it is appropriate to give My Wish his time in the sun, and hopefully he will go on to win again at the highest level.

One thing that Flying Artie has shown from the start is that he was capable of siring winners galore with his large early crops, but was just missing out on some early stars. Now that picture has changed and it is only right that more breeders use him in the future, especially at his very affordable fee. His first five books averaged some 150 mares, but that dropped off significantly after he moved to Blue Gum.

Double figures

The books of mares for Flying Artie in recent seasons at Blue Gum have been closer to 50, though that figure was approaching 100 for the last covering season. His most recent fee was A$11,000 (€6,750), down from previous years, but with the successes he has been enjoying of late, that should move in an upward direction next time.

A son of Artie Schiller (El Prado), Flying Artie was a champion in Australia. All three of his victories were gained in pattern races. At three he was rated the best colt in Australia, and that season he captured the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Ascot Vale Stakes at Flemington.

The highlights of his juvenile season were to finish runner-up in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes, third in the Group 1 Golden Slipper, and he also won the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude for colts and geldings.

In addition to the exploits of Asfoora there, Flying Artie’s son Artorius ran on two occasions at Royal Ascot, finishing third and fourth in the Group 1 Platinum Jubilee Stakes in 2022 and 2023. Artorius will have his first runners later this year. He has sired four yearlings to bring more than A$150,000, and hopes are high that he will do well for Newgate. Flying Artie’s three Group 1 winners represent a quarter of all his stakes winners.

Biggest win

The Mark Newnham-trained My Wish gained his biggest win on his 19th career start, having perhaps looked at times a little short of being top-class. He is a seven-time winner, and his earnings now exceed £4.2 million. The Champions Mile was his fourth stakes win, after the Group 2 Shan Tin Trophy, Group 3 Cel ebration Cup and the Listed Hong Kong Classic Mile.

My Wish is the only foal out of the Set The Tone, a daughter of Reset (Zabeel). She was placed many times and won one, as a four-year-old, over 10 and a half furlongs. Her dam was dual winner Celtic Courage (Giant’s Causeway), and that mare had four foals, all of which won. Her son Adios Steve (Night Of Thunder) won five races on the flat, one more than Don’t Be Shy (Bradbury’s Luck). However, the latter won another four times over jumps, and one of these came in a listed chase.

You have to go back to the fourth generation of My Wish’s family to find the next Group 1 winner, and in fact you will find two. My Wish’s fourth dam bred the Group 2 runner-up Chatelaine (Flying Spur), and she was a great success at stud, breeding a pair of Group 1-winning siblings, and becoming grandam of a stakes winner.

Best two-year-old

One of Chatelaine’s earliest offspring was Headway (Charge Forward), and she was the best two-year-old filly of her generation. She numbered the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Ascot Vale Stakes among her four career successes, and at two she was second in the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes. Twelve years later, Chatelaine produced Mazu (Maurice), and just a couple of weeks ago he recorded his tenth win in a Group 3 at Randwick.

That win brought Mazu within touching distance of posting £4 million in earnings, and he was winning the Group 3, the Hall Mark Stakes, for the third time. Rising eight, he has won just three times in the last three years, and each time in the Randwick contest. Prior to that, he won the Group 2 Arrowfield Sprint at Randwick, but his greatest racing achievement was to land the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 at Eagle Farm, a race in which he was also placed.