Racing
Filthy Habits carrying Fiore team dream in Perth Cup
After conquering one of the toughest challenges in world equine sport, Brandon and Lucy Fiore are now chasing glory in their own back yard, with their sights set on Ascot for the $1 million Group 2 Perth Cup (2400m) on January 1.
After finishing third in this year's Mongol Derby, a brutal 1000km test across Mongolia on semi-tame horses, the husband-and-wife duo team up with Filthy Habits – who is prepared by Brandon and will have Lucy in the saddle.
The six-year-old gelding by I'm All the Talk is part-owned by Lucy's father, Perth Cup winning trainer-turned owner Justin Warwick, making the race even more special for the well-known racing family.
"It's a big team effort and I'm pretty excited that Justin is a part of it... he's had a lot of good luck in this race so hopefully it rubs off on us," Brandon said.
"To win a race like this would just be amazing. I've always liked the cups and the staying races, so to knock off one like this would be a big goal achieved."
Lucy and her father basked in Perth Cup glory in 2018 with Material Man, making her only the second female jockey after Kyra Yuill to ride the winner of the iconic WA race. Trained by Justin, it made them the first father-daughter duo to achieve the feat.
With no racing background before meeting his now wife, Brandon has quickly embraced the sport. He has fallen in love with horses and is making his mark as a trainer, with his highlights to date headlined by this year's $125,000 Albany Cup (2100m) win with his soon-to-be Perth Cup runner.
"Filthy Habits in the Albany Cup was my career highlight so far, it was awesome" Brandon said.
"We had a long-term vision, and everything worked out perfectly. It was such an uninterrupted plan. It was really cool to win that for Justin, but It'd be even better to win this one."
Filthy Habits enters the highlight race on the New Years Day program at Ascot, holding the bottom weight of 53kg, something Brandon said will bode well for the stayer.
"The best thing about him is we don't have to think too much about what we're going to do, he just goes to the front and leads," he said.
"It's not really worrying about the other horses, we've just made sure we got him right and he'll be at the front at some stage. He'll give a good kick and it'll be a good race nonetheless – he'll give his best as he always does."
Filthy Habits is priced at $9 with TABtouch, while market elect Apulia – an interstate raider from Victoria's famed Hayes stable - sits at $2.10 after winning last weekend's Group 2 $300,000 Ted Van Heemst Stakes (2100m). Leading jockey William Pike is booked to ride the Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained favourite as he chases a fifth victory in WA's most coveted staying race.
Check out the latest Singapore News