Skybird may be one of the outsiders in Saturday’s Black Caviar Lightning, but if trainer Mitch Freedman gives the green light, she will be continuing a strong family tradition in the prestigious 1000m Group 1 event at Flemington.
The Ballarat-based trainer is still considering whether the Lightning Stakes or next week’s Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) will serve as the best preparation for the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) on March 8.
Despite 1000m being slightly shorter than her ideal distance, Skybird has a rich family history associated with the race. She is sired by Exosphere, who contested the 2016 Lightning Stakes as a $3.10 chance with gambling apps but found himself in an unfavorable track position, finishing fourth.
Her dam, Real Desire, comes from an impressive lineage. She is a daughter of 2010 Lightning runner-up Wanted and Waajib mare Forest Finch, making her a close relative to Snippets’ Lass, the dam of Snitzel. The latter competed in Takeover Target’s Lightning Stakes and is the sire of this year’s race favorite, Switzerland.
Private Eye, who pushed champion sprinter Imperatriz to a narrow second place in last year’s Lightning, also comes from this family, further solidifying its legacy.
Anthony and Kristen Evans of HP Thoroughbreds recognized the potential in this pedigree when they purchased Real Desire online in 2018 for $18,000.
“It’s a family that’s just kept producing good horse after good horse,” Anthony said.
“Since we bought Real Desire, there’s been four or five new Stakes winners on the page, including Private Eye.
“I just thought, for a small farm like us to have a mare closely related to one of the best stallions of the last 20 or 30 years would be good, and it seems to have worked out quite well.”
Skybird is the third foal from Real Desire. Her first foal, Solvency (by Unencumbered), won one of 17 starts, while her second foal, Forged (a full brother to Skybird), also won one race.
After skipping a year post-Skybird, Real Desire produced a colt by Deep Field, who was sold for $260,000 at Inglis Classic last year and is now named The Real Man under Tony and Calvin McEvoy’s training. She later had a Pierro colt in 2023, a three-quarter brother to Skybird, and is currently in foal to Lightning Stakes winner Home Affairs.
Skybird, purchased by Freedman for $110,000 from the Highway Session at Inglis Classic, has made a significant impact in her 12-race career. She won her first three starts, culminating in a victory in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Fillies Classic (1600m), followed by a third-place finish in the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m).
Her only win since came in the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m), while she also placed in the Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m) and Blazer Stakes (1400m) at Group 2 level last spring. She finished midfield in the 1500m Golden Eagle.
“She was always a really, really nice foal and even as a yearling in the paddock, both sales companies loved her,” Evans said.
“They were just concerned about how commercial Exosphere was going to be, which I think is why she ended up in the Highway Session.
“I used to joke to people that if she was by Deep Field, she would have topped the sale, that’s how nice she was.
“She was always just a quality filly, very intelligent, a really strong physical, and she had quality all the way through.”
Skybird’s autumn preparation started with a strong second in an 800m Horsham jumpout on February 5, where she finished powerfully from second-last under a light ride. She has drawn barrier three for the Lightning Stakes, with John Allen booked to ride.
As HP Thoroughbreds’ standout performer, Skybird has set multiple milestones for the small operation, and Evans hopes her journey isn’t over yet.
“We don’t breed a lot of horses, we only have 30 mares on the farm and there’s only three of them that we own ourselves,” he said.
“So, we have 25 a year and half are kept for breed-to-race clients, so we only sell 10 or 12 a year, and she’s definitely the flagbearer.
“She was our first Stakes winner, our first Group 2 winner, our first Group 1-placed horse, and may have even been the first one of ours to run in a Group 1 race.
“Hopefully, she can become the first Group 1 winner.”
