The Black Opal Stakes at Canberra saw a dominant display from Farnan’s progeny, with his sons King Of Pop and Farcited finishing first and second in the Group 3 feature.

The win continued the long-running trend of colts and geldings dominating the 1200m contest, with King Of Pop becoming the 39th male horse to claim victory since the race’s introduction in 1973.

Co-trainer Gerald Ryan has always believed King Of Pop could be a Golden Slipper contender.

“I have had him down as a Golden Slipper horse,” Ryan said. “It would be great to get him into the Slipper, but I don’t know whether he’s earned enough prizemoney for that or not.”

Jockey Zac Lloyd celebrated his first Black Opal Stakes win, while Ryan secured his fourth title in the race, adding to his previous wins with Paint (1996), Trapeze Artist, and another rising star.

“Paint came off winning the Blue Diamond, Trapeze Artist won it at his second race, and I think he (King Of Pop) is as good as any of them,” Ryan said.

Lloyd was impressed by King Of Pop’s performance, stating, “He jumped well, he settled nicely and is still learning but he is a nice horse going forward.”

Stablemate Farcited, who was strong in the Black Opal Preview, made the pace and finished second, while Sanctified ($11) rounded out a Ryan & Alexiou trifecta in third place.

“The third horse went super,” Ryan said. “He worked so well last Saturday that I said to Sterling that we might as well throw him in the race as well.”

Elsewhere on the program, Snow In May ($2.70) captured the Canberra Guineas (1400m) for trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton, following their success with Linebacker in the Randwick Guineas. Meanwhile, Palmetto ($3.50) gave Tim Clark his fifth victory in the Canberra Cup (2000m).