The sudden passing in 2022 of Darling View stallion I'm All The Talk shocked the WA breeding industry, and his absence was highlighted once again yesterday at Ascot, when his two year old daughter Talkanco piloted by Brad Parnham won the G3 Gimcrack Stakes in an exciting finish to announce herself as a serious Karrakatta Plate contender and become the third stakes winner for her sire.
A representative of the stallion's final crop, the Pearce trained filly reversed her last start Supremacy Stakes third to Luana Miss and Yes Queen.
It was her second run of this campaign and brought up her second win and first stakes win from four starts.
While Yes Queen and Luana Miss once again battled for favouritism in the G3 contest, Talkanco was kept very safe in the market with little backing for anything else to challenge the claims of those three on the race.
On jumping, Yes Queen was immediately snagged back by Willy Pike in a change of tactics while Luana Miss found herself in an unenviable position three wide on a hot speed.
Rank outsider Solar Chant sped them along at great pace with a bunch of less fancied youngsters in attendance up there close to the leader, while Pike and Parnham calmly let it all unfold in front of them, Yes Queen actually last at this point.
Turning for home and God's Rapture briefly burst to the lead from a tiring Solar Chant, but the runs were coming from everywhere.
Halfway down the straight and the unfancied Loves Talking (another I'm All The Talk filly) loomed large for an upset, until Talkanco went through her gears in a matter of seconds and swept past them all like they were nailed to the proverbial rail.
Meanwhile from last Yes Queen had unleashed her own barnstorming finish and the two fillies drove to the post side by side, with Talkanco prevailing by a nose in a really exciting contest between two high class youngsters.
Loves Talking fought on for third while Luana Miss had excuses after enduring a horror run and fading badly in the run home.
Talkanco’s co-trainer Dan Pearce said after the race:
“ She's always had a huge amount of raw ability.
She still does a bit wrong, but she keeps on improving. If we draw a barrier in the Karrakatta she'll be right in it.”
It was Brad Parnham's first race ride on Talkanco after younger brother Chris had partnered her in all her starts to date and he was impressed.
“I wanted to get a bit of cover on her, you know we've got two weeks from now in mind. She's got an electric turn of foot. Those young horses with that turn of foot, they're the ones that are exciting to ride. She was up for the challenge from Yes Queen who is a very good filly, so yeah really pleased,” he said.
Talkanco was bred by prominent industry identity Ian Riley and races for her breeder under his Woodbridge Thoroughbreds banner for a group of co-owners which includes Pearce Racing.
With two wins and two placings from four starts, her Gimcrack win advances her career earnings to $233,640.
Her sire, a G2 Skyline Stakes winning son of Golden Slipper hero Stratum began his breeding career at Mungrup Stud before taking up residence at Darling View..
I'm All The Talk was an immediate success - WA’s Champion 2YO Sire and First Season Sire.
The titles were earned largely through the deeds of his fabulous daughter Watch Me Dance - runner up in the Gimcrack - Karrakatta and winner of the Sires Produce in her juvenile year, later a G1 winner of the Champion Fillies / WA Guineas at three.
Talkanco is the third foal and first daughter to race of the very speedy California Dane mare Calianco, from a precocious and well known Australian family.
All three of her progeny to date are winners and she has more in the pipeline having produced a colt by Marine One last spring before going to Rich Enuff.
It's interesting that California Dane's G1 winning son Rebel Dane is the sire of a stakes winner on a cross with Quiet American, who is second damsire of I'm All The Talk.
Talkanco's third dam stakes winning juvenile Balcanny is by the incredible Canny Lad, a stallion beginning to appear more and more often as a linebreeding subject in successful pedigrees - as he does here. This successful pattern is largely due to his presence on the damline of Redoute's Choice.
Talkanco can count among her close relations multiple Group winning sprinter Blur and the classy colt Shrewd Rhythm who won a Blue Diamond Prelude and Vain Stakes and stood briefly at stud in WA before being shipped out of Australia.
That proved to be a massive loss to local breeders when his daughter Sky Rumba foaled the freakish sprinter and G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Portland Sky, from a WA bred mare, whose keenly anticipated first foals are yet to race.
Shrewd Rhythm's full sister Dancescape was also a stakes winning juvenile and she is the dam of Hong Kong sprinter Flying Ace who has been a serious competitor at the top level in that tough jurisdiction.
This family traces direct tail female to arguably the most revered mare in the entire studbook, Selene. This branch of her female line comes through the mare New Moon most often present in Australasian pedigrees through her descendant Star Way, the damsire of Encosta de Lago.
Another line from New Moon produced the brilliant juvenile son of Hussonet, Husson Lightning, another sold to overseas breeding interests after standing for a number of seasons in WA with limited success.
It's another proven pattern for precocious speed duplicated in Talkanco's pedigree.
Importantly it's a pedigree that speaks to the need for real constitutional toughness as well as the brilliance that a top tier two year old needs.
So far Talkanco is giving every indication that she is in possession of those qualities and her prospects for continued juvenile success look very bright.
