A FIREOFGIDGEECOALS UPSTAGES THEM ALL IN A KARRAKATTA PLATE BOILOVER

By Graham Potter | Saturday, April 18, 2026

The horse’s name was a mouthful. The horse’s performance was too darn hot for his opposition to handle … and the win of Afireofgidgeecoals in the $500 000 Group 2 Karrakatta Plate over 1200m at Ascot also showed what a difference a week can make in the life of a racehorse trainer.

Last weekend trainer Dan Morton sent out the short-priced $1.75 favourite, Wonderfully Made, in the WATC Derby in search of a notable Oaks / Derby double, but the main fancy was run over in no uncertain terms, even failing to find a place.

Seven days later, Morton wins the prestigious Karrakatta Plate with a horse given very little chance … Afireofgidgeecoals was a $31 chance … with the colt keeping two of the lively, previously unbeaten fancies, Beatty ($4.40) and Aurum Belle (the $3 race favourite, back in second and third place respectively.

Lucy Fiore, who is riding at the top of her game, rode Afireofgidgeecoals a treat.

She had the son of Too Darn Hot tucked away in midfield towards the inside running rail in the first half of the race, before angling her mount outwards approaching the home turn … and then cornering all of four wide, importantly now in clear galloping room, with an open path beckoning him all the way to the line.

A touch on the accelerator by Fiore and Afireofgidgeecoals immediately started going smoothly through his gears, stretching out and building the kind of momentum that quickly moved him right into contention.

With 120m left to run, Afireofgidgeecoals only had the favourite Aurum Belle left in front of him, but he was charging now, and was carrying too many guns for Aurum Belle, whose early effort from a number twelve barrier draw, which saw her push forward to sit right up with the pace, appeared to take its toll over the concluding stages in her first go at 1200m.The filly though was certainly not disgraced against the boys.

Afireofgidgeecoals went past Aurum Belle just inside the 100m mark, but he then became the target as Beatty, the horse who was in the process of becoming the hard luck story of the race, was now flying home as the only danger to Afireofgidgeecoals.

Afireofgidgeecoals was not going to be denied though … he continued to race strongly and hit the line hard … leaving Beatty, who the commentator called ‘the biggest certainty ever beaten in a Karrakatta Plate,’ having the settle for second place ahead of Aurum Belle in third.

That remark stemmed from Beatty’s bungling of the start, a costly misfortune, which left him all of ten lengths off the lead before the field had travelled 200m.

Both Beatty and Aurum Belle were tasting defeat for the first time.

This was Dan Morton’s third win in the last four editions of the Karrakatta Plate.

He won the race with Super Smink in 2023 and Bustling in 2024.

Dan Morton