Horse Racing
21 August, 2026
From the Sulky: The Naked Art breaks through at Melton
Horsham-owned-and-trained mare The Naked Art notched up a much-deserved metropolitan success in the Logical Staffing Solutions Pace at Melton on August 15.
Drawn gate five on the front row, driver James Herbertson decided to push forward at the start of the 2240m journey.
Forced to cover extra ground three wide around the first bend, The Naked Art worked up to the spot outside the leader Atua Magic (Ryan Sanderson) with 1700m remaining.
Nothing changed through the next lap and a half until they reached the top of the home stretch, where Lougle (Connor Clarke) joined in with a three-wide challenge.
The trio battled it out over the final 200m and, right on the line, the Naked Art held a narrow margin to officially get 'the judge's nod' by a head, in a rate of 1:55.4.
"The Naked Art with its nose in front. Oh, what a tough win that was," cried race-caller Dan Mielicki as they passed the post.
The five-year-old Art Major (USA) mare is raced by her breeders Rod Carberry and Al and Ben Brooksby and trained by Justin Lane, who took her on last year while Carberry was out of action – and hasn't sent her back.
The victory took The Naked Art's record to eight wins and six minors from 36 starts and also put her in the $20,000 Final at Melton on Saturday night.