We
hope everyone is staying safe in the current weather conditions. Whilst
it is extremely wet here at Kembla Grange (and we are well and truly
over the rain!) we are not flooding or in danger of being flooded
We
are very thankful for having the Polytrack and even with the amount of
rain received we have been able to continue working our horses every
day. I would like to give a huge thank you to our staff (riders and
ground staff), who despite the horrid conditions and continuously
getting wet each day at work, continue to turn up and provide the best
possible care and attention to our horses.
Understandably
there has been a major impact on racing with meetings getting called
off or moved at late notice. It has definitely played havoc with some of
the racing programs for our horses. Given the current forecasts, we
still face quite a bit of wet weather. We will continue to keep you
informed as best as possible of changes to race meetings etc.
Our stable star Monegal is
arguably racing in the best form of her career. She added win number 9
to her CV when a dominant winner of the $150,000 Canberra Mile. Despite
gloomy weather conditions and a deteriorating track (the final race on
the program was actually abandoned), Monegal was given a gem of a ride
by Brock Ryan. She careered away to win by an easy 1.88 lengths!!!
She beat quite a handy field and is now exempt from the ballot for the Canberra Cup. This is a Listed Race over 2000m run on the 14th March and will be Monegal’s next start.
Monegal has now taken her career earnings just over $560,000 (not a bad return on investment for a $3,000 yearling purchase)!
The Guru followed up his good effort in the Bega Cup with another excellent effort in the Midway over 1600m at Rosehill on the 19th February running second to the smart Military Expert (from the Neasham stable).
Densaur also added a further placing to his record producing a very solid effort at Nowra on Country Championships Heat Day to finish 3rd.
It
was a pretty quiet month on the racing front with only 14 runners. We
did have a number of horses trialling in preparation for their return to
the races. These include the promising Divine Breath and Moon Stories (who both trialled at Warwick Farm on the 28th February).
Whilst a little quieter on the racing front, it was a hectic month on the sales front!
The month kicked off with the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. This was a record breaking sale with prices up across the board. However, I was able to secure two lovely fillies Lot 438 was a Deep Field filly out of Buckleupbuttercup (making her a half-sister to our own Whatsupbuttercup). Lot 466 a Star Turn filly out of Classy Manhattan looks a running type, typical of her sires progeny. Both fillies are enjoying a break at Kooringal Stud and will head to the breakers later in the month.
Our focus then shifted to the Inglis Digital Online Sale. I’d had my eye on a couple of fillies by Prized Icon from the Kooringal draft for quite some time. I was delighted when I was able to buy the two fillies I was after!!!
The Prized Icon / As You Say filly caught my eye the first time I saw her and continues to develop into great style of filly. The Prized Icon / Simply Delightful filly is a half-sister to our own promising Densaur. She is another I have liked for quite some time, having strength and presence about her.
I was also able to purchase a colt by Scissor Kickout of Smurf Cody from the Arrowfield draft. I have a big liking for the Scissor Kick progeny (and now that he has been moved to France there won’t be many more in Australia).
The two Prized Icon fillies have just headed to the breakers whilst the Scissor Kick colt will arrive at the breakers next week. There has been plenty of interest in these yearlings and I have limited shares remaining.
The sales keep coming with attention now turning to the Adelaide Magic Millions on the 15/16th March and the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale on the 21st/22nd March
On the racing front we move into the Autumn Carnival and some great racing! Our main focuses this month are the Canberra Cup / Guineas Day on the 14th March and the Albury 2 day carnival on the 24th and 25th March! Kembla Classic Day is also scheduled for the 11th March, however given the current weather I would think this meeting is in severe doubt.
Finally
I would like to pass on our best wishes to our longest serving staff
member, Phoebe Leayr, who finally gets married on the 14th March! Due to Covid restrictions, the wedding was to have been in September 2020, then September 2021 so now 3rd
time lucky! We hope Phoebe and Dan have a wonderful day and hope
Monegal can make it a double celebration in the Canberra Cup on the same
day!