It must be gratifying when marketing your horses as precocious types and one juvenile from the draft wins as early as October 2nd. That’s the home run Cameron and Kellie Bond of Kenmore Lodge hit last year, and they’ll take a strong draft of 21 horses to the Gold Coast looking to replicate the feat.
What made the sale of the colt now known as Heroic Son (Heroic Valour) even more special was that Kellie bred the horse, he went through Book Two and that trainers Peter and Will Hulbert were able to snap up the colt out of the Show A Heart mare Pirelli Princess for a below average price of $50,000. Not only has Heroic Son once again shown that there are diamonds to be found in Book Two, but that Kenmore are willing to sell good horses at realistic prices. And even more pleasing for his breeders is that the colt is on a path to the Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
Recently Cameron and Kellie were able to expand Kenmore by 400 acres, almost doubling the farm’s size and creating the opportunity to improve on their already outstanding preparation model. Buyers inspecting the Kenmore draft will be able to witness first-hand the benefits the expansion has provided.
Looking at the draft it is clear there are types that will appeal to all buyers, from those sifting through the elite horses right down to those looking for the next Heroic Son. At the upper end of the scale is Kenmore’s Written Tycoon colt which, according to Cameron, is “a big, strong, early maturing type and really a standout.” Selling as lot 248, he is the first foal out of the Doomben winner Maybe Markle making him a three-quarter brother to the G3 Gunsynd Classic winner Trump (Written Tycoon). A daughter of Denman, Maybe Markle is a half-sister to three other winners and comes from the family of the dual G1 winning mare Flitter (Bluebird).
Also bound to be popular upmarket are two of the progeny of Extreme Choice, of course sire of the Golden Slipper winner Stay Inside who was bought out of this ring in 2020. “We have a pair of yearlings by Extreme Choice, probably the hottest sire in Australia, if not the world at the moment, and both are good examples of the sire,” said Cameron.
First through will be lot 566 a colt out of the Street Cry mare Street Lass making him a half-brother to three winners the best of which is the tough campaigner Al Mah Haha (Al Maher) who added the Goulburn Cup to his resume in November. A winner over 1000 metres Street Lass is a half-sister to the Brisbane Listed winner Bidii Babe (Not A Single Doubt).
The other Extreme Choice is a filly out of Almost Tempted, an unraced Snippetson full sister to Fast Clip, the best of whose six wins came in the G2 Tulloch Stakes. This is an extraordinarily strong page as their dam Hint of Glory (Honour And Glory) produced eight individual winners five of which won at Stakes level. They include the G1 Emirates Stakes, now Cantala Stakes, winner Sky Cuddle (Snippets) who went on to produce Champagne Cuddles (Not A Single Doubt) who was a G2 winner and multiple G1 placed. Others out of Hint Of Glory were Highly Recommended (Fastnet Rock) who won the G2 Alister Clark Stakes and is making a name for himself as a sire, the G3 winning sprinter Sky Love (Octagonal) and the listed winners Hint (Reset) and Undeniably (Fastnet Rock). This filly will sell as lot 735.
When asked if he had a yearling that might surprise potential buyers Cameron pointed to lot 722, a Dundeel colt that is a nice colt from a very current family. Placed once from just three starts, his dam Afiado is out of the good mare Sharp (Danzero) who won the G2 Light Fingers Stakes and produced the Stakes placed filly In The Vanguard, Afiado’s full sister by Encosta De Lago. In The Vanguard has shown the quality the family offers as the dam of last season’s G1 ARC Diamond Stakes winner Sword Of State (Snitzel). This is the family of the ill-fated Angst (Kala Dancer) who swept all before her as a Spring three year-old including the G1 Flight Stakes. Afiado has one foal to race, that being Navalha (Sebring) who is twice a winner in New Zealand from just six starts.
Another filly that can expect to be out of her box often is lot 894, Capitalist’s daughter out of the unraced O’Reilly mare Crystal Nights. The dam is a half-sister to the six time winner Antonio Giuseppe (Shocking) who ran second in the The Metropolitan-G1 at Randwick. Cameron has a high opinion of this lass saying “The Capitalist is a cracking filly, born and raised on the farm. Buyers will be impressed with her physique.”
The first crop of Almanzor made an impact at sales on both sides of the Tasman last year, and with good reports filtering back from various trainers his colt out of Baubo that sells as lot 780 makes appeal. “This colt came to us on the mare and has been a very nice horse to work with,” Cameron explained. Although New Zealand born herself, and her foal conceived at Cambridge Stud, Baubo did her racing in Australia breaking her maiden at Newcastle for Chris Waller. A daughter of Rip Van Winkle, Baubo is out of the listed placed Akela (Al Akbar), dam also of the three-time Group winner and four-time G1 placed Savabeel mare Lady Kipling who produced the G2 Moonee Valley Fillies Classic winner Fascino (Charm Spirit).
Kenmore will send a smart daughter of first crop sire Written By out of Patins by Choisir to sell as lot 943. This is a classy family as Patins is out of a half-sister to Golden Slipper winner Vancouver and the G1 Robert Sangster Stakes winner Juste Momente (Giant’s Causeway) from the family of a Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner in Bradbury’s Luck (Redoute’s Choice). In keeping with many of the Kenmore draft, precocity is easy to spot here.
One interesting filly whose value continues to rise is lot 647, Headwater’s daughter out of Sandcastles. That makes her a half-sister to Cordyceps Six (Star Turn) who is one of the rising stars of Hong Kong racing with a pair of victories this season already. This filly should come to hand early as Cordyceps Six won at two and her grandam Junebug (Shovhog) was placed second in the season-opening Gimcrack Stakes.
Amongst the other colts in the draft is the handsome fellow by Snitzel’s G1 winning son Invader out of Senorita De Vega, a winning sister to the dual listed winner Snitch (Lope De Vega) and a half-sister to the Singapore Champion and West Australian sire Gingerbread Man (Shamardal). There is also a colt by Pride Of Dubai out of the Listed winner Tukiyo from the family of Spanish Whisper, and a Russian Revolution colt out of a Charge forward full sister to the G1 winner Headway in Empress Matilda. Kenmore will also be represented by a smart first crop son of Encryption out of Jennifer Juniper, the dam a Time Thief half-sister to the Melbourne G3 winner Whateverwhenever. There is also a colt by Masked Crusader’s sire Toronado out of Papillon Rouge from a strong, stallion producing family, and a Pariah colt out of Top Of The Rock (Easy Rocking), from a family that has produced the Stakes winning sprinters Dynamic Love (Brave Warrior), Key Bar Nights (Anabaa) and her son Barbed (Canny Lad).
There is also a nice mix of fillies including a daughter of Better Than Ready out of the five time winner Valid Contract (Magnus) and a Russian Revolution filly out of Medaglia d’Oro’s daughter You Are Golden, a four-time winner from a strong American family.
And for anybody looking for another Heroic Son, Kenmore have another solid Book 2 selection. For those with an eye for a colt there is lot 1084, a Headwater out of Sebring’s daughter Bring Me Love. The dam’s first foal I’ve Bean There (Spill The Beans) was good enough to run fourth in the G1 Champagne Stakes at Randwick and comes from the family of Hong Kong Champion Sacred Kingdom. There is also an Invader colt, lot 1185, out of the Golden Slipper winner and successful sire Stratum’s half-sister Live And Dream (Rock Of Gibraltar) dam of three winners from as many foals to race.
Amongst the fillies is lot 1137 a Lean Mean Machine out of Gibraltar Moon. That makes her a half-sister to American Genius (All American) who came to hand early enough to be placed in both the Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes and the Magic Millions Clockwise Classic, and to the Stakes placed Singapore sprinter Star Genius (Starcraft). Then there is lot 1193, another Lean Mean Machine
this time out of the unraced Street Cry mare Main Chance, a half-sister
to Goodwood’s G1 Nassau Stakes winner Favourable Terms (Selkirk).
