News

Bargain yearling buy Koonoomoo breaks into Group company

6th Nov 2012

Bargain yearling sale purchase Koonoomoo took her earnings to $340,000 with a breakthrough Group 3 victory in the VRC Herald Sun Stakes (1400m) at Flemington today.

Koonoomoo ($10,000 2009 Premier, 5m Dubleo-Maximova) was given a gem of a ride by Hugh Bowman who waited until Flemington’s clock tower at the 180m mark to unleash the mare’s turn-of-foot and she dashed past fellow Inglis Select Yearling Sale purchase Cabernet to a one and a half-length victory. Group 1 Stradbroke winner Mid Summer Music was back in third.

The victory was the first metropolitan win for trainer Simon Vercoe, who was stoked to break through at Flemington at no less than Group 3 level.

“This is a great day to break the duck, I couldn’t be happier,” Vercoe said.

“We’ve had a few seconds and thirds, close calls with some bad luck stories and all that, but I just thought that the horse is going well enough to have a go and the result’s there.

“It was a beautiful ride. The instructions were to go back and ride for luck because she’s happier ridden quietly, last start she was ridden a bit too close to the speed, but today ridden quietly she hit the line superbly.”

Koonooomoo was purchased by part-owner Bruce Pendlebury for just $10,000 from the draft of Southern Cross Breeders at the 2009 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

The Mornington based galloper has won five races and placed another eight times from 22 career starts, with earnings of $339,811 for Pendlebury and fellow part-owners J Niven and P Fell.

Koonoomoo is now a very valuable future breeding proposition being a Group 3 winner free of Danehill blood. She also carries plenty of speed in her female family being out of Rory’s Jester mare Maximova, which is from Luskin Star mare Style And Grace, which is a half-sister to the dam of Hong Kong Champions Mile winner Jeune King Prawn.

Patience pays off for Unpretentious

Exciting Stratum four-year-old Unpretentious also recorded his first black-type win later on the day when coming from back in the field to take out the Listed VRC MSS Security Sprint (1200m).

Unpretentious (P$60,000 2010 Premier, 4g Stratum-Alisa Free) has always shown plenty of potential and trainer Nikki Burke’s patience paid off with the galloper storming home down the outside of the Flemington straight course to defeat Altar and Excellantes in a competitive sprint.

Bred by Shane Stiles, Unpretentious was offered from the draft of Three Bridges Thoroughbreds at the 2010 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. When bidding stalled below his $60,000 reserve Stiles decided to keep the colt and send him to Nikki Burke to train.

“I’m so proud of him and glad everyone could see what he can do, when he got to the clock tower we knew he was home,” Nikki said.

“I must thank the owners, who have been very patient and it’s all panned out.”

Shane Stiles now races the exciting sprinter with B Harper, R Davis, Mrs S Marshall, M Christian, S B Syndicate, D Gibbs, G Moore and Arni Syndicate.

Unpretentious was lucky to gain a start in Tuesday’s race, being the third emergency, but he made the most of gaining a run by recording his third win at start number nine, takings his earnings past $150,000.

Unpretentious is the 14th stakes winner for Widden Stud’s top sire Stratum, which is set to have a strong showing at Inglis’ Select Yearling Sale Series in 2013.

The 2013 edition of the sale that Koonoomoo and Unpretentious were offered as yearlings, the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, will be held at Oaklands on March 3 to 6 next year.