News

Calanda proves too Speedy

17th Dec 2016

Calanda continued a strong month for his late mother Speedy Bell by winning today’s $250,000 Inglis Sprint (1100m) at Randwick.

A 3YO son of Arrowfield stallion Snitzel, Calanda made it two wins from four starts to assert himself a potential star of the future.

Today’s race earned connections almost $150,000 and they will likely target another Inglis feature – the $400,000 Scone Guineas – with the gelding on May 13 next year.

Part-owner Henry Field, of Newgate Farm, wasn’t surprised with today’s result, but believes Calanda won't reach his full potential until he gets over more ground.

“He was a very athletic horse from the beginning and he always struck us as a seven-furlong-to-a-mile horse so for him to be doing this over five-and-a-half to six furlongs is nice,’’ Field said.

“A horse like him you’d typically have sent out and be getting ready for the autumn but when Inglis put on races like this for $250,000, you have to go for them.

“He’ll go for a break now. One target we thought was the Inglis Guineas at Scone in May, then onto Brisbane. After that, who knows.’’

Newgate Farm bought Calanda in conjunction with China Horse Club for $200,000 at last year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale from the Yarraman Park draft.

Calanda is a half brother to Group 3 winner Speedy Natalie and Silverstream, which won the Listed Jungle Dawn Classic at Ascot two weeks ago and finished a close second in yesterday's Listed Starstruck Classic at Ascot.

Calanda is the seventh winner for Speedy Bell, who raced just four times and won the Listed Gimcrack Stakes.

Speedy Bell herself was an Inglis graduate, selling to Steve Englebrecht for $20,000 at the 1999 Classic Yearling Sale.

Speedy Bell’s last foal – an I Am Invincible colt – is being offered at the 2017 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale in the Yarraman Park draft.

Meanwhile Kris Lees pulled off a training masterclass to get Sense of Occasion to victory in today’s Group 2 Inglis Villiers (1600m) at Randwick.

Sense of Occasion (Street Sense x Saywaan) hadn’t raced for two months but proved too strong over the final furlong to win the feature.

He became just the third Group 2 winner in Australia for American stallion Street Sense and the first for his dam Saywaan.

Sense of Occasion was an $80,000 buy for Beamish Bloodstock from the Yarraman Park draft at the 2012 Easter Yearling Sale.