News

Miss a hit: Kelly gang riding high

2nd Oct 2009

Sydney Morning Herald - Friday, 2 October 2009

SUCCESSFUL breeder Tom Kelly is counting his blessings following his purchase of the Encosta De Lago mare Miss Marielle at the Inglis Easter Broodmare Sales in April.

Kelly, a member of the Newhaven Park team and a son of John Kelly, the founder of the famed Boorowa breeding establishment, went to the Newmarket sale ring on April 15 determined to buy Miss Marielle to add to his broodmares.

However, when bidding finished at $240,000, Kelly's last bid, connections passed the mare in, announcing she had a reserve of $250,000. Kelly was disappointed but after talking to family members decided to meet the reserve price.

Miss Marielle's dam, Miss Vandal, was a black-type winner, Miss Marielle already had black-type wins to her credit and earnings of $305,900, and she was by the country's leading stallion.

Kelly's change of heart proved a masterstroke. He sent the mare to Warwick Farm trainer Joe Pride, who has done a superb job with her in five starts, with three placings before her group 2 success in the weight-for-age Hill Stakes at Rosehill last month.

In those five starts, Miss Marielle has returned Kelly $152,800 of his $250,000 outlay and he's looking for an additional dividend when the mare lines up in Saturday's $125,000 Craven Plate at Royal Randwick.

Miss Marielle was originally a 2006 Easter Yearling Sales purchase. She cost $330,000 and recouped $305,900 for her first owners.

Win, lose or draw on Saturday, Pride has recommended to Kelly that Miss Marielle goes for a spell, as the mare has some great race targets in the autumn.

Kelly's best breeding outcome was a colt he raced himself named Genius And Evil (Marauding x Beauty Belle), which was prepared by Steve Englebrecht. The youngster won the 2004 Pago Pago Stakes at Rosehill beating Fastnet Rock, and soon after Kelly received an offer he couldn't refuse from a Hong Kong consortium.

The rest is history, with the horse renamed Absolute Champion and becoming one of Hong Kong's fastest sprinters, winning more than $3.4 million in prizemoney, including four black-type races.

Miss Marielle is one of four stakeswinners sired by Encosta De Lago in the first two months of the racing season. The stallion had two stakes-race winners at Randwick last weekend in Road To Rock and Little Surfer Girl.

Road To Rock's win in the George Main Stakes was the 16th group 1 winner by Encosta De Lago's progeny worldwide since he began his stud career in 1997, and the Anthony Cummings-trained galloper seems a great chance in Saturday's group 1 Epsom Handicap.