By Bren O'Brien
With his stable star Soul Patch (Shamus Award) building towards a first Group 1 win, it was with an eye to the long-term future that his trainer Ken Keys secured his half-sister by Alpine Eagle at this week's Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale.
Soul Patch recorded a second Group 1 placing in last Saturday's Australian Guineas, finishing third behind Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) adding to his third placing in the G1 Victoria Derby in the spring, while Keys also purchased his half-brother by Street Boss (USA), now a 2-year-old named Indictment, for $95,000 last year.
Keys had little hesitation adding the third of the dam God Bless Us's (Flying Spur) progeny at Melbourne this week, paying $180,000 for Lot 188 in the aftermath of her half-brother's terrific run in the Guineas.
Lot 188 - Alpine Eagle x God Bless Us (filly)
"We were pretty keen to get her and even more keen after Saturday. We have the half-brother at home as well and he seems a nice type of colt, so I think the family will keep getting better," he said.
Soul Patch will now target the G1 Rosehill Guineas later this month, with Keys hoping a win in that race will considerably frank the pedigree of his latest purchase.
"Hopefully, he can stay on the racetrack for a fair while. You never know with these racehorses when you've got them, but to have a couple of Group 1 placings and a Group 2 win in the pedigree, this filly will retain a fair bit of value," he said.
"He'll go straight to the Rosehill Guineas, which is a three-week period, which will give him a bit of time to get over the run. It was a bit tough Saturday and we knew he'd had a race, but he'll be right."
"To have a couple of Group 1 placings and a Group 2 win in the pedigree, this filly will retain a fair bit of value." - Ken Keys
Keys will offer some loyal stable clients a chance to go in the Alpine Eagle filly and continue the association with the family.
Part of the Armidale Stud draft, she was one of three by first-season sire Alpine Eagle offered this week, fetching a combined $385,000.
Alpine Eagle | Standing at Armidale Stud
"He's a new sire and we looked at a lot of them in Tassie, but this one was here and we waited for that. She's a big strong filly, and it’s a bit of a punt on Alpine Eagle, but he's by High Chaparral, so who knows," Keys said.
"I thought there were a couple of nice Alpine Eagle horses in Tassie too, but they weren't from the family. Armidale presents their horses well, wherever you see them. I don't think she was a stunning one. She was a nice filly, and with the family connection, she has got some upside."
Keys said Soul Patch and his half-brother have been relatively easy horses to deal with and he was hopeful this filly might follow their lead.
"I probably don't know enough about her yet. Soul Patch is a pretty laid-back colt, leave him alone and he's happy. The next colt is very much in the same mould, a different type, but as in temperament and all he's the same and I assume this one might follow that trait," he said.
