Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Krone is raced by the Anthony Mithen’s Rosemont Stud with Roll The Dice Racing and partners and her victory came during a week in which the Melbourne farm reached an agreement with Godolphin to stand the Group 3 winner and Group 1 placegetter Hanseatic.
Rosemont also co-bred and part-owns All Saint’s Eve (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}) with Waikato Stud and she finished a creditable sixth in the Coolmore, but it was the Tony Gollan-trained Krone who was the star of the day.
She had triumphed in the G2 Guy Walter S. last month on soft going and showed her versatility with an explosive performance for rider Tim Clark on top of the ground, much to Gollan’s delight.
“It’s really satisfying, but I have to admit I was a lot more confident earlier in the week when it looked like we were going to get a wet track,” he said.
“It’s really satisfying, but I have to admit I was a lot more confident earlier in the week when it looked like we were going to get a wet track.” – Tony Gollan
“I was kicking stones leaving Brisbane this morning to come down here and I thought it would be hard for her with the firm ground.
“From barrier one she was always going to need some luck and he (Tim Clark, jockey) cut the corner beautifully and once the run presented she (Krone) was really too good. She was going up a lot in weight (3kg) and an unsuitable Good 3 so it’s just fantastic.”
Krone settled behind the leading division near thew fence and when the field opened up in the straight she surged through 150 metres from home to beat Mizzy (Zoustar), who also finished runner-up in the G1 Canterbury S. a week ago.
Clark's 16th Group 1 win
The 5-year-old credited jockey Tim Clark with the 16th Group 1 victory of his riding career and he too would have been in a more confident pre-race frame of mind had the weather turned as was predicted.
“Obviously, I was hoping the track would be rain-affected, but she had a good run throughout and didn’t spend a penny,” he said.
“Obviously, I was hoping the track would be rain-affected, but she (Krone) had a good run throughout and didn’t spend a penny.” – Tim Clark
“When she got the gap she really let rip and she’s in terrific form. For her to be able to do that with 57kg on her back was great, she put them away comfortably.
“She’s in such a good frame of mind at the moment and enjoying her racing. To be able to come out on top in a Group 1 means a lot.”
Krone has been well-travelled and won the Listed Cinderella S. as a 2-year-old for the now disqualified Darren Weir before a stint with Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
“She’s just going so well and I only got her last winter. She was going to go through the June Sale and we decided to go to the Magic Millions mares’ race and that worked out well and she won it to show she still had her appetite for racing,” said Gollan, who has now trained four Group 1 winners.
“That gave us a free throw at the stumps down here in the autumn and she’s just been great. I can’t praise the mare enough and she’s done a fantastic job.
“That gave us a free throw at the stumps down here in the autumn and she’s (Krone) just been great. I can’t praise the mare enough and she’s done a fantastic job." - Tony Gollan
“She is a really good mare, in good form and when they are like that they are hard to beat. I can’t thank Anthony and Roll The Dice enough for giving me an opportunity with her.
“We might look at the G1 Coolmore Legacy during The Championships, we’ll go home and see how she pulls up first.”
Bred by Bell View Park Stud, Krone changed hands as a weanling and yearling at the Gold Coast before she was purchased by Roll The Dice for $120,000 at the Magic Millions Gold 2YOs in Training Sale.
She is a daughter of Soft Landing (Al Maher) and she is a half-sister to the Group 1-winning siblings Universal Prince (Scenic {Ire}) and Universal Queen and their dam is a half-sister to the dual Group 1 winner and sire Blevic.
Krone as a yearling
