Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Sydney’s midweek meeting was at Warwick Farm on Wednesday and, with the unsettling COVID-19 situation across the city, it occurred without crowds. With only essential personnel on-course, the track hosted a seven-race card, with two interesting juvenile results from the first two races.
The Vinery Stud H. over 1100 metres was for the fillies, won by Sky Command (Deep Field) in the Vieira family colours of Trapeze Artist. Shortly after, the Harry Angel at Darley H. was won in fetching fashion by the 2-year-old gelding Dragonstone (Mikki Isle {Jpn}).
Both 2-year-olds were homebreds for their respective ownerships, with Dragonstone, trained by Mark Newnham, keeping the faith for popular hobby breeders Bernie and Anne Kelly of Forest Lodge, North Richmond.
Quick’s The Word
Forest Lodge comprises the Kellys these days, but at times they were in partnership with a number of others, including former STC Director Judy Foley, Robyn Sperling, who is the wife of former STC Director Evan Sperling, and Sydney anaethetist Matthew Gleeson. The group emerged over 20 years ago.
Former hits include the wonderful gelding Bobbing, who was by the late Beneteau, in whom the Kellys had purchased a number of shares. Bobbing won five races for Forest Lodge, among them the $500,000 Provincial Championship Final in 2019.
He was bred by the couple from their own mare My Dear (Dehere {USA}), and Dragonstone’s story is similar.
The 2-year-old gelding is from the Kellys' backyard mare Quick’s The Word, who is by Shamardal (USA) from the Bluebird (USA) mare Lady Of Snows.
Quick’s The Word boasts a robust family, with her dam being a full sister to G3 VRC S. winner I Love Sydney (Century) and a half-sister to Listed winner Ride The Rapids (River Rough {NZ}).
Dragonstone as a yearling
“This is the River family of Headwater, River Dove, Kulgrinda, etcetera,” said Anne Kelly. “That’s why I really like this pedigree. And Quick’s The Word is by Shamardal, who was a good city winner herself. She could run.”
Quick’s The Word was a Magic Millions National Racehorse Sale purchase for $64,000 in 2012, later bought by the Kellys in a private sale direct from Bjorn Baker via Randwick Bloodstock.
Dragonstone is her second foal. The mare has a 3-year-old also in training with Mark Newnham, Stormborn (Headwater), who was a winner at Pakenham last year, and races on Thursday at Hawkesbury.
Quick’s The Word has a Pariah filly on the ground that will go to Mark Newnham, and she foaled a full brother to Stormborn last season. She will foal to Cosmic Force, a freshman sire by Deep Field, this spring.
Deep Impact over Shamardal
Dragonstone was broken in by Scone trainer Scott Singleton, who quipped to the Kellys that the horse was pretty decent.
“Scott said to Bernie that he’d be mad if he didn’t keep Dragonstone,” Anne said. “He obviously showed to Scott that he had ability, or he had the right temperament and approach, and that he had a good feel on the track and was doing everything right.”
“He (Dragonstone) obviously showed to Scott (Singleton) that he had ability, or he had the right temperament and approach, and that he had a good feel on the track and was doing everything right.” - Anne Kelly
There isn’t much size about Dragonstone, barely 15.1 hands by all accounts, but that’s a trait that is heavy in the family.
The decision to use the former Arrowfield shuttler Mikki Isle (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn), was largely Anne’s, who has an affinity for the Japanese sires over Storm Cat (USA) mares via Shamardal.
“This Shamardal by Giant’s Causeway has a real affinity with those Deep Impact horses,” Anne said. “It punches well above its weight with stakes horses from the cross. I think the problem with Mikki Isle is that they (the progeny) are not getting to the races early, and he’s had that really good winner in Queensland for Gillian Heinrich, Oriental Princess, but Dragonstone is his first city winner.”
Mikki Isle (Jpn) | Standing at Shadai Stallion Station
Mikki Isle shuttled to Arrowfield Stud for three breeding seasons, from 2017 to 2019. He didn’t return last season, but covered a total of 249 mares during his time in Australia. He stood for $13,750 (inc GST).
The stallion is from the fourth crop of foals by the late Deep Impact and, during a stellar racing career, was excellent enough to be Japan’s Best Sprinter or Miler for 2016 ahead of fellow Arrowfield shuttler Maurice (Jpn).
They can run
At Warwick Farm on Wednesday, Dragonstone was having his second start.
He was third on debut to the Newgate-SF Bloodstock juvenile Almighty Rising (Flying Artie) in early June, but had also defeated stakes-winning 2-year-old filly Najmaty (I Am Invincible) in a trial last February.
The gelding jumped from barrier six with jockey Josh Parr, and took a handy position despite being three-deep.
“On this sort of ground, if you’re handling it you might as well keep rolling forward,” said trainer Mark Newnham after the race. “He showed a good turn of foot at the top of the straight, and he’s done a good job.”
Dragonstone won his race by 0.98l to runner-up War Eternal (Pierro), with 3.18l to third-placed Clemenceau (Capitalist).
“There’s plenty of furnishing to come,” Newnham said. “He’s only a little fella. He’s only about 15.1 hands and 430kg. There’s not much of him, and he’s pretty plain to look at, but he’s got a good motor.”
Anne Kelly admitted that Newnham doesn’t love small horses, but she won’t hear of Dragonstone being insulted. She has immense faith in the family and, despite his size, the gelding is city-placed and a city winner in his first two outings.
Wednesday’s result justified much of the Kellys’ faith in the gelding, with Dragonstone initially passed in for $65,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale last year.
"He (Dragonstone) went through in the last hour of that Sale (Inglis Classic), when it was just me and the horse left at the auction." - Anne Kelly
“He went through in the last hour of that Sale, when it was just me and the horse left at the auction,” Anne recalled. “He was just on the cusp of getting into the main Sale, but because of his size he was put into the Highway Session. He was a nice horse, and we didn’t want to sell him for a ridiculous price. We had our price on him, and we backed our judgement. We thought they (the family) could run, and it turns out they can.”
Dragonstone is raced in a lease agreement between Forest Lodge and a large ownership group headed by Nicholas Tzaferis, Tabcorp General Manager of Corporate Affairs.
Filly in Command
Dragonstone was the second of the juvenile results at Warwick Farm. The first was the filly Sky Command who, trained locally by Gary Portelli, won on debut for the Vieira Racing Group, which includes prominent owner-breeder Bert Vieira.
Sky Command, by Deep Field, is the third foal from Vieira’s mare Love Commands (Commands), whom Portelli also trained in the second part of her career.
The 2-year-old took charge of her race on Wednesday in impressive fashion, jumping from barrier seven to take a handy lead on the speed. She held Falsetto (Hinchinbrook) and Sneaky Paige (Deep Field) around the bend and, by the 200 metres, she was coasting away.
Ridden by Brenton Avdulla, she posted a winning margin of 2.59l to Sneaky Paige, with Misty Dreams (Sebring) a 4.7l distance to third.
“She’s always showed above-average ability,” Portelli said. “I think she’ll get better over further. She’ll get 1200 metres easily enough, and it was probably a soft race today. But during the winter, look out. There’ll be some nice races for her.”
Portelli was visibly excited after the race, and had given Avdulla a shake-up in the mounting yard.
“I haven’t had a trainer that confident for a while,” the jockey said. “Gaz was pretty confident pre-race, and basically said to ride her confidently and hope that she gets through the ground, which a lot of the Deep Fields do. I’m sure there’s more in-store for her.”
"Gaz (Gary Portelli) was pretty confident pre-race, and basically said to ride her (Sky Command) confidently and hope that she gets through the ground, which a lot of the Deep Fields do." - Brenton Avdulla
Avdulla said Sky Command gave him plenty.
“She probably overdid it a fraction for me,” he said. “But I didn’t want to take her speed away. I just let her go and she skipped over the ground well enough on debut.”
Warwick Farm was rated a Heavy 9 after significant rainfall in Sydney this week, so Avdulla said there was upside to Sky Command after the debut effort.
Sky Command | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Sky’s the limit pedigree
Deep Field is currently leading the third-crop sire table in Australia, and has got well over a century of winners this season alone. His results have spanned Australia and Hong Kong, with this year’s G1 Oakleigh Plate co-winner Portland Sky a recent highlight.
Sky Command is from the stallion’s fourth crop, but most of her arsenal comes from her female line.
The filly’s second dam is Sky Love (Octagonal {NZ}), who is a half-sister to Sky Cuddle (Snippets), who in turn produced the two-time Group-winning mare Champagne Cuddles (Not A Single Doubt). The latter was sold at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2020 for $2 million to Tom Magnier.
The family is one of the stout products of Stuart Ramsey’s Turangga Farm, right back to Sky Commands’ third dam Suggestive (Al Hareb {USA}).
The family tree is littered with stakes winners, including Highly Recommended (Fastnet Rock), who won the G2 Alistair Clark S., Hint (Reset), who was a black-type winner in Singapore, and Fast Clip (Snippetson), who won the G2 Tulloch S. and G3 Doncaster Mile Prelude.
Sky Commands’ dam had a colt by Dissident in 2019, and is in foal to the Vieira superstar Trapeze Artist.
Deep Field, sire of Sky Command | Standing at Newgate Farm
