Classy colt Kinnaird primed for a rich raid on the Karaka Millions
Highview Stud supremo Brent Gillovic is hoping Kinnaird can turbocharge a big weekend for the family farm when the exciting Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) colt bids to keep his unbeaten record intact in the Karaka Millions 2YO (RL, 1200m) at Ellerslie.
Kinnaird had the distinction of becoming his esteemed sire’s first Group winner when, despite showing signs of waywardness in the home straight, the colt claimed the Eclipse Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) by just over a length on New Year’s Day, with that victory seeing him instantly installed as the favourite for Saturday’s $1 million juvenile feature.
On the advice of his regular rider Opie Bosson, co-trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergeson have applied blinkers for the first time and the new headgear has seemingly had the desired effect, as the colt reportedly completed a slick final gallop in midweek.
In conjunction with the Hong Kong Breeders Club, who have been partners in Highview for the past two decades, the Gillovic’s Waikato operation sold Kinnaird for NZ$340,000 at last year’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale to Te Akau Racing, whose astonishing stranglehold on the Karaka Millions 2YO has seen the ‘Tangerine Army’ win eight of the last nine editions.
Twelve months on from that trade, which would now appear another astute acquisition by Te Akau chief David Ellis, Gillovic will be trackside at Ellerlise to see if the final foal out of the farm’s proven producer Orinda (O’Reilly) can make it three wins from three outings.
Given Kinnaird’s half-brother Jon Snow (Iffraaj) won the 2017 ATC Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) and his half-sister Princess Rhaenys (Iffraaj) – now a resident broodmare at the Huddy family’s Peachester Lodge – signed off her racing career with victory in the 2024 Tattersall’s Gold Crown (Listed, 2143m), it is a touch surprising that the classy colt is sharp enough to be contesting New Zealand’s richest sprint race for juveniles.
While in no way downplaying the lofty opinion he holds of the Highview graduate, Gillovic readily concedes that he has been pleasantly surprised by the rapid rate of progress shown so early in his career.
“I really liked the colt but to be honest I wouldn’t have said back then that he would have been able to do what he’s done at this stage of his career,” he told ANZ News.
“The scary thing is that he’s still got a lot of improvement to come, physically and mentally, so he’s only going to get better as a three-year-old. It’s a big occasion and the biggest test of his career on Saturday, because it looks like a very strong field as you would expect for a $1 million race, but from what we’ve seen so far I do think he will handle the pressure no problem.
“He’s obviously done a terrific job so far for our farm and also for Coolmore, being Home Affairs’ first Group winner. He wouldn’t want it too wet but the Ellerslie track drains particularly well now, so unless we get a downpour on raceday I can’t see it being a problem for him.”
Less than 24 hours after Kinnaird’s crack at the Karaka Millions, Highview’s sole offering in Book 1 of the 100th NZB National Yearling Sale goes up for auction at the adjacent complex.
The filly is the first foal produced by the farm’s resident broodmare Prima Donna (Super Easy), a moderate racetrack performer whose pedigree page is emboldened by her half-sister Prowess (Proisir), who was a multiple Group 1 winner for her co-trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood before being sold for NZ$1.45 million via the online Gavelhouse Plus auction last year.
The filly’s Group 1-winning father, Highview stallion Divine Prophet (Choisir), enjoyed a very solid season in Australia last year when he punched well above his weight by producing 90 winners from his 175 runners – thereby finishing in the top 20 by that metric.
Divine Prophet’s current pin-up girl is the ultra-consistent mare Generosity, who was plucked for just $9,000 at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Weanling Sale by Simon Miller. The Ascot horseman subsequently turned his meagre purchase into a certified money-spinner, as she claimed last year’s Sheila Gwynne Classic (Listed, 1400m) before launching from near last to run third behind Jokers Grin (Maschino) in the $5 million Quokka (1200m).
Like Jokers Grin, she has since made the journey east to join Chris Waller’s all-conquering stable, and proved she could measure up in Sydney by running third behind stellar stablemate Joliestar (Zoustar) in The Shorts (Gr 2, 1100m).
Generosity has therefore assumed the mantle previously held by Divine Prophet’s daughter See You In Heaven, who racked up multiple stakes wins before being sold to Yulong as a broodmare proposition for a seven-figure sum. In light of the success he enjoyed with See You In Heaven, it is no surprise that Adelaide trainer David Jolly has taken a very keen interest in Lot 53 and Highview’s two other Divine Prophet yearlings (Lots 599 and 679) in Book 2.
Given her dam was a winner over 2200 metres, the filly is expected to be a late bloomer and although Gillovic feels the sale may have come six months too early for her, he remains hopeful she will catch the eye of the buying bench when she enters the ring on Sunday afternoon.
“She’s a nice filly and given how well Divine Prophet has performed over there recently, we’re hoping the Australian buyers will take a close interest in her,” Gillovic told ANZ News.
“I haven’t heard a bad word said about the Divine Prophets, so that’s always pleasing. She’s quite a leggy filly so she’s still got to grow into her frame, but I’ve been told she’s in the mould of Prowess so that’s not a bad comparison. She’ll be a really lovely filly in six months’ time so this sale may have come round a little too quickly for her, but she’s definitely got potential. She’s as quiet as a mouse so she’s got the right temperament, which is typical of the breed.
“Young horses can change and develop very quickly, there’s no way we thought Kinnaird would be lining up in the Karaka Millions 12 months after we sold him, so life can be full of surprises. She’s from Divine Prophet’s first crop of New Zealand born foals, so we’ll have to be patient with him but we’re hopeful he can kick some big goals over here in time.
“He’s already shown he’s a real machine when it comes to siring winners in Australia, so hopefully that trend continues and he can attract support from breeders over here with some of their better mares. Richard Jolly had a good look at the filly and our other yearlings, he’s a big fan of the Divine Prophets and recently sold one of them to Hong Kong after a couple of decent trials, so hopefully he likes what he’s seen.”
Gillovic is perhaps more bullish about the farm’s offerings in Book 2, especially a pair of colts produced by their resident stallion Wrote (High Chaparral), the sire of New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) heroine Pulchritudinous who now races in Yulong’s bottle green and white colours.
Wrote, who stands at Highview’s picturesque farm on the outskirts of Hamilton for $12,000 (plus GST), has Midnight Edition going round in the Aotearoa Classic (Gr 3, 1600m) and also Imprevu lining up in the opening contest at Ellerslie, the Jo Giles Stakes (1400m).
He also produced Group 3-winning sprinter Fast Network and, in the (admittedly unlikely) event that the progressive five-year-old can bring Ka Ying Rising’s winning streak to an end in Sunday’s Centenary Sprint Cup (Gr 1, 1200m) at Sha Tin, Gillovic would expect Hong Kong interest in his progeny to go through the sales ring roof at Karaka.
“Wrote has been doing really well, particularly over in Hong Kong, so we’re hoping his yearlings will be popular,” he told ANZ News.
“He covered some fairly average mares at the start of his career so he’s had to do it the hard way, but his popularity has definitely been increasing over the last couple of years. I wish we had a lot more yearlings by Wrote to sell here this year, we have probably prioritised acquiring mares for Divine Prophet and our other resident stallion Santos, but we’ll definitely be supporting Wrote more heavily from now on given the results he’s been getting.
“I’m quite excited by some of our yearlings in Book 2, we have a beautiful filly by Divine Prophet (Lot 679) out of a mare from Sir Peter Vela’s family. She’s got one hell of a pedigree and there’s a lot of Zabeel about her.
“The two colts by Wrote are lovely, particularly Lot 846 out of Miss Motown. Our colt by Santos (660) is also a really nice type, so it’s a very solid draft overall and we’ve got a beautiful line-up of horses in next week’s Summer Sale, which is effectively the old Book 2. It will be interesting to see how we go, hopefully Kinnaird can run a big race in the Karaka Millions and then we have a successful week at the sales.”