Fast Knightstown out to put Gumeracha and Summerset Park Stud on the map
Valentia three-year-old given chance in Caulfield Guineas three years after half-brother did the same
South Australia hamlet Gumeracha, population 701, is famous for the world’s largest rocking horse, but come Saturday the town could also lay claim to another equine title, the breeding ground of a Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner.
The said horse is Knightstown (Valentia), a three-year-old trained in Adelaide – about 40 kilometres south west of Gumeracha – by Gordon Richards and Damien Moyle for a syndicate led by Rob McBryde of Summerset Park Stud who bred the gelding, a two-time winner from six starts.
Knightstown putting Gumeracha on the map for something other than a Big Rocking Horse might appear fanciful given he is a $101 chance with oddsmakers, but McBryde and the gelding’s family do have recent history in the big race.
His three years older half-brother Saccharo (Magnus), another horse bred and co-owned by McBryde, ran fifth in the 2018 edition of the Guineas, six lengths behind dominant winner The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice).
McBryde is more than happy to take his chances in the Guineas with Knightstown, who won first-up over 1000 metres in August and has finished fourth at his past two starts, the latest at Sandown over 1400 metres behind Extreme Flight (Extreme Choice).
“He has earnt enough points to get to the Guineas and we think he’s flying under the radar because there’s not a lot of hype on (his sire) Valencia because he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities at stud,” McBryde said yesterday.
“He’s bred by a small breeder who is not particularly well known in big circles, and certainly not known in the betting circles, and he is trained by a smaller trainer compared to some of the big names like Godolphin, Chris Waller and Hawkes, those kinds of people.
“We think we have a competitive horse and we will find out for sure on Saturday.”
It is a remarkable feat from a breeder who has no more than eight mares to have a Group 1 runner, let alone two in the past three years, but McBryde has a habit of being able to produce a more than handy horse from his South Australia farm.
He is also the breeder of How Womantic (The Wow Signal), a five-time winner, including the Kevin Hayes Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m), in training with Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and the now retired stakes-placed two-year-old Creativity (Master Of Design).
If circumstances were different, and things had gone to plan for McBryde, Knightstown would have been racing in someone else’s colours but he was unable to find a buyer for the son of Cornerstone Stud’s Valentia (Fastnet Rock), not at the 2019 Inglis Great Southern Sale nor last year’s Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale.
“We’d had a few bad years in a row with our yearling sales, either not getting it right … or having (horses by) the wrong sires,” McBryde recalled.
“We took Knightstown and a Rubick filly, who was out of the same family, to the Melbourne weanling sale. They both had good x-rays and there was no reason why they both wouldn’t sell well on paper, but then the sale was a bit of a disaster. We passed them in and brought them home.
“So, we prepped them both and put them through here in Adelaide as yearlings and we gave the Rubick filly away for about $20,000, which was just above service fee, and we couldn’t find a home for Knightstown.
“We passed him in at $18,000 with a reserve of $25,000 and even though we had a couple of people look at him after he was passed in, no one was prepared to even make us an offer.
“We thought better of him than that, so we took him home, rang a few friends, a few emails, gave people some background on what Soccharo had done and that we think this horse is flying under the radar.”
Soon after, Richards, who is currently in Sydney preparing Gytrash (Lope De Vega) for The Everest (1200m), was called on to inspect the horse and he agreed to take the unwanted yearling on to train.
Knightstown would win his first start, last February over 1000 metres, before a two-start Adelaide May carnival campaign in which he ran fourth in the David Coles Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) after being “knocked down” and “sandwiched” in the SA Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at his previous start.
The gelding is the fifth foal out of Zaraya Rose (Hawk Wing) whose own second dam is Lighting Flash (Lightning), a European mare imported to Australia in the mid-1980s by big-time Adelaide bookmaker and breeder Jim O’Connor.
It is the stoutness of Knightstown’s pedigree which provides McBryde with confidence that he will run out a strong 1600 metres even if he is perceived to be up against more likely contenders in Group 1 winners Anamoe (Street Boss), Captivant (Capitalist), Artorius (Flying Artie) and company.
“We know the family gets a mile. Zaraya Rose herself won over 2100 metres at Gawler and her granddam Lighting Flash was a 2100-metre winner in France,” McBryde said.
“We owned Lighting Flash when she was sent to Australia by Jim O’Connor of Miluna Stud fame. He bought the mare overseas and got at least one foal out of her before he decided to sell Miluna and put all his broodmare band up for auction.
“We bought Lighting Flash, so we have had the family for a long time now, three generations, before Knightstown came along.”
Zaraya Rose’s two-year-old filly by Magnus (Flying Spur), a sister to the Archie Alexander-trained Saccharo, was bought by Blueblood Thoroughbreds at this year’s Adelaide sale for $41,000 and is in training with Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr.
A half-brother by Holler (Commands) will be offered by Summerset Park Stud either at the Inglis Melbourne Premier or Magic Millions Adelaide sale next year.
It is fair to suggest that buyers may pay closer attention to him given the performances of Knightstown to date, let alone what is ahead of him.
Zaraya Rose was recently served by Valentia after being given a year off in 2020.