Kennewell keen on Extreme Choice filly Chosen Legend in Inglis Banner
Favourite Blue Stratum a doubtful starter as second emergency for Moonee Valley contest
Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) filly Chosen Legend has the sass and the pricetag to stand out from the crowd, and her trainer Lloyd Kennewell is hoping she’ll also prove a cut above when she contests today’s Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) at Moonee Valley.
Chosen Legend is in the vanguard of an era of change for Cranbourne-based Kennewell. The former Adelaide conditioner has been training with former Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stables foreman Lucy Yeomans since August 1, and Chosen Legend is one of three runners who’ve joined the stable this year for a new and important client in major Hong Kong-based owner Bon Ho.
The filly will have another Hong Kong legend in the saddle in Zac Purton, and having drawn barrier two she’ll come close to starting favourite for today’s $500,000 scamper, following a smart Cranbourne barrier trial win on October 16.
On the score of prices, Chosen Legend is already head and shoulders above the rest of the field of 13 debutants and three emergencies – the second of whom is pre-race $2.40 favourite Blue Stratum (Blue Point) – much to the chagrin of that colt’s co-trainer Tony McEvoy.
Bred by Victorian breeder and breaker Matty Upton and sold through the Lime Country Thoroughbreds draft, Chosen Legend was the top-priced filly at this year’s Inglis Classic sale, knocked down to Ho for $420,000, and the fifth-top lot overall, below a high of $550,000.
The other 15 acceptors for today’s Banner averaged only $87,500. Take out the Hayes Brothers’ filly Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau) – the only other yearling to exceed $200,000 as a $270,000 Premier sale purchase – and the remaining 14 averaged a good value $74,500.
Today’s field for the Banner – which starts the Inglis Race series – in fact includes another possible Brett Cavanough-trained “smokey from the bush” in Gimme Gimme (American Pharoah) – a $41 shot who’s run a second and fifth in two Scone barrier trials and who cost all of $3,250 in Inglis’s early May Online Sale.
Cavanough’s son Jack, a breaker like his father, broke Gimme Gimme in and liked her enough to buy her when her original owner scaled down. She also went through Lime Country’s draft, meaning Jo and Greg Griffin’s Hunter Valley farm sold the most and the least expensive runners in today’s Banner field.
Kennewell said Chosen Legend was worthy of her top-priced status among today’s entrants but, cognisant that little is predictable amid a cluster of two-year-old debutants, he was taking nothing for granted.
“None of these horses know how much they cost, do they? It all goes out the window once those barriers open,” Kennewell told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“We just hope she runs up to par in terms of where we think she’s at, but we think she can run a nice race on debut, and finish her educational period off to have a good campaign next year.”
Chosen Legend has only a light smattering of black type in her female family’s first three generations, testament to the allure of her sire Extreme Choice – who also had the second-highest lot at the Classic sale – and to the type Ho and Kennewell encountered.
“I thought she was probably the best filly in the sale,” Kennewell said. “The Extreme Choice brand is going very well. His winners-to-runners and stakes winners-to-runners is phenomenal, and this was a filly we thought would keep progressing to be a really nice type. Plus, I think she’ll improve massively as a three-year-old.
“We’re under no illusions. Everyone’s in the same boat in this race, we’re all first starters. She’s a nice filly but whatever she does tomorrow, she’ll improve on for her next prep.
“It’ll probably be one and done run for her this prep. But she trialled up well, and we thought it’d be nice to give her an educational run, from a very good barrier with a very good rider on her.
“She looks like she’s got some nice ability. She’s a little bit sassy and spicy around the stable, which is hopefully a good sign. A lot of good fillies know they’re a bit good, and she knows she’s got a little bit about her.”
Kennewell, Yeomans, Ho and Purton will also have a runner in three-year-old Snippety Legend (Snitzel) in today’s last race, the Red Anchor Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m). The colt, who has a win and two placings from three starts, was the equal-third highest lot at last year’s Melbourne Premier sale, at $550,000.
The stable also prepares an as yet unraced two-year-old filly for Ho in Captivate Legend (Snitzel), a $100,000 Premier purchase.
“We’ve got three of Bon’s in the team and he’s a pleasure to deal with,” Kennewell said. “I just approached him looking to do some work with him. I’m hungry to have some success, I put a few suggestions up for Bon, and he was happy to buy them for me.”
Meanwhile, Tony McEvoy was incensed Blue Stratum was not included in the capacity top-13 for the Banner, drawn from some 21 nominees.
The Yulong-bred First Light Racing colt – a $130,000 Premier purchase – could not put his case for inclusion in early official two-year-old trials as his name registration had not gone through in time. His preparation has instead consisted of two jump-outs, most recently a three-length win at Terang on October 9 that earned favouritism for the Banner.
McEvoy said not enough official two-year-old trials had been scheduled in Victoria, and that Blue Stratum had also been left high and dry when Racing Victoria scheduled one more at Avoca only last Monday.
“You’re not going to put a two-year-old in a trial on a Monday and then race him the following Saturday, so that was too late,” McEvoy told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“The whole thing is very disappointing. He’s the favourite, and they haven’t put him in the race.
“Official trial horses get preference to get into the field, and they didn’t put on enough official trials. Why wouldn’t you put your best jump-out horses into the race? Aren’t they trying to get the best field possible? Four horses got in on the merits of their official trials, and the rest of the field was drawn out of a hat. That’s archaic.
“We’ve got to take a bit of a rap for him not getting named in time, but at the same time, it’s ridiculous how long it takes to get a horse named. Racing Australia needs to act on that, but also the trial process is not quite right. You can’t go in an official trial without a name, but these days we’ve got micro chips, brands, all these ways of identifying a horse.”
Of the 13 in the field, four were sired by two sons of I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit).
Darley’s Brazen Beau has three including the likely favourite – assuming Blue Stratum doesn’t start – in Bold Bastille, another colt who’s just had two jump-outs without an official trial, running second both times, at Flemington.
Brazen Beau, currently standing his ninth season at Darley’s Victorian base, for $44,000, also has two Maher and Eustace-trained runners: Indefinite ($19), a $70,000 Premier buy from the Cambridge Stud draft who’s also had two jump-outs, for a fifth and a second; and Hand Crafted ($26), a $60,000 Classic purchase, whose presence will soothe McEvoy even less, after her last of sixth in a jump-out and fifth of eight in a trial.
And Swettenham Stud’s $13,750 first-season sire I Am Immortal has another who may press for favouritism in the Danny O’Brien-trained filly Immortal Star, a $30,000 Premier buy bred by Victorian hobby breeder Paul King.
Immortal Star won both her jump-outs, at Flemington, beating Bold Bastille into second in the latter on October 20.
“Right from the word go she looked like something nice. We actually expected a bit more from the sale than we got, but I think the sale was a bit average this year,” said King, an avowed fan of I Am Invincible sire sons.
“I think they’re fantastic, and good value. I Am Invincible is well out of my league, but to go to him now at his fee [$302,500], you’ve got to have a really good mare, and you’d have to sell your yearling for $600,000 or $700,000 to make it worth your while.
“We only got $30,000 for our filly by one of his sons, but I tripled my money.”
Immortal Star was bought by Superstar Racing, a nascent syndicator run by Melbourne land developer and builder Dwayne Smith.
“She looks very progressive and ran some really nice times in her last jump-out,” Smith said. “I really liked her at the sale. I saw her parade a few times and she looked a good, athletic type. I spoke to the breeder and he said she should be a good two-year-old, and so far she’s showing us that.”
While Blue Stratum last night looked unlikely to gain a start, Darley’s Blue Point will have another strong hope in Hayes Brothers filly Blue Allure ($5.50), a $110,000 Premier buy who ran second and first in her two Flemington jump-outs.