Promises Kept out to hold off Kiwi onslaught in Queensland Derby

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Cluster gelding up to beating New Zealand-breds Kovalica and Special Swey

The blitz on Australian elite-level riches by New Zealand-bred horses is poised to continue in today’s Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m), with an eight-strong battalion headed by a predicted staying star of the spring, and with even the sire of Hong Kong’s next champion sprinter getting in on the act.

Kiwi-bred horses have won 20 Australian Group 1s this season, including 11 of the past 16 since the start of The Championships on April 1.

After a pause in which Royal Merchant (Merchant Navy) and the French-bred Huetor (Archipenko) took last weekend’s Goodwood (Gr 1, 1200m) and Doomben Cup (Gr 1, 2000m), the top-tier onslaught is strongly fancied to resume at Eagle Farm today, in the 139th edition of Brisbane’s 2400-metre Classic.

Betting is dominated by odds-on favourite Kovalica, a son of Waikato Stud’s Ocean Park (Thorn Park) bred by New Zealand’s Nearco Stud, and who for good measure is trained and ridden by those all-conquering Kiwi expats Chris Waller and James McDonald.

Waller also saddles third-favourite Special Swey, whose sire Sweynesse (Lonhro) – of Luigi Muollo’s Novara Park farm in the Waikato – has this year leapt to fame involving trips half today’s distance through Hong Kong’s triple Group 1-winning sprinter Lucky Sweynesse.

In truth, the rest of the Kiwi octet amongst the 18 starters for Australia’s final Derby of the season are not expected to greatly trouble the scorers. In market order they comprise Andalus (Almanzor, $34), Sacred Mission (Sacred Falls, $41), Tapildoodledo (Proisir, $61), Arby (Proisir, $81), The Englishman (Tavistock, $101) and Waitak (Proisir, $126).

Three Australian-breds will strive to stem the trans-Tasman tide.

The Robbie Griffiths and Mat de Kock–trained Aberfeldie Boy (So You Think), who was third in the South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) last start, was around $14 last night, while the Toby and Trent Edmonds-trained gelding The Vowels (Better Than Ready) was at $13 as Queensland’s best chance of a home-won Derby.

But the main hope of the local products appears to be the most obscurely-bred. Promises Kept – a son of the now Indonesian-based Cluster (Fastnet Rock) – was second-favourite last night at around $7.50 after nearly holding on over an extra 100 metres when second to the Kiwi-bred Dunkel (Dundeel) in the South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m).

That was Promises Kept’s first start for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace after the stable swooped to prise him from former connections and trainer Greg Eurell, following a blistering win in Bendigo’s St Leger Trial (2200m). Despite seven weeks between runs, Promises Kept was strongly backed into $4 favouritism at Morphettville and gave backers a great sight, leading until the shadows of the post.

Maher last night spoke glowingly of the run, and with improvement expected and having drawn gate one for Mark Zahra, the gelding could provide stern opposition to the Kiwi-breds.

“His SA Derby run was very good,” Maher told ANZ Bloodstock News. “He was in front for a long time, and while they only went slow early on, they quickened up pretty early. He had to sustain a pretty good gallop from about the 1000-metre mark. 

“It wasn’t really a staying test, but horses can only sprint for a certain amount of time. So it was a run where you were waiting for something to come and get him, and Dunkel did.

“He’s still very green – he wobbled around a lot in the straight in Adelaide – so he’s still learning his craft. He’s like an 18-year-old AFL ruckman, a bit raw. But he’s nice and bright now, he’s in good order and should run well.

“He’ll be positive away – he might as well because he got to the lead quite easily the other day. He’ll roll along, and if something wants to go harder than that, they can, but he’ll be thereabouts.”

Still, after his eye-catching third at weight-for-age in the Doomben Cup, few judges will be game to bet against Kovalica, who’ll jump from gate five.

At around $1.70 last night, he’ll be one of the shortest-priced favourites in the race’s modern history as he strives to join such illustrious names as Strawberry Road (Whiskey Road), who won at 4-9 in 1983, Kingston Town (Bletchingly), who beat just four brave opponents at 1-20 in 1980, and Tulloch (Khorassan), who won deep in the red in 1957.

A $110,000 Karaka purchase who’s the second foal out of the Waller-trained multiple Sydney city winner Vitesse (Makfi), Kovalica has been earmarked by the master trainer as a potential staying star of the spring.

Held up for a debut as a three-year-old in October when fourth at Newcastle, Kovalica then peeled off four straight wins culminating in the Grand Prix Stakes (Gr 3, 2100m) at Eagle Farm in December – a victory that put his staying prowess beyond doubt.

After taking the Queensland Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) second-up from a spell last month, his campaign was hampered when he had to be scratched on the morning of the Rough Habit Plate (Gr 3, 2000m) two weeks ago due to a foot abscess. While that forced a week’s delay, Kovalica instead showed his class with his slashing Doomben Cup third, surging along the rail from eighth on the turn to finish just over a length behind Huetor.

Waller this week called the gelding “a bright star among the up-and-coming horses in our stable”, saying his 2100-metre pre-Christmas win in the Grand Prix was “a damn good sign” he’d stay 2400 metres as a late three-year-old.

While Kovalica – seeking today to become Ocean Park’s fourth Group 1 winner after Tofane, Kolding and Ocean Billy – was absent from the Rough Habit Plate, Waller had an able second-stringer in Special Swey.

Making his debut for the stable after winning a Matamata maiden last month at his seventh start under Stephen Ralph, Special Swey was most impressive in being taken to a clear lead from midfield at the 900 metres by Tyler Schiller, and outstaying his rivals to win by a length-and-a-half from The Vowels.

Nash Rawiller takes over today, with the challenge of barrier 17, while Schiller is drawn one wider on the Greg Hickman-trained longshot Smartawi (Smart Missile), who he partnered to win the Murrumbidgee Guineas (1600m) at Wagga two runs ago.

Special Swey represents varying layers of the New Zealand breed, as an early sign of the broodmare sire potential of Little Avondale’s star Per Incanto (Street Cry), who’s off to a flyer in that department. As a damsire, Per Incanto has had 29 runners for 11 winners, including three stakes winners at 10.3 per cent.

Special Swey is the first foal of Per Incanto second-cropper Mia Mamma. While she was a three-time winner, all over 1200 metres, Per Incanto won up to 1400 metres, and Sweynesse’s star progeny and sole Group 1 winner is Lucky Sweynesse. Special Swey appears to be another stayer on the rise for Waller.

Sweynesse, whose longest win was in Rosehill’s Gloaming Stakes (Gr 3, 1800m), has had six stakes winners from four racing crops, with only two winning beyond 1400 metres: Special Swey and another Waller-trained runner, Only Words, who won The Roses (Gr 2, 2000m) at Doomben in 2021.

Muollo, who bred Special Swey and sold him to his Sydney-based brother Tony after he was passed in at a ready-to-run sale, points out the gelding is from his renowned “Explosive” family which has hatched such stayers as multiple Derby and Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Explosive Jack (Jakkalberry) and New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Vin De Dance (Roc De Cambes). He also reminded that Lucky Sweynesse’s sister, Signora Nera, was third in the 2021 running of Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2200m).

“There’s a bit of toughness further back in Special Swey’s pedigree,” Muollo said. “He’s arguably from the best family in the New Zealand stud book of the past five years, when you look at Explosive Jack and Vin De Dance, so that’s exciting for me when I’ve got ten mares on the farm from that Explosive family.

“Whether the Per Incanto side helps him get to 2400 metres could be a question, but he wasn’t stopping in the Rough Habit Plate.”

The Derby’s sole colt is the Bryce Heys-trained Cut On A Dime (So You Think), the $1 million Easter yearling who’s a half-brother to Listed-winning mare Meg (Sebring). Despite making good ground for fourth in the Rough Habit Plate, Cut On A dime was last night a $71 chance to upset the geldings – and the one possible female starter in second emergency Artful Girl (Under The Louvre).

While Kiwi-breds appear formidable in today’s staying test, the natural trans-Tasman order is on show again in Eagle Farm’s feature sprint today, the Kingsford Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m). Only one New Zealand-bred is in the 16-capacity field in Kirwan’s Lane (Charm Spirit), who was last night a $41 shot, well behind $5 favourite Think About It (So You Think).