Walker targets another sweet success with her Heroic gal
Daughter of Heroic Valour looks to emulate close relation Sweet Dolly with victory in Saturday’s Calaway Gal at Eagle Farm
Almost a year ago, owner-breeders Michelle and Ken Walker witnessed their filly, purchased for a paltry $1,500 as a weanling, embark on a second start of four that would ultimately change their lives.
Sweet Dolly (Real Saga), having won by five and three-quarter lengths at Townsville on debut the previous month, led from pillar to post to claim last year’s Calaway Gal Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Eagle Farm, before landing another wide-margin win at the Sunshine Coast and then victory in March in the lucrative $500,000 QTIS Jewel 2YO (1200m) on the Gold Coast.
Fast forward 12 months, and the Walkers are in the improbable position of again having a contender to take out Eagle Farm’s pre-Christmas Listed feature, this time with a close relation to the unbeaten star in the shape of Townsville winner Heroic Angel (Heroic Valour), who is out of a half-sister to their ‘Dolly’.
“They’ll probably hear me down there (at Eagle Farm) screaming. It would be unbelievable. I’ve never had a journey like I’ve gone on now,” said Michelle Walker, who is unable to make the trip to Brisbane from their home in Rockhampton due to Ken’s worsening state of Parkinsons and dementia, an illness that has seen her play a largely full time carer role, funded for by the exploits of Sweet Dolly.
“To have ‘Dolly’ last year and then to have another one who might have a chance this year, it’s great,” she said. “This filly’s got good potential too. It’s only her second start, but she’s in it to win it on Saturday.”
Both Sweet Dolly and Heroic Angel are trained by the Rocky-based handler Kevin Hansen and, in perhaps more so reflecting the pride of place held by the former, he and Walker’s immediate responses as to the prospects of the latter are in unison: “she’s no Dolly, but she goes good.”
In a stark difference to her naturally speedy relation, Heroic Angel was tardily away but burst through the pack in winning her first start over 1000 metres on October 23, when sent off as the $1.55 favourite.
“She’s well in herself. She’s drawn a bad alley (barrier 14), so that’ll be the main thing,” Hansen added.
“She’s a really big, strong filly and an early runner. She might get over a bit longer as she gets a bit older.”
Injury has curtailed the progression of stable star Sweet Dolly, who damaged a suspensory following her latest victory nine months ago, with Hansen even putting a pause on his training operation to dedicate his time to nursing the now three-year-old back to full health.
“She’s good. I’ve had her back in the stables the last fortnight on the walking machine and she’s doing well, she’ll come back into work in the next week or so,” Hansen said.
“It’s week by week, but I don’t think there’s going to be a problem with her. Her rehabilitation went well and we can make some plans in six to eight weeks.”
Hansen’s secret? “I just look after them the best I can and make sure they’re happy.”
For Walker, however, that’s an understatement of the devotion Hansen has to his small team of horses, three of them for Walker, with their combined race record reading six starts for six wins.
“He does a fantastic job with them. He pretty much sleeps with them,” Walker said.
“He’s done all the rehab with Dolly this year. He took her down to Gatton and went down and got her. I thought I was going to have to build a shed out in the paddock there for him to watch her. He is very dedicated, you wouldn’t find a more dedicated trainer than Kevin.”
But for Heroic Angel’s year-older relation’s eye-catching half-length victory in the QTIS 2YO Jewel, the filly might never have ended up in the ownership of the Walkers.
In contrast to Sweet Dolly’s basement price, Heroic Angel cost $70,000, and sold just three days after Sweet Dolly’s victory in the QTIS 2YO Jewel, a win that earned her $300,000 and paved the way for Walker’s spending splurge at the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, where she bought three yearling fillies, before adding another three, again all fillies, to her stable at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale.
“I hadn’t planned on (buying Heroic Angel). But when (Sweet Dolly) won the big race I just thought ‘ah well, I’m just going to keep going’ and then bought more two-year-olds,” Walker said.
“I buy them and race them on my own. It’s not a business for me, it’s my hobby, albeit an expensive one.”
Like Sweet Dolly, Heroic Angel was bought out of Basil Nolan’s Raheen Stud draft, who stand her sire Heroic Valour (Fastnet Rock) and the freshman stallion has made an impressive start with his first two-year-olds; his three individual winners seeing him top the first season sire table by that metric.
His daughter Heroic Angel is the first foal out Sunshine Coast winner Sonador Angel (Captain Sonador), herself a half-sister to Sweet Dolly with the pair both being out of the twice-winning Canny Lad (Bletchingly) mare Sweet Cherub.
Heroic Angel’s third dam, Hippy (King Of Kings), was purchased by Raheen Stud for $25,000 at the 2004 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale and has also produced the stakes-placed Beatniks (Haradasun), while she is also a half-sister to Listed winner Love And Money (Secret Savings).
Sonador Angel’s 2020 Heroic Valour colt died after birth and she foaled a filly in October by the stallion.
However, while Heroic Angel is a $12 chance to repeat Sweet Dolly’s achievement in Saturday’s Listed contest, she may not be the best two-year-old Walker has in her possession this season.
Sweet Fantasy, a $35,000 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale purchase by Aquis Stud first season sire Invader (Snitzel), landed a five-runner Townsville maiden on debut just last Thursday.
With Sweet Dolly’s recovery to full fitness, it has Walker dreaming of a return to the lucrative QTIS meeting, this time in a bid to land both the 2YO and 3YO Jewel.
“We were hoping to have the chestnut filly (Sweet Fantasy) for the Calaway, I think she could be a bit better than this one, but in not getting her started a week ago with the Sunshine Coast being too heavy, it just put us out of sync,” Walker said.
“We’re trying to get both (Sweet Fantasy and Heroic Angel) to the Magic Millions. We’ve just got to wait and see what the next two starts do for us.
“I can’t wait (to get Sweet Dolly back to the races). Hopefully she’ll be ready for the Jewel and we’ll get a juvenile to the two-year-old Jewel as well.”