Rae-Louise and Padraig Kelly can be justifiably proud of Fernrigg Farm’s achievements in such a short space of time, a reputation built on the ethos of offering affordable horses to the market. “It’s so important for our farm that our horses run well and not just sell for big money,” Rae-Louise explained. And it’s an impressive Gold Coast sold list that she rattled off. “Shaquero was purchased for $160,000 and has won $1,443,075, we sold Krone as a yearling for $60,000 and she has won $1,431,150 and now we have the promising Cusack (Not A Single Doubt) purchased by Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young for only $200,000 heading to the Magic Millions race.” That’s right, the 2021 Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Shaquero (Shalaa) was a Fernrigg offering and now the same farm has one of the 2022 favourites in the Magic Million Ballarat 2YO Classic winner in Cusack.
The Fernrigg team will head to the Gold Coast with a select draft of seven horses and if everything falls into place amongst them will be one of the fillies of the sale in lot 792, Cusack’s full-sister. Out of the dual winner Belle Que (Street Hero), this lass sells at the Friday session and just 24 hours later there is every chance her full brother could claim the prize everyone wants.
Besides what fate might have in store for Cusack there also is the attraction that this filly comes from one of those blue chip families it is so hard to acquire the blood of. Belle Que is a granddaughter of Money Begets Money (Bite The Bullet) dam of the listed winner Moqueen (Uncle Mo) and grandam of the dual listed winner Malice (Teofilo). Money Begets Money is also a sister to the top producer Mica’s Pride who foaled the G1 winners Criterion (Sebring) and Comin’ Through (Fastnet Rock), the G2 winner Varenna Miss (Redoute’s Choice) and the listed winner Silently (Anabaa); in short the family oozes quality. Rae-Louise is clearly very taken with her saying “She is very much like her big brother. Very smart, quick to learn and easy to handle but will unexpectedly stick one on you if you’re not paying attention! She has the Not A Single Doubt blaze and rich coat. The mare is an absolute dream to have on the farm and combined with having Not A Single Doubt’s flawless temperament this filly will be a trainer’s dream.”
Fernrigg has become a rich source of stock for the pinhook market, and the traders will be extremely interested in lot 525, a Deep Field colt out of the winning Lonhro mare Silk Slippers. Dam of one winner to date, Silk Slippers carries plenty of pedigree as a daughter of the G1 Australian Oaks and Storm Queen Stakes winner Danendri (Danehill). That makes her a half-sibling to the G3 winning stayer Zingam (Zabeel) and to the listed winner and G1 placed Banc De Fortune (Galileo) who also gets credit as the grandam of recent G1 Levin Classic winner Bonham (Per Incanto). Another daughter of Danendri in the unraced Zona (Zabeel) found success as a broodmare foaling G1 VRC Oaks and Storm Queen Stakes winner Faint Perfume, dam of the Group winners Good Idea (So You Think) and Chains Of Honour (Redoute’s Choice). This is the terrific family that produced the G1 One Thousand Guineas, and the race now known as the J J Atkins Stakes, winner Copperama (Comeram).
If speed is your thing then lot 412 should get the pulse racing. By I Am Invincible this filly is the first foal of the brilliantly fast Quilista. Wet or dry it didn’t matter, Quilista simply burnt off her rivals as she did in successive starts in the G2 Sapphire Stakes at Randwick and the G3 Birthday Card Stakes at Rosehill. The daughter of Scandal Keeper and half-sister to the G3 John Monash Stakes winner Red Can Man (Gingerbread Man) won nine of her career starts to 1400 metres. “A beautiful, scopey filly who presents herself with so much grace. You won’t find a better attitude on the farm. She is extremely well balanced and a fine example of what the champion sire I Am Invincible can produce,” said Rae-Louise.
Another filly bound to have pace is the Invader three-quarter sister to G1 Robert Sangster Stakes winner Spright out of the Dash For Cash mare Dashoff that sells as lot 903 on the Saturday night. Spright was a tough sort winning six times and was G1 placed in both the William Reid and A J Moir Stakes’ at weight-for-age. Her I Am Invincible half-sister Mine Two was also G3 placed as a juvenile while further back in the family can be found the likes of the highly talented G3 winner Kaepernick (Fastnet Rock).
Fernrigg will also offer a colt by I Am Invincible’s promising young son Overshare as lot 497. This fellow is out of the Canadian bred mare Sense Of Pride (Lemon Drop Kid) which had an interesting career winning twice and being Stakes placed at Woodbine before being imported and running fourth in the listed Angst Stakes at Randwick beaten a length. At stud she has produced three winners headlined by the G1 Flight Stakes third Foxborough (Dissident). Sense Of Pride is a half-sister to the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks winner Nellie Cashman (Mineshaft) and is out of the multiple Stakes winning Alison’s Winner, a daughter of Pine Bluff.
When your dam’s name is Black Pearl there is every chance you will be a stunner, and that’s the case for lot 811, a filly by the G1 Australian Guineas winner and first season sire Grunt. With the twice winning Black Pearl a daughter of Savabeel, this filly is the product of the phenomenally successful cross of his blood with that of O’Reilly. Black Pearl’s grandam was the ever-dependable Tights mare Waihora’s Lass, eleven times a winner including the G2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes. Waihora’s Lass made her mark as a producer foaling the G2 Zipping Classic winner Legible (Zabeel) who went on to produce the three-time G2 winner and multiple G1 placed Trusting (Tale Of The Cat).
It is clear any mare that notches up twelve wins up to Stakes grade had plenty of ability. And that is the case for the American bred Street Boss mare Devious Rumor whose impressive colt first foal by Exceed And Excel finishes off the Fernrigg draft as lot 910. A handsome chestnut with an early foaling date, his dam had enough speed to win between four and six furlongs. His grandam is a half-sister to the multiple stakes winner Coco Belle (Storm Boot) from a family carrying plenty of Stateside blacktype. There is no doubt this colt has impressed Rae-Louise. “He’s a very precocious son of Exceed and Excel and has been a farm favourite since the day he was born. He has a huge personality and gives you 100% in anything you ask of him. He is compact, has great bone and a huge engine, a real Magic Millions yearling.”
So the Fernrigg/Magic Millions 2YO Classic double is on, and should Cusack win the big one what odds a third success in 2023? One thing that is for certain the farm’s seven youngsters heading to the Gold Coast will appeal
to a wide range of buyers.
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