Prism
Please wait...

Login

Clarken Racing | Clarken Racing News 57583 Keltons Winning Run With Homebred

Kelton's winning run with homebred

Kelton's winning run with homebred

There aren't many things that John Kelton loves more than backing a winner.

The Racing.com form analyst has built a reputation over several decades as one of the most astute judges when it comes to South Australian racing.

But tipping fast horses doesn't quite offer the same thrill as breeding and racing them - something that Kelton is also well accustomed to.

In recent weeks, his homebred mare Second To Nun has enjoyed a purple patch of form with three wins on end, including metropolitan-grade victories at Thomas Farms Racecourse Murray Bridge and Gawler.

Second To Nun's story is almost 20 years in the making for the hobby breeder, who purchased her grand dam Bella Bellucci when she retired from the track in 2006.

"The grandmother of this horse (Second To Nun) is Bella Bellucci, who was a horse that Jamie Opperman had," Kelton said.

"I didn't mind her pedigree, so near the end of her racing career I got onto him and said that I wouldn't mind breeding from her, so he sold the mare to me after she finished her racing career.

"She was by Flying Spur out of a mare that had some black type and while she was only moderately performed on the track herself, she always showed a little bit and was a nice-looking mare.

"I sent her to a few different stallions and the best horse out of her was Tidy Prophet, who I kept and I'm breeding with now.

"She won nine races including the Port Lincoln Cup and she was placed in the Murray Bridge Cup.

"She had one to the track before Second To Nun, but she only had one start and broke down so we had to retire her.

"Second To Nun went through Inglis Premier, Will (Clarken) bought her, I stayed in and then he sold some shares in her.

"I sent Tidy Prophet to Toronado twice - one of them died as a foal and the other I sold as a weanling.

"She's got a Tagaloa yearling that my family are keeping and we're going to sell shares in privately with Will Clarken."

Second To Nun can make it four wins in a calendar month when she lines up as the $1.65 Sportsbet favourite in a 1600-metre handicap at Morphettville on Saturday.

Kelton said her run of form coincided with the Clarken and Niki O'Shea stable understanding and capitalising on her strengths, including her aptitude for truly run races.

Apprentice Rochelle Milnes has also played a part and remains unbeaten in three rides on the daughter of Akeed Mofeed.

"It's taken a while to work out exactly what suits her and how to ride her but we're obviously starting to work that out now," he said.

"She's extremely similar to her mum in terms of her characteristics and her racing style.

"She's got vertical head carriage and when she gets pulling in slower-run races, she tends to choke down.

"We've combined going up in trip with letting her free roll a bit and she's really liking that.

"If you look through her record, the times that she's run badly have been when we've either restrained her too much or they've been slowly run races.

"We're taking it into our own hands a little bit now and making sure they are genuinely run races by taking her forward.

"The way she's going, we might start identifying some feature races or a bit of black type for her to have a go at at some stage soon."

While Bella Bellucci was one of his earliest forays into thoroughbred breeding, Kelton's first broodmare delivered him a racing dream.

Kelton and Jake Stephens paid $4000 for modestly performed Blevic mare Iota Of Luck, not long after she'd given birth to her first foal by Juene.

The Juene youngster would become Alcopop, a Group 1 winner who ran second in the 2012 Caulfield Cup for Stephens, Kelton and several others.

Iota Of Luck produced several other talented racehorses, including Stakes-placed mare Detox.

"I had a handful of horses with Jake Stephens on his farm and we actually bought the mother of Alcopop," he said.

"Jake and another guy down there on one of the neighbouring properties, Doug Gillam, had a few mares together.

"One of Doug's mares was Iota Of Luck, who I always liked as a race mare, and the opportunity came up to buy her.

"I paid $2000 to buy half of her.

"He first foal was Alcopop, who was already on the ground, and we bred a few more out of her, the best being Detox, who was Stakes-placed.

"Jake ended up owning half of Alcopop, then myself and a couple of my cousins had a share in him, along with Doug, who kept a share as well.

"I hadn't done any breeding prior to that."

Story from Racing.com (James Tzaferis)

RELEVANT NEWS

Do the Math: This Redelva showdown is a beauty

Will Clarken's stable can't fault hype horse Mathematician ahead of Saturday's Listed Redelva Stakes at Morphettville, a race that will see Adelaide's two most exciting three-year-olds collide. Mathematician quickly roused SA racing fans with dominant back-to-back wins earlier this year in his first two outings, including a comfortable two-length triumph on Adelaide Cup Day. This followed Bassett Babe's two spectacular wins across January and February which announced the Andrew Gluyas-trained filly as a potential star on the rise, en route to a third placing in last month's Group 3 Typhoon Tracy (1200m) at Caulfield. It looms as an exciting showdown, but Saturday's Redelva Stakes (1100m) is far from a two-horse race, with an influx of formidable interstate challengers set to provide a measuring stick for the pair. "We haven't been able to fault him since Adelaide Cup Day," Clarken's racing manager, Lachlan Weekley, said of Mathematician. "He had a couple of quiet days in the paddock after that. "He trialled last Thursday around the Parks track, and trialled really nice there." The son of Lucky Vega galloped well on Tuesday ahead of his first stakes tilt. Mathematician is owned by breeding giant Yulong Investments. "We'll get a good guide to where he sits in the food chain on Saturday," he said. "He's drawn out a bit (12) – which we don't mind – hopefully there will be a bit of pace in the race and on the Morphettville big track, hopefully he's storming late. "He's travels well in a race, he's happy to switch off. "He's still pretty new and learning his craft a little bit but he's certainly got plenty of talent." Weekley acknowledged that a clash between the state's two hype horses was great for racing in SA. "It's certainly good for the state," he said. "Bassett Babe, she's been very impressive, and was down on the wrong part of the track at Caulfield last start. "The race doesn't end there. Tycoon Star is a pretty solid colt, Signature Scent was impressive the other day, Job Done (as well) – there's depth there. "It's going to be a good test for them all. We'll get a real good guide as to where our horse lies beyond Saturday." If it all goes to plan, the next road leads to the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m) on Sangster-Oaks Day, while the Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m) on May 9 remains a possibility. "If he ran really well, that's the natural progression (Tobin Bronze)," he said. "They go two weeks, two weeks and two weeks. So you've just got to go one run at a time. "At the end of the day, it's only his first prep and he's still hopefully got a bit more to come. He'll tell us what to do." Kayla Crowther, who rode Mathematician on debut, will resume her partnership with the gelding in Saturday's Redelva. "He's a real racehorse … he's got a lot of ability," Weekley said. "He might be one of those horses that if they go quick, he can storm over the top of them, or if they go a little bit slow, he's got that good sprint – it leaves you in a pretty good position. "We've got a lot of respect for the opposition on Saturday – it'll be a good test."   Story from Punters.com (Tyler Maund) Photo Makoto Kaneko

Read more

Clarken mare retired, promising stablemate making comeback

Will Clarken has retired stakes-winning mare Prairie Flower, while promising stablemate Cicala is returning to the stable following an injury lay-off.Stakes-winning mare Prairie Flower has been retired after finishing seventh in last Saturday's Hills Railway Stakes (1100m) at Oakbank. The daughter of Star Turn won eight races including the 2025 Durbridge Stakes (1100m) – her final race win. A fast-finishing speedster at her best, the Will Clarken-trained mare finished fifth in last year's Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m), and netted $621,115 in prizemoney across 52 starts. Owned by Bell View Park Stud, the six-year-old mare will be sold at the upcoming National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast in May. "She came through the Railway fine, but she's been retired," Clarken's racing manager, Lachlan Weekley, said. "She'll go up to the National Broodmare Sale and be sold – she's done a wonderful job. "She's a stakes winner, and she would always run pretty solid races. "They are terrific owners of ours Bell View Park." Promising stakes-winning mare Cicala is on the comeback trail from injury. A winner of four from five starts, Cicala turned heads last winter with a hat-trick of impressive wins, including the Lightning Stakes (1050m). The four-year-old Tamasa mare won a Benchmark 82 (1200m) at Morphettville in August, but hasn't been sighted since, due to a suspensory injury. "In that last run, our thought was that she probably put her foot in a hole. The track was pretty ordinary, as it was a wet track that had copped a lot of racing," he said. "We think she might have put her foot in a hole and done some damage to a suspensory ligament. "She's not far off returning to our stable. She's done some rehab at Lee Everson's for her injury. "She looks amazing that mare, and the rehab's going smoothly. "She'll be back in our care in the next couple of weeks. "Lee Everson couldn't be happier with her, he's a master at these scenarios – so hopefully we can get her back." Story from Punters.com (Tyler Maund)

Read more

Tough galloper claims first stakes win at 46th start

Will Clarken will consider an Adelaide Cup tilt after Komachi finally broke through for a maiden stakes win in the Premier’s Plate at Morphettville at start No.46. Eight-year-old gelding Komachi is racing in career-best form and on Saturday, and rewarded connections with a maiden win at stakes level at Morphettville. At start No.46, trainer Will Clarken gave Komachi his first shot at a Listed race and he duly saluted, proving too tough for his rivals in the Premier's Plate (2006m). It was not an easy watch for Clarken with the son of Kingman looking under siege the whole way down the straight, but he showed plenty of toughness to hold all challengers off. Clarken, who has had Komachi in his stable since April last year, was confident he had the horse as fit as he could and was pleased to see him cling on for the win. "He's been a good, fun horse," Clarken said "He's just had a terrific week, I've upped his work, so he basically goes on the treadmill every day and then goes to the beach for half an hour." Saturday's victory has the Sellicks Hill-based conditioner pondering a tilt at the Adelaide Cup, but he admits he'll need to pump a bit more work into him to run out the two miles. "We'll look to push on towards an Adelaide Cup," Clarken said. "The level of work he's copped to get to the 2000m is pretty high, but he's by Kingman, and he's got a great pedigree and a big engine." Leading jockey Rochelle Milnes was on board for the ride and was able to navigate from a tricky barrier to get across and lead. Clarken was all praise for the ride with Milnes, having just her second sit on the galloper. "It was a really good ride from a sticky spot early," Clarken said. "She took her time and got him to the right spot, and it paid off." Jockey Kayla Crowther is the regular rider of Komachi, but was on board Crimson Vine for Saturday's feature and nearly got the job done, finishing a narrow second. Milnes gave plenty of credit to Crowther for the job she had done on Komachi in the lead-up to the $120,000 contest and said she could feel her looming late. "All credit to Kayla for the work she's done on him," Milnes said. "I could feel her coming late, and she wouldn't have wanted me to win, so it was good to hold her off. "Gosh, he's a hard ride though."Story from Punters.com (Jeff Hatton)

Read more

8 Ellis Ave Morphettville SA 5043

bloodstock@clarkenracing.com

Copyright (c) 2021 Clarken Racing. All rights reserved.