EVERY cloud has a silver lining!
Popular Hawkesbury trainers, husband and wife Mitch and Desiree Kearney, were understandably downcast last week when, through an oversight, they missed the chance to win a $400,000 Pink Bonus for their owners with their filly Sheeza Diva in the $2m Inglis Millennium at Royal Randwick last Saturday.
Sheeza Diva, unfortunately, wasn’t eligible and would have collected the bonus as she beat home the only eligible runner, Melbourne filly Bubion.
But out of a poor situation has come good.
The sun is shining again for Team Kearney.
Thanks to a “good Samaritan”, close friend Daniel Springfield, the couple has just about doubled their stable numbers.
The Kearneys have come home from the Inglis Classic yearling sale with 11 “babies” – one of their own and 10 purchased by Springfield.
Prior to the Classic sale, they had a maximum number of 14 horses at their Hawkesbury base.
Team Kearney purchased a Trapeze Artist filly for $18,000, whilst Springfield splurged $1.345m on the 10 yearlings (five colts and five fillies).
Their first buy was Lot 4 on the opening day (Sunday) and their last was Lot 608 on the final of the three-day sale (Tuesday).
“This came right out of the blue,” Desiree Kearney said.
“Daniel has had shares in horses with syndicators Dynamic and Darby, and only last week paid $20,000 for a 5 per cent in a Darby horse,” Desiree Kearney said.
“He is a good friend of ours, and told us his business is going well and he has recently come into some money.
“He wanted to help us out by buying some nice yearlings, and thus give us a chance to hopefully get some good horses.
“Daniel came out to the Riverside complex last week with us, and we looked at a lot of yearlings.
“We short-listed the ones we were keen to get, and are very happy with all our purchases.
“Daniel’s dearest buy was a Written Tycoon colt (Lot 482) for $360,000. He is a cracker.
“The most we have ever paid for a horse ourselves is $25,000, and generally we have been buying cast-offs online”.
And with some pretty fair success as well.
Such as Lady Shenanigans, who fetched $300,000 as a yearling in 2019 but was put on the market without racing after finishing last in a Rosehill Gardens trial in March 2021.
The Kearneys bought him online the following month for $1750. They have won eight races with the now seven-year-old gelding (he has also been placed 20 times), who has earned just over $314,000 prizemoney.
The bevy of yearlings purchased by Springfield are:
. Capitalist Filly ($70,000);
. Lonhro Colt ($80,000);
. I Am Invincible Colt ($270,000);
. Ole Kirk Filly ($60,000);
. Zousain Filly ($15,000);
. Ole Kirk Colt ($80,000);
. Yes Yes Yes Filly ($240,000);
. Written Tycoon Colt ($360,000);
. Written Tycoon Filly ($70,000);
. So You Think Colt ($100,000).
Team Kearney took their “babies” home last night at the conclusion of the sale, and will take their time breaking them in and educating them.
“They have all had a big week at the sales complex, being pulled in out of their boxes to be inspected,” Desiree Kearney said.
“We will break five in first, and then the other five.
“But we’re not in any hurry. This is a wonderful opportunity and we are going to give these horses every chance.
“Hopefully we can get one or two to the Inglis Millennium next year, and this time we won’t make a mistake.”
Story John Curtis, February 12, 2024 - Pic Inglis - Desiree and Mitch Kearney (third and sixth from left), and Jasmine and Daniel Springfield (first and fifth from left).
Comentarios