Harley’n’Rose wins on debut at Gawler Our Owner of the Month award winner for January is Dennis Gardniner, part owner of Harley’n’Rose.  Dennis talked to SAROA about his introduction to racing and his horse ownership experience culminating in Harley’n’Rose. Dennis recalls attending the races with his father when he was a youngster and maintaining an interest in racing which led finally to him becoming involved in ownership starting with Mint to Be with Chris Bieg. Shortly after Dennis took shares in several horses with Mark Minervini notably Martinique and even the more successful Mica Lil The Mica Lil story is a great one as she was a $20,000 purchase from WA where she has won four times on country tracks. Mark was attracted to her because she was by Testa Rossa, a sire whose progeny Mark has previously had great success with. She won her first start in Adelaide and two starts later ran third in the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes. She was sold as a broodmare for $220,000 thus providing a great result for Dennis and the other connections. When Mark moved to Newcastle, Dennis preferred to have horse racing in South Australia and bought a share in Knightstown with Gordon Richards. Knightstown was quite successful and while visiting him spelling at Summerset Park, Dennis spotted his half-brother, a foal by Holler, also bred by Rob and Maureen McBryde. That foal turned out to be Harley’n’Rose and he ended up being purchased as a yearling by the Gordon Richards/Damien Moyle stable and Dennis was more than happy to grab a share in him. Harley’n’Rose saluted at his first start and earned a Racing Rewards bonus for connections and looks to have plenty of ability. As noted above he is by Holler out of the Hawk Wind mare Zaraya Rose. The dam has also produced Knightstown, as mentioned above, (by Valentia) winner of over $200,000, and Saccharo (by Magnus) winner of 7 races and over $330,000, amongst others. The grand dam is the Eagling mare Summer Magic whose progeny include Surmato (by Belloto), Brewski (by Bel Esprit) and Hong Kong winner Hong Kong Gem (by King of Kings) Congratulations and best wishes to Dennis as SAROA owner of the month.

Diamonds after her Xmas Handicap win. Our Owner of the Month award winner for December is Tim Lillie, owner of Diamonds. We talked to Tim about his involvement in  racing and about Diamonds. Tim has been around horses for many years, initially with eventing and equestrian horses. His first venture into racing was with the speedy but ill-fated Written Tycoon filly Magic Missy. Tim was particularly impressed with the horses produced by Woodside Park Stud which led to him purchasing Diamonds. His commitment to thoroughbred racing has increased and he now owns, or part owns,  around 30 racehorses with a long term interest in breeding, thus most of his more recent acquisitions have been fillies. An obvious aim here is to gain black type with those fillies to increase the value of the progeny. Diamonds has certainly helped with that winning two listed races, the City of Marion and the Xmas Handicap on the trot before venturing to Queensland for a tilt at the Magic Millions fillies and mares race. Trained by Chris Bieg, Diamonds has now won eight races with another 9 minor placing for earnings of $380,000. Diamonds is by Rich Enuff out of a Redoute’s Choice mare Balsamico. The dam was lightly raced winning 1 from twelve, in the breeding barn she has also produced Dosh Dash (by Dash for Cash) dam of Group 3 winner Written Dash (by Written Tycoon); Despacito (by All American) winner of 3 races and over $150,000; but Diamonds is definitely the standout. The granddam Laudemio (by Alzao) won the listed Cadbury Roses Stakes and has also left Admirelle (by General Nediym) who is the dam of six-time group winner Sizzling (by Snitzel), his wins include the Group 1 T.J. Smith Classic and as a stallion has sired a group winner in Secret Blaze; Trafalgar Miss (by War Pass) producer of stakes winner Bonaparte (by Pierro). Laudemio was bred by SA based Vintage Bloodstock and is from the might Estate Label ( by Without Fear) dam of two other  group winners, namely Loving Cup (by Bluebird)  a three time listed winner and Vintage Dance (by Salmon Leap) herself dam of the five time listed winner Pittance (by Snippets). Diamonds looks to have a bright future both on the track and in the breeding barn and we look forward to more success from her and from Tim’s other horses.

Second To Nun winning at Morphettville Our Owner of the Month award winner for November is Cherylyn Cleland, part owner of Second To Nun. Cherylyn provided these details about the racing story for husband Trevor and herself. Trevor and Cherie Cleland became part owners of racehorses for the first time, in June 2021. Trevor had been involved with horses at a young age, playing polo cross on Yorke Peninsula and visiting country show competitions in show jumping etc, so it was a natural progression it seemed. Out Of Aflica, trained by Will Clarken, and Celtic Vader, trained by Richard and Chantelle Jolly, were our first purchases and we had early success with both horses winning at Morphettville in late 2021 as 2-year-olds. Out of Aflica sustained a knee injury that December and hasn’t raced since but will hopefully be back racing in early 2023. Meanwhile, Celtic Vader raced numerous times, and while no longer in winning form, was still a joy to own and attend race days to watch. She was sold interstate mid-year and we now have an interest in another Jolly filly called Ladies Lunch (a girls only filly). Further purchases in January and March 2022 were with Will Clarken and there is a colt by Shamus Award out of Miss Ethics yet to be named, and a filly, Second To Nun which has had early success with a win at Morphettville in October, at her second start. We try to attend every time our horses race, as we enjoy the atmosphere of the mounting yard, meeting other co-owners etc, especially with the helpful and friendly staff, including Will, Richard, Lachie and Kate, and going to the races is much more enjoyable now that COVID issues have eased. We attended an information session with Claire Lindop early one morning at Morphettville, as well as the Magic Millions yearling sales and other special events at Morphettville but despite membership of SAROA have yet to attend any of those events due to living in the country and the tyranny of distance.  While semi-retired from life as a livestock agent, Trevor is still heavily involved with farming and helps his son with the sheep and cropping activities. We live at Bluff Beach on Yorke Peninsula, so fishing is also enjoyed, while Cherie’s happy place is the craft chair most afternoons. When not attending the races in person, we try to spend Saturday afternoons following channel 78 and having a few small bets, so racing is certainly a pleasure in our lives. Second To Nun is by Akeed Mofeed out of a Keep The Faith mare Tidy Prophet, bred by Racing.com form analyst John Kelton who retains an interest in the filly. The dam was successful on the track winning nine races and placing a further eleven times with earnings just shy of $250,000. The mare has only had one other starter so far which has only raced once. The granddam Bella Belluci by Flying Spur has also left six-time winner Breaker Of Chains (by Good Journey) and his full brother Defining Moment who won four in Hong Kong and returned to Australia where he finished racing as Mussoorie Magic The third dam Morning Lover (by Daybreak Lover) was a listed winner in Brisbane. Congratulations to the Clelands and best wishes for their racing pursuits.

Our Owner of the Month award winner for October is Kate Dansie, part owner of Magic Phantom who won three in a row during October – Kate wrote this for SAROA: My introduction to racing started in 2004 with Blevics Jewel and Blevics Pride. (Both as the names suggest by Blevic and both multiple winners) With my husband Ian Brown we have had many horses since with good success. We enjoyed our time breeding having two successful foals though we lost both mares within two weeks of each other which was very sad. Casper’s Ghost won his first two Metro races here and after an offer we could not refuse he was sold and raced in Hong Kong doing very well winning twice. We had been lucky previously to have horses that have won two races in a row though never three. During October 22 our 6-year-old Magic Phantom had three runs winning all three taking his record to 9 wins, 1 second and 8 Thirds. By Magic Albert he was purchased at the Adelaide Sales for $25,000 in 2018 and has since been trained by Jon O’Connor. Jon’s new apprentice from Hong Kong, Britney Wong rode Magic Phantom in his past three wins. Magic Phantom’s last win was a milestone for us bringing up our 100th winner. The day was held on Gawler Cup Day and with our win there previously with Boristar in 2014 winning the Cup it was wonderful to win the sprint race with Magic Phantom on the 21st October 22. As Kate mentions Magic Phantom is by Magic Albert, he is out of the Lonhro mare Matignon and has won almost $200,000. The dam herself was more than handy as a racehorse winning three and earning over $110,000. Matignon’s only other named progeny is Fleet Dreams (by Nostradamus) who is also still racing and has so far won five and $64,000 Magic Phantom’s grand dam is Palais (by Palace Music) who won over $120,000, other prominent progeny of the grand dam include Listowel (by Strategic) who is the dam of 8 time winner Sir Ottavio (by Octagonal). Congratulations to Kate and Ian, we look forward to further successes for Magic Phantom and their other horses.

Daring Move winning on September 24th Our Owner of the Month award winner for September is Mike Shephard, part owner of Daring Move who won twice during September – Mike wrote this for SAROA: I first became indirectly involved with thoroughbred ownership through my wife who had great success with a Mark Kavanagh trained mare Divine Madonna back in the early 2000s.  Chance had it that I had the opportunity to venture into ownership with my first share in a gelding, Maduro, from the same dam hoping to achieve similar success.  While only having managed 1 city win and 3 placings in 11 starts before being moved on, I had been bitten by the bug.  Since then, I’ve been involved in about 25 or so horses, both as a part-owner and as a member of a syndicate (which I manage) with the vast majority achieving multiple city wins.  It’s certainly a thrill watching your horse reach the winning post ahead of the field, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a Maiden win at Strathalbyn or a Listed win interstate, it’s all very enjoyable sharing the excitement with all of the other owners. The attraction to buy into Daring Move was that she is a full sister to another horse I was part-owner of in All Banter, a mare by I’m All The Talk out of Bantry Bay.  All Banter had a fantastic career notching up 7 wins and 3 minor placings from 15 starts, including 2 Listed wins in the WJ Adams Stakes at Caulfield in 2021 and The Railway Stakes at Oakbank earlier this year.  She has now been retired (due to injury) and has embarked on a career hopefully breeding future local champions. The decision to buy into Daring Move was not a hard one as the owners of All Banter were offered first right of refusal on the new filly.  Daring Move is a 4-year-old mare who is trained by Richard and Chantelle Jolly (who have trained all but 2 of the horses I have been involved with) and has only just embarked on her racing career with six starts.  However, of those six starts she has managed four wins and a placing including the back-to-back wins during September.  Her first win in March was extra special as All Banter also saluted at the same meeting!  We are all very excited with the possibility that she could follow in the footsteps of her big sister, hopefully bringing up many more wins. I’d encourage anyone remotely interested in getting involved in racing to do just that.  Take the step, get in touch with one of our great local trainers and get your feet wet.  It doesn’t have to be an expensive exercise especially if you get a group of like-minded friends together and buy a small share to start with to test the waters. There are two things that I always point out to those interested in getting involved.  Firstly, treat ownership just like you would any other hobby; do it for the enjoyment.  If you go in expecting to make money, you’re in it for the wrong reasons and are likely to be disappointed.  On the other hand, windfalls are exciting and can be very rewarding.  Secondly, even if you only have a small share; 2 ½%, 5%, 10% or whatever, you still get 100% of the fun and excitement. As Mike mentions Daring Move is by I’m All The Talk, a stallion by Stratum who stood in WA for six seasons but he is now deceased. Daring Move’s record stands at six starts for four wins and a third with earnings of almost $95,000. Her dam Bantry Bay (by Tale Of The Cat) was a more than handy race mare winner three including the Group 3 SA Sires Produce Stakes and over $220,000. Her progeny include the handy Bantry Belle (by Danehill Express); Bayatorio (by Oratorio) winner of over $240,000; his full brother Bomber Bay and full sister Our Time Will Come who earned over $150,000; and another full brother Lord Greystoke earned over $130,000; as well as the All Banter and Daring Move and two more unraced horses both by The Lot. She has been very much an above average broodmare. The grand dam Eastern Awe (by Persian Heights) also left eleven times winner Rosstown (by Naturalism). One interesting note is the Mike echoes the thoughts of several of our recent winners that race horse ownership is best entered into like any other hobby, for the enjoyment it brings rather than as a money-making exercise. We are sure that Mike and wife Marilyn will continue to gain great enjoyment from the horses they own including the very promising Daring Move.

Mystic Storm winning her maiden Our Owner of the Month award winner for August is Eric Kennewell, part owner of Mystic Storm, Eric shared this with us: My involvement in the joy of horse ownership began in 1980’s with my first luckless investment being Lady Be Sharp, her only claim to fame being was dumping the jockey in the mounting yard first start. For next 20yrs we had very moderate success but our patience and persistence paid off when my sister-in-law (Lynette Day) became involved in breeding. She purchased Bronquill (in foal) and the subsequent foal raced as Saratoga Dreams, a dual city winner. She also bred Willego who was named after my family (Williams) and epitomised the reason horse ownership is so rewarding, in his 99 starts he was a great money spinner and gave us our “Melbourne Cup” with success in the Mt Gambier cup and winning the Country Horse of the Year award. The Mystic Storm involvement was a result of Jimellie (Willego’s full sister) who we also raced but had an injury filled career with limited success. At present Jon O’Connor has Mystic Storm showing promise over short distances, I am confident with maturity she can follow the bloodlines and get out to 1600/1800m. My belief is based on Stormy’s breeding lines going back to her great grandmother being a Melbourne Cup winner (Empire Rose) and her family racing history indicates middle distances. In summary the biggest fulfilment in ownership is that you get to share the excitement and atmosphere with family and friends and to experience the ups and downs of horse racing. My best advice to potential owners is to treat race horse ownership as a hobby and enjoy the ride that the racing industry gives you. We all “Live in Hope”   Mystic Storm (by Ambidexter) has at the time of writing raced 12 times for one win and 3 minor placings with earnings of almost $40,000. As Eric tells us she is out of the Belvic mare Jimellie, who raced 14 times for one win. She had only one other progeny wich did not race. Mystic Storm’s granddam is the Gold and Ivory mare Black Spectre whose race career was undistinguished. As Eric mentions, she was the dam of Willego (by Blevic) the veteran of 99 starts highlighted by his Mt Gambier cup win and stakes earnings of just shy of $180,000. The connection to the mighty Empire Rose goes back to Mystic Storm’s fourth dam the New Zealand mare Summerosa (by Oakville) who was the granddam of Empire Rose (by Sir Tristam). We are in total agreement with Eric’s comments on the joys of race horse ownership and the view that owning a share in a racehorse should be treated as an enjoyable hobby to be shared with friends and family. We wish Eric and his fellow owners the best of luck with Mystic Storm and with the other horses they share.

Zoffala winning at Murray Bridge Our Owner of the Month award winner for July is Jeff Gould part owner of Zoffala, Jeff provided this note about Zoffala and his racing journey: About 5 years ago I purchased a share in Zoffala with a few mates, we punt on Saturdays at the pub. He was one of Tony McEvoy’s sales buys. He showed good staying ability from the start. He has given us lots of fun and we have hopes for more to come. Zoffala’s success has enabled the purchase of shares in two more hopefuls, a Tavistock gelding Tavabeel, we have high hopes for, he is also trained by Tony McEvoy and a Winning Rupert gelding, Mystic Galaxy trained by Travis Doudle. My first venture into horse racing was when I was 21. With a couple of mates from our footy club we purchased a horse called Hartbalm. He was a very speedy horse and won an Oakleigh Plate and other good races in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. You can see why I was hooked after that. I had a hiatus from racing in between due to health reasons. What a start to a racehorse ownership venture to pick up a share in Hartbalm, the My Heart stallion won, as Jeff says, the Oakleigh Plate, and also the Spring Stakes in Adelaide and the H.G. Bolton International in Perth. The Bolton is now a listed race; the Spring Stakes a Group 3 and the Oakleigh Plate is of course is Group 1. Hartbalm went on to have a short five year career at stud and left the multiple stakes winner Princely Heart who included the Group 1 Galaxy amongst his wins. It was a long time between drinks for Jeff but Zoffala has proved be a very handy return for Jeff to the ownership ranks. He has now won four races from 17 and amassed earnings of over $110,000. The Zoffany gelding is out of a Woodman mare Woodala winner of six from 34 and earnings of over $180,000. At stud Woodala has left only one other top performer River Rubicon by Rubick who has won five of nine and earned $220,000. Unlike Zoffala who is staying bred, River Rubicon’s wins have been over sprint distances. The second dam Darmala (by Danehill) who has produced nothing of note. The third dam Rosecay (by Marscay) is a different story having left four times stakes winner Majestically (by Maroof). Majestically won up to Group 3 level and in total won 10 races with another 17 minor placings to earn a touch more than $675,000. Rosecay spent several years at stud in New Zealand where both Majestically and Darmala were born. Her other progeny include Triattica (by Centaine) dam of a three times stakes winner in Demerger (by Saithor) who included an Adelaide Cup amongst his successes as well as the Dylan Thomas gelding Sir Dylan a perennial placegetter who had the one win but added eight seconds and 16 thirds to earn just over $80,000 from fifty starts. Jeff’s new acquistions are Tavabeel, who is by Tavistock out of a Zabeel mare Jessabeel, he has already won one from six and is obviously bred to get a journey. On the other hand, Mystic Galaxy is by Winning Rupert out of the Fastnet Rock mare Andromeda who is also dam of the handy Japery (by Sizzling). We wish Jeff the best with all three horses.

Smiling Assassin winning at Morphettville Our Owner of the Month award winners for June are Wendy and Brian Daken, owners of Smiling Assassin. We talked to Wendy about their involvement in racing and about Smiling Assassin. Wendy and Brian’s interest in racing began when a friend of Brian’s brought his horse Our Kazz from New Zealand to Adelaide and captured the listed Port Adelaide Guineas. After holding smaller shares in horses, they purchased the Street Cry mare who became Wendy Ellen in their own right. She started her career with David Balfour before running her last races with Leon Macdonald. She eventually won twice and placed on a further fifteen occasions earning over $50,000. Wendy Ellen then went to stud where she has produced three winners in Divine Weaver (by Artie Schiller), Devine Tapestry (by Dylan Thomas) and the Rebel Raider gelding Smiling Assassin. The most successful of the three, Smiling Assassin has now won 5 races and over $175,000 from 45 starts, he has also been placed on a further 16 occasions. For a variety of reasons, the gelding has moved around stables with his initial three wins coming during his time with Wayne Francis and Glen Kent. Since landing with Garret Lynch, he has enjoyed great success winning two including a metropolitan benchmark 78 and placing in the other three starts with Garret. The most recent wins have been with Eran Boyd in the saddle. Wendy Ellen has another three progeny that have not yet raced. The granddam is Supernal (by Chief’s Crown) whose progeny included the handy mare Our Sharapova (by Fasliyev) who is in turn the dam of the promising Nicconi gelding Aston Rapova already winner of five for the Francis/Kent stable. Anther of the progeny of the granddam is the Fastnet Rock gelding What Happenedhenry winner of nine races and almost $280,000. At the time of writing Smiling Assassin heads to Morphettville with the chance of taking his winnings over $200,000. We wish Wendy and Brian the best of luck with him and with the other progeny of Wendy Ellen and her daughters.

Our Owner of the Month award winner for May is Mill Park Stud part-owner of Foxy Frida. We talked to Mill Park principal Peter Watson about Mill Park and Foxy. Peter’s father-in-law bought and developed Mill Park’s Meningie property in the 1960’s where it was initially a sheep and cattle property. Over time the cattle made way for thoroughbred horses and the Mill Park breeding story began. The property has seen some lovely horses over the years, with the likes of Divine Madonna and a string of horses in the ownership of SAROA member Harry Perks who has had recent wins with Pimms Party and Legless Lady. Mill Park enjoyed a great Adelaide carnival with Foxy Frida winning the listed Centaurea Stakes and Away Game following a second in the Oakleigh Plate with a second in the SAROA Sangster Stakes, both Group 1’s. Peter explained to us that Mill Park handle their broodmares slightly differently to some other local studs. Mill Park bring their mares back from interstate studs after a 40-day positive test usually with foal at foot and send them back interstate in July to foal down and then be serviced again, all being well. The reasoning is that foaling down can take place at the stud where the service will take place under conditions that are more closely monitored. Mill Park has for some time returned excellent sales results around the country supported by the performance of their progeny on the race track. Foxy Frida (by Foxwedge) has begun her racing career very well with a record of 6 wins and 6 seconds from 16 starts and earnings of more than $550,000. As well as the Centaurea Stakes, she ran second in the listed Queen of the South stakes and won the Gold Bracelet at Bendigo for the Andrew Noblett stable. Foxy’s dam Family Portrait (by Excellent Art) is also the dam of eight-time winner Ritratto (by Fiorente) who has amassed over $280,000 for the Mick Huxtable stable. Peter tells us there are two good looking filly half-sisters back at Mill Park. The granddam is Amen Ruby (by Rubiton) whose other progeny include the Choisir mare Angel of Hope, who is the dam of Angel’s Wish (by Magnus) an eight-time winner and the promising Hope At Hand (by Impending); as well Amenzel (by Snitzel) winner of 6 and over $125,000 The third dam is Golden Prayer a Group 2 winner by Amen Brother, who left 10-time winner Pray in Vain (by Kenvain); the Umatilla mare Act of Devotion who is dam of El Milagro (by Encosta Da Lago) who is in turn the dam of two stakes winners, Inner Time and Tequila Time; as well as Pardees (by Rubiton) dam of dual stakes winner Pardoe. We are confident that Mill Park will continue to be a source of quality thoroughbreds congratulations to Peter and the rest of the Watson family.

Helen Jolly wins our owner of the month for April with Sanblas and Morvada Sanblas winning at Morphettville Helen talks to Richard about Sanblas and Morvada and the Jolly racing story. Helen shared this with us about Sanblas Sanblas takes his name from a group of islands in Panama where his breeder Robert McIntosh lives. Robert is a lifelong friend who we met when living on the farm at Dingabledinga while he worked for Dalgety in Mount Compass. We have been racing horses together for more than fifty years. Sanblas who is by Casino Prince out of Canny Me, came to into our Morphettville stable to begin his career but he proved to be a real handful so he was sent  to Heather and Graham Lehmann at Murray Bridge for his first preparation. They were able to get him to win his maiden at Naracoorte and then after a short spell took him to Darwin where he was able to win the Northern Territory Derby. On his return to SA, he was spelled and then was transferred back to Morphettville with Peter (husband Peter Jolly) taking over the training. During this prep he was able to win at Strathalbyn, Murray Bridge and then Morphettville. He was being set for the Onkaparinga Cup and a possible return to Darwin for the Cup but unfortunately went amiss and has gone out for a long spell. Sanblas has so far won five races with two seconds and two thirds from 13 starts and has earnt stakes money of almost $190,000. His dam Canny Me (by as the name would suggest Canny Lad) was a four-time winner and has also produced Androssa (by Testa Rossa) dam in turn of Barossa Rosa (by Adelaide) who has so far won 4 races and almost $300,000 The granddam is the Scenic mare Vista Vincere also produced Jemison (by Commands) who in turn produced the Group 1 Hong Kong Champions Mile winner Contentment Helen along with Peter and with Robert McIntosh have also had recent success with the old warhorse Morvada. With his win in the listed City of Adelaide handicap he took his wins to 9 as well as 21 minor placings and his earnings are now a tad short of $800,000. Morvada is by Mossman out of the Carnegie mare Carnegie Ministrel, and has so far given his dam four stakes race wins spread over 6 years. As an eight-year-old he is still tough as they come and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Morvada is the highlight of his dam’s stud performances with the Wonderful World gelding Gotyacovered being the next best. The granddam Fiddle De De (by Palace Music) also left a stakes winner in Scarlet Vanhara who won a listed race in New Zealand. Helen is the matriarch of the Jolly training dynasty with grand daughter Chantelle joining her dad Richard in the training ranks with Helen’s other son David and husband Peter also trainers. SAROA wishes the family continued success.