The debut victory of Thrill Hunter in the $160,000 Kirkham Plate (1000m) at Randwick on Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes day was a wonderful result for the extended Sledmere Stud family on a number of fronts.
A second-crop daughter of Ole Kirk trained out of the Hawkesbury stable of Terry Croft, Thrill Hunter fought off all challengers over the closing stages to claim one of the early juvenile events of the new 2-year-old Sydney racing season to score by a long neck. In so doing, the promising filly defeated a highly-regarded daughter and son of the ill-fated stallion Wootton Basset (GB) in the form of Pearl of Dubai (2nd) and Defensemen (3rd) raced by Sheikh M B K Al Maktoum and Coolmore & Partners respectively.
Thrill Hunter was raised at Cangon Stud Farm and consigned by Sledmere Stud for the 2025 Australian Easter Yearling Sale where she fetched $280,000. The precocious filly was bred by Mrs Jennifer Mackay, the matriarch of the Mackay family of Cangon Stud Farm, or in other words ‘Treen’ Murphy’s mum.
Closely related to the Group winner and subsequent stallion Stryker, Thrill Hunter made a big impression on winning rider Ash Morgan who stated after the victory: “She has got a lovely attitude, she pinged the gates and pricked her ears. When I put them away she had a float again.”
Morgan added: “She is very tough, and she is a long way from where she’s going to be … it was a good win.”
Needless to say, the victory was a big thrill for everyone at Sledmere Stud and Cangon Stud Farm. The filly showed stakes winning ability in landing an early season 2-year-old event also won in more recent seasons by the likes of subsequent Group winners Tiger Of Malay and Time to Reign — both of which are now young stallions standing at stud.
No stranger to being associated with some very rapid stakes winning fillies, Mrs Mackay has bred and raced a handful of notable black-type performers in her own pale blue colours in the past. Most notably, Katima won the Listed AJC Gimcrack Stakes and Listed Keith Mackay Stakes-LR at two, and the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes at three.
Thrill Hunter’s dam, Seeking Attention, was sent again to Ole Kirk in 2023 and has a yearling full-sister to the Kirkham Plate winner growing out at Sledmere Stud.