For the second time this Spring a feature 2-year-old race staged in Melbourne was won by a Sledmere Stud sales graduate raced out of the pre-eminent Lindsay Park training establishment of the Hayes family. Saturday’s time honoured $175,000, Listed, Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m) witnessed Little Brose (by Per Incanto) run out an impressive winner when producing a strong finishing burst in the Caulfield straight to land one of the premium pre-Christmas juvenile events on the Australian racing calendar.
Runner-up in the Group 3 Maribyrnong Stakes at Flemington at his only previous outing, the Ben and JD Hayes trained youngster scored by a clear margin from the Godolphin-raced Cylinder, with Gangitano claiming third on debut. Little Brose thus joined an honour roll that includes the name of high-profile Rosemont Stud stallion Hanseatic (winner in 2019/20) and none other than current weight-for-age superstar Anamoe, successful in the race during his juvenile season of 2020/21.
Speaking after the win, co-trainer JD Hayes remarked: “He really trained on nicely out of that good run [at Flemington] when the leader won and he came from last. Just the way he was parading [today] he was much more professional.”
JD went on to explain that while Little Brose is a graduate of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and therefore fully eligible to contest the 2YO Classic in January, the exciting colt is to be aimed at the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes in February instead. As he put it: “We do feel like he’d really hold his own in a race like the Blue Diamond.”
Little Brose was sold by Sledmere Stud at the 2022 Magic Millions Yearling Sale for $200,000 to Lindsay Park Racing. He was one of only two colts in the auction by the New Zealand-based stallion Per Incanto, a resident sire at Little Avondale increasingly featuring in black-type events in Australia and Hong Kong.
Born, reared and raised at Sledmere Stud, Little Brose became the fourth 2-year-old black-type winner for Per Incanto whose total number of stakes winners now amounts 26 headlined by dual Group 1 — VRC Sprint Classic and VRC Newmarket Handicap — winner Roch ‘N’ Horse (NZ).
Earlier in the Melbourne Spring Carnival, Ben and JD Hayes saddled-up Arkansaw Kid to win the $500,000 Inglis Banner on the W.S. Cox Plate program at Moonee Valley. The first crop son of Harry Angel (Ire) was also foaled, reared, raised and sold by Sledmere Stud.