There was much to celebrate at Sledmere Stud over the weekend following the running of the $500,000 Inglis Banner (RL) at Moonee Valley last Saturday which saw the victory of farm graduate Arkansaw Kid at his first career start.
The very first runner for Darley shuttle stallion Harry Angel (Ire) in Australia, Arkansaw Kid won the valuable contest in determined fashion, closing late to earn his connections a first prize of $302,000 — plus a $200,000 Pink Bonus!
Born, reared and raised at Sledmere Stud, Arkansaw Kid was bred by long-standing client Philippa Duncan who stayed in the ownership of the precocious 2-year-old when sold to Lindsay Park Racing for $190,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale earlier this year. The gifted colt is now raced by a ladies ownership group assembled by Lindsay Park stalwart Jenny McAlpine.
Speaking on behalf of the winning training combination of Ben and JD Hayes, Ben was quoted as saying: “We always liked him at Classic, both JD and I really liked him but when you buy them you never really expect they’re going to come out and win $500,000 on debut, but he has.
“I’m very impressed with this horse. He’s always done everything right and what I really liked about him today was he was so relaxed, he paraded beautifully, he was just a gentleman. He actually pulled a front and back shoe during the race, so that gives the win even more credit.’’
Besides the fact that Sledmere Stud had been responsible for another ‘black-type’ performer and one which had earned $500,000 for his owners at start No. 1, the result was very well welcomed by the farm in more ways than one.
A long-term boarder at Sledmere Stud, Arkansaw Kid’s dam Florabella produced a chestnut full-sister to Saturday’s Inglis Banner winner in September 2021 and that filly is already confirmed as a member of the farm’s 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale draft next February.
Furthermore, a full-sister to Mexico — runner-up to Arkansaw Kid in Saturday’s Inglis Banner — is also to be offered by the Sledmere Stud sales team in the very same 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale consignment heading to Riverside Stables early next year.
FOOTNOTE: Florabella was sent to Harry Angel (Ire) for a third consecutive season in 2021 and produced a full-brother to Arkansaw Kid on the first of this month at Sledmere Stud.