Deane Martin Salutes in Championship Prelude

Deane Martin looks to have an exciting future ahead of him for a jubilant bunch of owners after he took out the $50,000 Listed Mad Butcher Championship Prelude (2100m) at Ellerslie yesterday.

Already a winner at Ellerslie, Deane Martin (Keeper x Ela Nimue, by Zabeel) came into the race off the back of a last start third and, putting up a tough staying performance, showed that twice past the winning post was no problem. 

Put to sleep three back on the inside by jockey Sam Spratt, Deane Martin came between runners into the straight and finished too strongly for wayward leader Our Kingpin (Shinko King) who finished third. Central Districts raider King Kamada (Shinko King) came from well back in the field to finish second.

Being the first black-type middle distance test for this year’s three-year-olds, Deane Martin showed that the extra 300m of the Group 1 New Zealand Derby in March should be no problem.  A decision now has to be made to see if he backs up in two weeks’ time in the Group 2 Championship Stakes or heads to the paddock for a short rest before the Derby.

Raced by an ecstatic group of owners that includes trainer Bruce Wallace, Simon Doull, and Wallace’s racing manager Allan Peard, Deane Martin was passed in by Cambridge Stud at the Premier Sale in 2011. He is now the winner of two races and has placed in a further three in his six starts this season, with over $46,000 in stakes to his credit.

Keeper will be well represented in the upcoming National Yearling Sale Series with 15 yearlings entered in the Premier Sale. Lot 28 is amongst the highlights, being a half-sister to the promising Irish Rebel (Danehill Dancer) who himself made $800,000 to the bid of Te Akau’s David Ellis at the 2011 Premier Sale.

In the Select Sale, Keeper will be represented by 38 yearlings. With the Select Sale already producing this year’s Cox Plate winner Ocean Park (Thorn Park), the sale will again provide buyers with a range of yearlings by proven and emerging sires. 

Lot 470 is a daughter of Zabeel mare Balbeel and is from the same family as Group 1 winner Nimue who is the grand dam of Deane Martin. Lot 878 is also another exciting lot with the yearling being a three-quarter brother to arguably Keeper’s best mare in Keep the Peace.

Another nine Keeper yearlings are catalogued in the 2013 Festival Sale giving buyers a unique opportunity to access his stock at a range of different levels.