Half-Brother to Kirramosa at NZ RTR

The kiwi bred, owned and trained Kirramosa (NZ) (Alamosa) scored a decisive victory against the best staying three-year-old fillies in Australia in the Group 2 A$300,000 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday.

Kirramosa (NZ) winning the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.

The Wellfield Lodge bred and owned filly has a half-brother by the Stud’s resident sire Road to Rock in the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale catalogued at Lot 12.

Trained by John Sargent, who has stables in Matamata in and at Randwick in, Kirramosa was beaten into second by the barest of margins at her last start in Sydney.

The Karaka Select Sale graduate was stepping up to the 2000m for the first time with Sargent publicly announcing his confidence that the filly would handle the trip.

Ridden by Tommy Berry, the daughter of Alamosa was dropped to the tail of the field in a strongly run staying event for the fillies. Berry sat patiently and waited until the field had straightened up on the long Flemington straight to produce his mount.

With the leaders tiring, Kirramosa unleashed a brilliant turn-of-foot to swoop down the centre of the track and race away from the field to score by 1.3 lengths over race favourite May’s Dream.

The Wakeful Stakes is the traditional lead-up race for the Group 1 VRC Oaks that is to be run this Thursday with Kirramosa taking over favouritism from May’s Dream in the showpiece event.

“It was a fantastic win,” said Sargent. “She has had good form here in Australia and has run some very good races.

“We have just been waiting to set her up in distance and I was very happy how the race turned out.

“She will run in the Group 1 VRC Oaks on Thursday, she has come through the race very well and I am very happy with her so she is ready to go.

“She is very laid back, much like her sire Alamosa, and it is good advertising for the sire especially to win a big Group 2 on Derby day, the biggest day of racing in Australia.”

The three-year-old started her career with a win on debut at her home track in New Zealand as a two-year-old before running fourth in the Group 1 Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes and was then transferred to Sargent’s Sydney base.

Sargent produced Kirramosa to win at her second start in Australia with victory coming at Newcastle. The filly had two runs in Sydney before Saturday’s win, both efforts indicating a step up in trip would be appreciated.

She has now accumulated three wins from her seven starts and earned A$229,328 for Wellfield Lodge who own the filly in partnership with trainer John Sargent along with Mrs G L Reily & Mr W J Reily.

From the first crop of the Wellfield Lodge based sire, she has become his second stakes winner. Alamosa was himself a four-time Group 1 winner including a Toorak Handicap, captured in the Melbourne Spring.

Kirramosa is the third winner for her dam Frejya (Danske) and is the granddaughter of New Zealand Filly of the Year and Group 1 winner Olga’s Pal (Straight Strike).

Palmerston North based Wellfied Lodge offered the filly at the 2012 Karaka Select Sale where she was passed in. Kirramosa’s half-brother will be offered by Mangatiti Bloodstock, also based in Palmerston North, at the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs held on 19 & 20 of November.