Unbeaten 3YO Private Harry (Harry Angel) stamped himself as a star on the rise with a scintillating win in the inaugural $3m Sunlight Plate (1100m) at the Sunshine Coast, defeating a stellar field including G1 Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot and giving young trainer Nathan Doyle one of the biggest wins of his career.
Doyle and Kurrinda Bloodstock teamed up to buy the son of Harry Angel and Congrats mare Happy Pilgram from the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale for $115,000, from the Rheinwood Pastoral draft.
Private Harry went into the twilight slot race – which was transferred from the Gold Coast – unbeaten in three NSW starts and not only kept his unbeaten record intact but has now collected a cool $1.37m in prizemoney earnings in just four starts.
An emotional Doyle told Sky Racing post race: “I really don’t know what to say, I just want to cuddle someone.
“Sean (Driver) from Kurrinda bought him from the Classic Sale, it looks very cheap now.
“It’s been so hard to get here… the first three horses we trained we owned ourselves and you have to prove yourself and it’s taken time.
“I shouldn’t have been that confident at the 500m, I was looking back and he was going three-quarter pace and I thought if he extends like the horse I know he is, then it’s over.
“You shouldn’t be confident like that.
You’ve got to remember he’s doing this in his first racing preparation, where does he go from here? Can he do it fourth up, that’s what everyone said, in his first prep.
“We trusted the system and we trusted what we thought of him and it’s paid off, I can’t be more thankful,” Doyle said.
Doyle also thanked to B2B Thoroughbreds, who purchased the slot for the $3m feature after buying a 2.5% share in Private Harry via the Inglis Digital November (Early) Online Sale for $25,250.
“I’ve been friends with Sean (Driver) for a while… and I saw this horse trialling and I thought geez this horse has some engine,” B2B Thoroughbreds’ Ricky Surace Jnr said.
“We believe in the horse, his figures were unbelievable, I can’t believe he’s actually done it!”
Rheinwood Pastoral’s Kirsty Willis called Private Harry “the real deal”.
“We hoped and dreamed he was as good as we heard he was,” Willis said.
“We’d been hearing from Sean Driver right from when he was an early 2YO that he was a serious horse, but he just had a few setbacks and speaking to Sean at various sales, they were just looking after him.
“This is a huge step up in grade, from a BM72 win at Rosehill to beat the Golden Slipper winner Lady Camelot in a $3m race tonight and so dominant, he is the real deal.
“As a yearling, Private Harry was just an improver, he improved all the way through his prep.
"He had a number of admirers at inspections but I really have to thank Inglis’ Brett Gilding who loved him from the moment he saw him in the paddock and put him in the Classic Sale,” Willis said.
Rheinwood Pastoral will offer a Captivant half sister to Private Harry (lot 274) at the upcoming 2025 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
“Happy Pilgrim also has a Zousain colt at foot and he’s an absolute superstar, he’d be the best foal on our farm,” Willis said.
“It’s a family that is close to our heart, the reason we bought Happy Pilgrim is because we owned the third dam Briscay (Danehill) and from her, we bred our first G1 winner, Arkady.
“It’s so important for small farms like us to have success like this,” Willis said.
The Inglis Classic Yearling Sale will be held at Riverside Stables on February 9-11.
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