A successful defence of his title in Tuesday’s A$3m The Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick took Ready to Run Sale flagbearer Gringotts (NZ) (Per Incanto) past A$5.5m in stakes, with A$4.6m of that amount coming in the last 12 months alone.
Gringotts was offered by Kilmore Farm at the 2021 Ready to Run Sale, where he failed to meet his $450,000 reserve. He has now had 24 starts for 11 wins and nine placings, earning more than 14 times the amount he could have been bought for at Karaka.
Last season was a breakthrough campaign for Gringotts, who overcame a big weight (58.5kg) and a wide gate (19) to win the 2024 edition of The Big Dance. He continued his rise from there, winning the A$1m The Gong (1600m) in his next start before stepping up to Group One level and capturing the George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill in March. That made him one of six Ready to Run Sale graduates to score at Group One level in Australia last season, along with Antino (NZ) (Redwood), Feroce (NZ) (Super Seth), Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars), Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock) and War Machine (NZ) (Harry Angel).
The Ciaron Maher-trained Gringotts began his six-year-old season with a fifth in the Group One Winx Stakes (1400m) in August and a second in the A$1.5m Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) in early October, then returned to The Big Dance at Randwick and this time had an even bigger topweight on his back – 62kg.
But that massive impost made no difference to the result. After settling in seventh place among a 20-horse field, jockey Nash Rawiller drove Gringotts through a narrow gap one off the rail in the home straight.
Gringotts showed his Group One quality and turn of foot, bursting into a clear lead and going on to beat his strong-finishing stablemate Vivy Air (Hellbent) – who was carrying 7.5kg less – by just over a length.
“To his credit, he was full of running with his big weight,” Rawiller said. “I was mindful of the fact that when you contain his energy he can be quite explosive, and he was. You can tell he’s a serious horse. When I let him rip, he was quite exciting. He has the feel of a really good horse.
“This is a lovely race for him. You’ve got to go a long way to find this sort of prize-money.”
Gringotts has been headline-grabbing graduate for Michelle Norman and Dave Keenan’s Kilmore Farm, whose 2021 Ready to Run Sale draft has produced two Australian black-type stars from only three horses offered. Gringotts’ achievements have been backed up by Eternal Flame (NZ) (Sacred Falls), who was bought by Phill Cataldo Bloodstock for $260,000. Eternal Flame has had 18 starts for five wins, a placing and A$467,200 in stakes, including victories in last year’s Group Two Sunline Stakes (1600m) and Group Three Matron Stakes (1600m).
Kilmore Farm will offer another select group of five two-year-olds at the 2025 edition of the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka next week.
- Lot 28 is a filly by Ocean Park (NZ) out of the Fastnet Rock mare Pastrana, which makes her a full-sister to the stakes-placed Miss Valencia (NZ) (Ocean Park).
- Lot 41 is a colt by Peltzer out of the three-time winner Pierone (Pierro), whose half-brother Manawanui (Oratorio) won seven races including the Group One Golden Rose (1400m).
- Lot 189 is a filly by emerging Grangewilliam Stud stallion Derryn, who is the sire of five stakes winners including Leica Lucy (NZ), who won the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m) earlier in the year and was runner-up in last Saturday’s Group One Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington. This filly is the first foal out of the Pierro mare When In Paris, from the family of Group One winner and sire Contributer.
- Lot 311 is a Tarzino filly out of a half-sister to Commander Harry (NZ) (Reliable Man). Himself a $50,000 purchase from Kilmore Farm’s draft at the 2020 Ready to Run Sale, Commander Harry has earned A$278,325 from a 37-start, four win career. He placed in the Group Two Moonee Valley Vase (2040m) as a three-year-old.
- The final member of the draft, Lot 403, is by Turn Me Loose (NZ) out of a half-sister to the Singapore black-type placegetter Simple Pleasures (NZ) (O’Reilly). The third dam is the multiple Group winner and Group One producer Jennifer Rush (NZ) (Prince Echo).
NZB’s 2025 Ready to Run Sale will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre from 10am (NZT) on Wednesday 12 & Thursday 13 November.
