A sombre mood has prevailed around Kerry Parker’s Kembla Grange stables these past eight weeks. Kerry and his team are still dealing with the massive disappointment of losing stable superstar Think It Over on the eve of the fabulously rich spring carnival. This time last year the son of So You Think reeled off the Hill Stakes, Craven Plate, Rosehill Cup treble which netted connections a cool one million dollar bonus.
Think It Over lifted another notch this autumn putting together a stunning sequence of performances beginning with a defeat of Colette in the Apollo Stakes. A Heavy 10 track brought him back to the field when he finished fourth (1.6 lengths) behind Verry Eleegant in the Chipping Norton, and then he went to Melbourne to beat all but Duais in the Australian Cup. Back to NSW he ran fourth to Duais in the Tancred Stakes when the postponed Rosehill meeting was transferred to Newcastle two days later. It’s now history that the massively improved gelding won a star studded Queen Elizabeth Stakes on a surface he abhors, when Nash Rawiller pulled him sideways into firmer going in the dying stages.
It’s not hard to imagine how much owner Richard Johnston, Kerry and his team were looking forward to their once in a lifetime horse chasing the big stakes through the spring. “He was almost six weeks into his preparation and it was all systems go,” said Kerry. “We walked him out of his box one morning and it was as though everybody saw the problem at the same moment. There was unmistakable swelling in the off fore accompanied by the predictable heat. The vets were there in a flash to confirm our worst fears. Think It Over had sustained a tendon tear assessed at a three out of five rating. Out the window went the entire spring carnival for 2022. An autumn campaign next year will be considered only if the scans suggest he’ll stand a preparation. If there’s the slightest doubt he’ll be retired.”
A spectacular Nash Rawiller ride got Think It Over home in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Few people watching the finish of Saturday’s The Agency Real Estate BM78 at Rosehill would have realised what a morale booster it was for the Parker stable, when Hope In Your Heart prevailed - a pleasant surprise for all concerned considering the hype surrounding the $1.60 favourite Frumos. The hype was generated by the fact that the Chris Waller trained mare had won three races by dominant margins before being hopelessly pocketed in a race at Rosehill two weeks earlier. With only six runners on Saturday, it was expected that Frumos would lob along near the tail and then sail down the outside as she had in her hat trick of recent wins.
She did sail down the outside as predicted, but the little mare on her inside sailed just a bit quicker. Hope In Your Heart pushed Frumos wide on the turn before digging in and refusing to let the favourite get level down the running. On the line it was Hope In Your Heart by a neck, and for a few moments the Kembla team put Think It Over out of their minds. The win vindicated the opinion Kerry Parker has held of this mare for quite some time. It also continued the association he’s had with long time owners Alex and Deidre Illes. It was Deidre who purchased Hayaat under extraordinary circumstances at an Inglis autumn dispersal sale in 2011.
Hope In Your Heart holds off Frumos at Rosehill on Saturday. Note Hugh Bowman on the runner up still prefers full use of the stirrup iron - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Her curiosity was aroused when Hayaat was knocked down for $500 to an unknown buyer. Deidre recalled that Hayaat was a half sister to a handy stayer called Telesmon which she and her husband had raced a few years earlier. The fact that Telesmon had won eight races heightened her interest. She quickly learned that the mare was on her way to an “unknown destination” in Victoria. Her offer to buy Hayaat from the mystery owner was greeted with a request for $2000. Although unimpressed with the opportunistic nature of the transaction, Deidre quickly made the financial arrangements and took Hayaat home.
It’s interesting to note that Hayaat was a five start maiden originally owned by H.E Nasser Abdullah Hussain Lootah and trained by Graham Rogerson. The best she could manage was a second in a non metropolitan winner’s race at Morphettville in 2005. Her breeding record far surpasses her racetrack achievements. Only last Sunday at Devonport her Dawn Approach gelding Rising Light made it three wins on the trot and a total of 6 Tasmanian wins all up for trainer Tegan Keys. Rising Light’s win came twenty four hours after Hope In Your Heart’s win at Rosehill.
Rising Light is the fifth winner produced by Hayaat, and the only one not trained by Kerry Parker. The trainer’s association with her progeny began with Pendragon filly Heartlings who won three metropolitan races in the Illes colours. Then came the Duke Of Marmalade mare Heartlet who posted one win at Wyong and a couple at Warwick Farm. She bowed a tendon in her final win in May 2019 and was retired immediately.
Heartling’s full brother Tampering has been the best performed of Hayaat’s progeny to date with an impressive record of 7 wins and 6 placings from 34 starts for a healthy $311,000. It’s interesting to note that Tampering is the only horse to win three editions of the Midway since the inception of the concept just over a year ago.
Tampering (Tom Sherry) wins his third Midway 26/03/2022 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Heartlings, Heartlet, and Tampering are all fairly sizeable horses while Hope In Your Heart, a daughter of Dundeel is little more than a pony and quirkier than her half siblings. “She can still get a little silly, but early on she was a real handful,” said Kerry. “As an example you had to be careful bringing her out of her box at any time. You’d go to lead her out and she would walk all over you. She wanted to go where she wanted to go and look out anybody who happened to be in the way. She’s only now starting to mature physically and mentally.”
Hope In Your Heart failed to run a place at her first four starts. She didn’t win her maiden until October of last year when she scored at Moruya with Winona Costin in the saddle. Following a fourth at Nowra she saluted again in a Cl 1 at Goulburn with Jeff Penza up and then came consecutive thirds on the Kenso track. Kerry then decided to throw her in at the deep end by sending her around in the Gr 1 Surround Stakes. “Willie Pike obviously knew she was a 100/1 chance and looked at me quizzingly when I said she’d run some sort of a race,” said Kerry.
“Admittedly she had a cosy run midfield on the fence, but she found the line very strongly and was right on the heels of fillies like Espiona, Heresy and Fangirl at the finish. We were thrilled and Willie Pike was surprised.”
Hope In Your Heart followed up with a cracking second to the talented Waller runner Pretty Amazing in the Gr 3 Kembla Grange Classic which was added to a Goulburn programme when Kembla became unfit for racing during a “big wet”. The filly then ran 7th (7 lengths) in the Vinery Stud Stakes run at Newcastle, and a distant 10th to El Patroness in the Australian Oaks. “She was simply still feeling the effects of immaturity and was probably coming to the end of it by then,” said Kerry. “I couldn’t believe how much she’d furnished when she came back to the stable after her most recent spell. She ran a nice race first up behind Riduna at Rosehill, and you could see on Saturday she’s a stronger mare now.”
Trainer Parker looked the part when this one was snapped at Rosehill Gardens earlier this year - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Even though she failed in the Vinery and the Oaks, Kerry hasn’t closed the book on her over the longer trips during the upcoming carnival. “She’s so much stronger now and I keep looking at her stout pedigree,” he said. Dundeel won an Australian Derby by 6 lengths and there are several stayers on her dam’s side. Hayaat is by the great sire of stayers Montjeu, and her half brother Telesmon won races at Randwick and Rosehill over 2400m.”
Kerry was delighted to renew his association with jockey Tim Clark in Saturday’s win. It was Tim who provided the Kembla trainer with his first Gr 1 success when Dark Dream won the Queensland Derby in 2018. Kerry continues to work no more than twenty horses from his south coast stables. He’s looking forward to the return of Role Play and Sherwood’s One from recent spells. Role Play is a five year old mare who has three country wins to her credit, while Sherwood’s One is a four year old Super One mare whose BM60 win at Canberra in April was full of promise. The trainer is hopeful both will step up this time around. He’s looking forward to giving Hope In Your Heart an opportunity in better grade, and he anxiously awaits the result of Think It Over’s next tendon scan. There’s plenty on Kerry Parker’s mind at the moment.
(Banner image - Tim Clark returns on Hope In Your Heart. Tim is the jockey who gave Kerry Parker his first Gr.1 by winning the Queensland Derby on Dark Dream in 2018 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)