Larneuk Stud is the new home for Snitzel’s Group I winning son Wandjina and he featured at the last metropolitan meeting of the season in Melbourne when two year-old gelding Rock Artist scored an all the way win at Moonee Valley.
A last start maiden winner at Moe, the Ken and Kasey Keys trained youngster raced on the pace after jumping from the outside gate and kicked away turning for home.
He was tenacious to the line for Craig Newitt and had enough left to claim a short half head win in the 1000m scamper over Direct and Jigsaw.
“He's a really nice horse this bloke," Newitt said.
"I trialled him up before he ran first-up and he trialled alongside Jigsaw, so we got a bit of a measuring stick there.
"We were very confident when we went to the races in a maiden and coming here today, drawn wide, it was going to be a little unknown where we would end up.
"But once he flew the lids I thought I'd press the issue and go forward.”
Rock Artist showed plenty of fight to win and connections may look to early spring Black Type races such as the Group III MRC Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 14 or the Listed MVRC McKenzie Stakes (1200m) at The Valley the following week.
"We'll just see how he pulls up and make a decision," Ken Keys said.
"We won the McKenzie with Rich Enuff and ran third with Free To Move last year, so it would be nice to come back, but we'll wait and see."
Rock Artist was a $35,000 Inglis Classic purchase from the Lime Country Thoroughbreds draft for Ken Keys Racing and was a successful pinhook having been bought for just $8,000 from the Fairhill Farm Inglis Weanling Sale draft by DGR Thoroughbred Services Pty Ltd / SearcyMedia / Hussary.
With two wins from four starts, Rock Artist has banked over $90,000 in prizemoney.
Bred by Mike O’Donnell of Fairhill Farm, Rock Artist is the second winner from Ultima Carta, an unraced half-sister by Choisir to Group I winner Good Project and Singapore stakes-winner World Airlines.
Wandjina stands at a fee of $8,800 at Larneuk Stud this spring.
