A ground-breaking burst of Group winners will pay off for Awesome Rock when his latest crop of yearlings parade at the Perth Magic Millions Sale next month.
A Group 1 Flemington winner by Fastnet Rock, he stands at Gold Front Thoroughbreds and the consignment from owners Alan and Sue Olive includes a full-brother to last year’s G3 SAJC Chairman's Stakes (2000m) winner Red Sun Sensation (Lot 164).
Awesome Rock’s other highlights from his first two crops in Perth have been provided by Awesome John (G2 WA Derby), Searchin' Roc's (G3 Champion Fillies & G3 R J Peters Stakes) and Rokanori (G3 J C Roberts Stakes).
“The brother to Red Sun Sensation is also a brother to Jason Miller’s 3yo Rocking Society,” Sue Olive said. “We sold him for $110,000 and Jason has taken him along quietly with just one prep late last year.”
They’re from NZ-bred mare Society Gal (Faltaat) and she has also foaled LR Belmont Oaks winner Chilli Is Hot (Gingerbread Man). There’s speed to burn through the dam’s full-brother Sight Winner who won the G1 HKJC Champions Mile for trainer John Size in 2009.
The Awesome Rock - Most Joyous filly (Lot 119) has a head-start in life as a full-sister to Gold Front homebred Miss Rockjoy and a half-sister to the dam of Super Smink (Super One) who swept Perth’s juvenile division to distraction last year winning everything up to and including the G2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m).
There’s another kicker through their second-dam Most Secret (Bletchley Park) with six black-type winners beneath her name on the page.
“Miss Rockjoy has potential and her little sister looks a more racy type which could be an advantage at the Sale,” Sue added. She also trains the older sister who was runner-up to Keshi Boom (Spirit Of Boom) at her penultimate start in the G3 Champion Fillies (1600m) at Ascot.
The Awesome Rock - Out Spoken Lady colt (Lot 125) received a huge endorsement at the Gold Coast Magic Millions earlier this month when his Group 3-winning half-sister Lady Cosmology (Universal Ruler) had a Zoustar colt make $1.3 million to the James Harron Colts Syndicate.
Out Spoken Lady has also foaled Outspoken Lad (Awesome Rock) to three city wins up to 1600m and he finished fourth in the 2022 WA Derby for Pearce Racing. “I think this colt looks more of a 2yo for next season,” Sue predicted. “He’s finer than Outspoken Lad who is a big boy.”
Gold Front’s Leonardo da Hinchi - Fine Approach colt (Lot 249) is the sole yearling for sale by their G2 MVRC Stutt Stakes winning sire in the Swan Valley. His first crop is short on numbers but Rusty Stewart’s filly Golden Kathleen looked a likely type winning a Belmont 2yo trial last Monday.
“He’s a robust colt and has a bit of stature already,” Sue said. “There’s plenty of bone just like ‘Leonardo’ and he’s been handling the sale prep like a pro.”
Back to Awesome Rock, he can bank on a late update when Rock This Town attempts a winning hat-trick on Magic Millions Raceday at Pinjarra. The lightly-raced sprinter won at Pinjarra on Boxing Day and defied running down again at Ascot on Saturday.
“We got him as an early-season 3yo at an Inglis Digital Sale and he showed ability right from the start,” trainer Peter Farrell recalled. “Kane Land did a great job breaking him in and he nearly broke a track-record at his first start down the straight at Pinjarra.”
Rock This Town clocked 56.88 for 1000m which was just outside the long-standing mark of 56.34s set by Werd (Hussonet) in the 2010 Cannonball Stakes.
A good-looking, loose-walking galloper, he had missed the yearling sales due to a lengthy non-racing delay between his previous owners. Farrell and his wife Kayla, who also holds a trainers license, bought him for $17,000 in a partnership with Ben and Paul Williams.
Awesome Rock sired him from former Woodside Park mare Sophia Town (Johannesburg) and she has a Rommel colt catalogued as Lot 165 by Gervase Park (as agent) for the Perth Magic Millions.
Gervase Park owners Chris and Andrea Gales (as agent) have also entered an Awesome Rock colt from Swimmer (Lot 175). The dam is two-from-two at stud through Swim Through (Patronize) and Leading Taddy (Ducimus).
