Danny O’Brien enjoyed Group I success with outstanding colt Russian Camelot (IRE), so was understandably excited to produce his first metropolitan winner as a sire at Sandown on Wednesday and Censori comes from a family that he knows inside and out.
Three year-old filly Censori has been taken along patiently and stepped out for the first time in a 1200m fillies maiden with Jamie Melham to ride.
She let down impressively to work through on the inside and win by the best part of a length exceeding the expectation of connections.
“We really just brought her here to have a good experience, so for her to win as she did has probably surprised us,” said Danny O’Brien.
“She’s only had a couple of trials so there is a lot of upside to come from her.”
Jamie Melham was also very positive in her assessment.
“She surprised me and probably surprised the team as well with turn of foot she showed,” she said.
“They were thinking she would need further by the way that she is bred, but she was sharp today and dominant at the finish even though she has a lot to learn.
“She’ll definitely be better over further and will learn a lot from the run.”
Censori was bred by Danny O’Brien in partnership and is raced by he and his wife after the filly was offered through Inglis Digital in 2023 along with her dam to dissolve that partnership.
“We bred her dam Berkshire Lady, who was placed in a Tassie Oaks and I also trained the grand-dam Placement, who was by Savabeel and went right through in the spring to place in a Wakeful Stakes and an Oaks,” O’Brien revealed.
“It’s not often you have three generations of the same family to train.”
Sired by another of O’Briens former super star colts in Star Witness, Berkshire Lady has a two-year-old colt by Russian Camelot and will foal to him again this spring.
Censori will be given the opportunity to emulate her grand-dam Placement, although there will be no rush with a whole classic season ahead of her.
“We never expected Russian Camelot to get 2YO winners, but he was a very talented and naturally gifted horse and I’ve had several through the stable that have all shown ability,” said O’Brien.
“I have another two or three that will run over the next few months, so hopefully they will get some momentum going for him.
“People are far too quick to judge these classic type sires, you have to give them right until the end of the autumn next year before you make any sort of judgement.
“I’m old enough to remember Zabeel and Savabeel and how it was for them and even The Autumn Sun, he took right until the end of that season to show his worth.”
Russian Camelot is by champion staying sire Camelot from an elite European female family and was purpose bought as a yearling at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale to race in Australia.
“Russian Camelot was everything we always hoped he would be and even won the SA Derby (G1) despite giving away six months in age to his rivals,” O’Brien recalled.
“He won the Underwood Stakes (G1 1800m) and was third in a Cox Plate after drawing wide on a bottomless track and you could easily argue that with a better gate and better ground he would have won that Cox Plate.”
Russian Camelot is the exact horse Australian owners are targeting at the European tried horse sales and he stands right here in Australia at Widden Victoria at a fee of $16,500.
