Featured in several Juvenile Trial Watch stories last season, Ole Kirk colt Punxsutawney Phil was a Breednet One to Watch when winning on debut at Scone last month, before scoring at his second start Kembla and on Wednesday he made it three wins in as many starts at Randwick.
Punxsutawney Phil is a name that will make a lot of people that weren’t born this century have backed him today!
For the unenlightened, Groundhog Day was a 1993 comedy movie starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell and a key part of that movie is Punxsutawney Phil. I won’t bore you with the details, but if you have an hour or two to while away and don’t mind laughing so hard your face hurts… do yourself a favour!
The racehorse Punxsutawney Phil is trained by John O’Shea and Tom Charlton and made it three wins on the trot today when taking up the lead for Zac Lloyd in the 1250m Benchmark 64 event.
Challenged by giant Written Tycoon colt Sky Deck after turning for home, Punxsutawney Phil was having none of that and fought back to surge clear and win by more than a length.
Punxsutawney Phil is a homebred for Neil Werrett and is the first foal of Heroess, a winning Snitzel daughter of dual Group I winner Srikandi. Heroess is married to Ole Kirk and has a colt and filly to follow by the Vinery based sire and is back in foal to him again.
“I’m really pleased for owner breeder Neil Werrett, who is a big supporter of our stable,” said Tom Charlton.
“John and Neil (Werrett) have always had a plan of potentially going to the Sir Brian Crowley Stakes (Listed) from here, so that’s two and a half weeks from today and is the likely target .”
Zac Lloyd has been aboard Punxsutawney Phil for two of his three wins and believes there is more to come for the talented colt.
“He’s shown potential in all of his trials and he is just so bombproof, he’s really well educated and it makes a jockey’s life easy,” he said.
Based at Vinery Stud, Ole Kirk earned a big service fee increase last spring jumping from $55,000 to $99,000 and covered 161 mares so will have a sensational crop of foals this year and his price has risen again to $110,000 this spring.
