Trainer Mick Price and Victorian based breeder Bill Frost celebrated on Saturday with the win of Steal My Kisses in the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes, and rightly so with bigger plans now on the table for the smart debutant.
Having fought strongly when challenged and pulling away to an impressive three-quarter length victory, the filly clearly demonstrated that she was still full of running after the line.
For breeder and owner, Bill Frost, with wife Pat, daughter Cass and son-in-law Anthony Ballard, was ecstatic with their homebred's win and now excitedly hopes that it is possible for Steal My Kisses to be competitive in the prestigious $1.5 million Group 1 Blue Diamond in February.
Frost is a long-time follower of racing, but really upped the ante around 18 years ago when he became involved in ownership and breeding under the family's Pendant Equine banner: cheering home some very good horses during that time.
Dual Group One winning mare, Zarita was one, while Ballet Society, the granddam of Steal My Kisses was a 4-time Group winner for the Frost clan.
However, in Frost's estimation, it's unlikely any of them were tougher than his latest stakes winner.
"When Steal My Kisses was only a few weeks old, she got a severe kick in the head and the whole side of her face was paralysed," Frost recalls.
"She found it really hard to suckle but with top class care, she persisted and managed to pull through. The filly was never going to be a sale horse and that's why we are racing her.
"Steal My Kisses went straight from the paddock to the breaker and then on to her trainer Mick Price and now here she is winning a stakes race on debut. She is tough as.
"Steal My Kisses is heading for a short let up and will come back in time for the Blue Diamond Preludes/Previews and, fingers crossed, a start in the Blue Diamond."
Steal My Kisses is one of six juveniles for the Pendant Equine operation, while there are nine in work overall, all with Price, along with five broodmares.
"Unfortunately, Zarita died a couple of years back, but a couple of our mares are from that family," Frost points out. "I don't have any daughters out of Ballet Society but Steal My Kisses's win on Saturday sorts out that problem."
It really is a family affair for the Frosts, along with his daughter, and her husband Anthony.
"Cass has a great eye for horses and we usually select two or three fillies at sales annually to race and to build up our broodmare band," Frost adds.
"We won't be selling anything in 2019 but we have three nice foals on the ground that will be heading to sales the following year."
The Frosts also raced the dam of Steal My Kisses – The Fairy's Kiss – whose career highlights included a close second to subsequent Group 1 winner Platelet in the Group 3 Thoroughbred Club Stakes and a fourth, beaten a length, in the Listed Typhoon Tracy.
Steal My Kisses was The Fairy's Kiss final foal for the Frosts who sold the mare – in foal to Smart Missile – to Aquis Farm and Julian Blaxland's Blue Sky Bloodstock for $100,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
The Fairy's Kiss x Smart Missile colt will be sold via the Supreme Thoroughbreds draft at the 2019 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
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