WINNING the Rugby League Premiership with his recently acquired Newcastle Knights may take stronger prayers from young mining tycoon Nathan Tinkler than those for racing glory by his well named filly Kneeling.
Appearing for only the second time and following on a short half second at Caulfield on May 28, the John Thompson trained Kneeling proved too good for a quality field in taking the Crockett Stakes over 1200m at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Bred by R.W. Reid and sold through the Kitchwin Hills stud to Tinkler’s Patinack Farm for $340,000 at Inglis Easter yearling sale, Kneeling is one of the most powerfully bred fillies in training.
She is by the Coolmore, Hunter Valley champion sire Encosta de Lago and is from Sunday Service, one of 22 live foals got in Japan to southern hemisphere time by their sire giant Sunday Silence and foaled in Australia.
Others included Sunday Joy, the AJC Oaks winner who produced for John Singleton the magnificent More Than Ready filly More Joyous, and the Swettenham stud, Nagambie, Vic sire Keep the Faith. Following dashing displays in Australia, Keep the Faith ran three times in America and set a new national grass track record for six furlongs in winning at New York’s Belmont Park.
Kneeling’s dam Sunday Service was another of the Australian Sunday Silence progeny to show good talent. She won three races1550m-2000m in succession in four weeks in Sydney, placed in three Listed stakes and unplaced in the Group1 AJC Metropolitan.
Sunday Service is from the South African bred and performed Lady’s Delight, a dual Listed winner and Group1 third by the Northern Dancer sire Local Talent who is nearly a three-quarter sister to leading north western NSW sire Youthful Legs, a resident at Steve Miller’s Erin Park stud at Tamworth.
They are out of the same mare,You’re My Lady (by Roberto), and descend in male line from Nearctic. On top of this You’re My Lady is a half-sister to the dam of Danehill and from a half-sister to Northern Dancer.
By Brian Russell
