A promising start to the season has helped Keep The Faith climb into third spot behind Bel Esprit and Reset on the Victorian winners’ premiership.
The Greta West Stud resident has sired 19 individual winners and his three year-olds can enhance that count with more black-type in the next month.
HONEY STEEL’S GOLD (3g Keep The Faith – Lunar Lights by Bianconi) won the LR Taj Rossi Series Final (1600m) at Flemington in July and he’s gunning for a Group 2 in the Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley on Friday night.
“I’ve been very happy with his progress since his first-up run earlier this month,” Lindsay Park trainer David Hayes said. “I will be disappointed if he doesn’t at least run a place.
“We will then decide whether to stay in Melbourne for the Caulfield Guineas or go to Sydney for the Spring Champion Stakes.”
Keep The Faith was trained out of Lindsay Park to win four races in Australia topped by a Listed victory in the Schweppervescence Cup over 1600m at Caulfield.
ILGATTINO (3g Keep The Faith – Ilgatto by Catbird) is one of the outsiders for the G3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) on Sunday but he’s over the odds at $51.
The Kelvin Bourke trainee has been runner-up at all three starts and has been crying out for longer trips since resuming from a winter spell. Craig Williams takes over the reins from Jamie Mott.
TRUST IN A GUST (3c Keep The Faith – Subtle Breeze by Storm Cat) has flown under the radar for trainer Darren Weir in the lead-up to the spring carnival.
He went down a nose on debut in the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush at Bendigo in March and was extra-impressive winning his maiden at Echuca by four lengths earlier this month. “He had a good blow after that win,” stable spokesman Luke Archibald said. “It was a dominant performance and Michelle (Payne) reckons there’s a mile of improvement in him.”
Weir has nominated Trust In A Gust for a Super VOBIS event at Stawell on Monday when he will clash with Keep The Faith debut winner Mantener La Fe.
Trust In A Gust is a younger half-brother to Seachantach (Elusive Quality) and he won races in Ireland (3) and Dubai. Their dam Subtle Breeze (USA) is a three-quarter sister to Balanchine (Storm Bird) who won the 1994 Irish Derby and English Oaks for Sheikh Mohammed.
Subtle Breeze was imported to Australia by Adam Sangster. The Swettenham Stud owner is part of the syndicate that stands Keep The Faith and he sent Trust In A Gust’s half-sister Down To Luck (Soldier’s Tale) to Keep The Faith last week.
Keep The Faith (Sunday Silence) stands for a $4,400 (inc gst) service fee at Greta West Stud alongside God’s Own (Redoute’s Choice) and King Of Prussia (Anabaa). Broodmare owners can contact studmaster Laurie McCarthy for further information on 0410 476 196.
– Karl Patterson
TRUST IN A GUST