Graham Daws knows what it’s like to breed a spring feature winner in Melbourne and he was back for more with Running By in the $350,000 VRC Inglis Bracelet (1600m) at Flemington on Thursday.
Running By was bred by the Dawson Stud owner using Group 1 Stradbroke Hcp (1400m) winner Impending (Lonhro) over his maiden mare More Spark (Domesday) who had won three races on the Victorian provincial circuit.
Daws sold Running By for $210,000 to Ciaron Maher through the Newhaven Park draft at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. He kept a share with syndicate manager Darren Thomas (Seymour Bloodstock) and they’ve already banked $600,000 with Maher indicating she’s knocking on the door for a black-type breakthrough.
“I’m not sure where but we are going to get one with her,” Maher predicted. “The team at Ballarat have done a great job and the owners have been very patient. We’ve scratched her and scratched her again after drawing some horrid barriers but we finally we found the right race today.
“It’s been six weeks between runs since the (G2) Let’s Elope Stakes. It’s hard to keep them on the edge so it’s great to get another win with such a beautiful mare.”
Running By defeated So Glamorous (So You Think) and Waimarie (Snitzel) by a length and change under jockey John Allen. “The race didn’t pan out as we had planned,” Allen admitted. “I thought we would be in the first four but it turned out to be a sedate tempo. It was a sprint home and she was too sharp for them.”
The most recent Dawson Stud graduate from More Spark is her Ole Kirk 2yo colt that made $100,000 to the bid of Commercial Bloodstock’s Noel Carter at this year’s Perth Magic Millions. Daws has the mare’s yearling filly by Xtravagant and she foaled a State Of Rest (Ire) filly in September.
Dawson Stud-bred mare Kissonallforcheeks (Written Tycoon) had won an earlier edition of the Let’s Elope Stakes (1400m) at the 2022 Melbourne Cup carnival. She was also sold by Newhaven Park as agent for Daws at the 2019 Gold Coast Magic Millions and turned a $120,000 price-tag into prizemoney of $1.71 million for owners Jill O’Sullivan and Darren White.
Her dual Listed-winning dam Rosie Rocket (Blackfriars) has a yearling filly by Capitalist and foaled a Dundeel filly for Daws in August.