Rommel colt Military Gambler flew under the radar for a resounding victory in the Mode Hcp (1110m) at Doomben on Saturday.

Military Gambler went out at $26 but that was over the odds according to trainer Chris Munce after the youngster powered home to defeat the Star Turn fillies Stellar Magic and Startantes.  “He’s a nice horse and I gave him a chance today,” Munce claimed.  “I ran him in The Jewel Prelude first-up on the Sunshine Coast and he hit the line really well.

“It had been a little while between runs but I galloped him here on Tuesday morning and thought he wasn’t far off the mark.”

Rommel (Commands) stands at Mogumber Park in WA and his first-crop son had transferred in utero to Queensland.  His dam Call To Ransom (Red Ransom) won an Ascot nursery for Yarradale Stud and had already foaled winners by Yarradale sires War Chant (USA) and Scandal Keeper when she was catalogued by Mogumber Park (as agent) for the 2018 Magic Millions Perth Winter Sale.

Oaklands Stud owner Neville Stewart bought Call To Ransom with a PPT to Rommel for $6,000 and shipped her to his 1,000-acre property located south-west of Toowoomba.  It turned out to be a good deal all round when Munce bought Military Gambler for $60,000 at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast QTIS Sale.

“I didn’t know much about Rommel but I loved his colt from the moment I saw him at that yearling sale,” Munce revealed.  “He was big, raw-boned and athletic with a great temperament.  He still has a lot to learn but he’s got good natural ability.”

Military Gambler earned $67,200 including a QTIS bonus on Saturday to keep Rommel on top of the WA 2YO and First-season sire tables with earnings of $350,622.

Rommel won a G2 WA Guineas for trainer Neville Parnham and his second-crop yearlings at the 2021 Perth Magic Millions included a $180,000 full-brother to recent LR Supremacy Stakes runner-up Pixie Chix.

MILITARY GAMBLER