Blackfriars can stretch his lead at the top of the WA sires’ premiership when Kerrific goes out as favourite for Race 3 at Ascot on Saturday.

The Durham Lodge stallion has established a huge lead among active sires in the defence of his WA title in 2011-12.  There have 43 domestic winners of 58 races for earnings of $2.04 million so far this season.

Blackfriars (Danehill) enjoyed a summer carnival to remember that climaxed with Playing God winning the G1 Kingston Town Classic at Ascot.  His older brother God Has Spoken claimed a G2 in the C B Cox Stakes and Rosie Rocket chimed in for a Listed victory in the La Trice Classic.

Blackfriars started 2012 in the same vein with a winning treble at Bunbury on New Year’s Day and he sired another three-timer at Ascot on Wednesday led by the very promising debut winner Just Wicked.

Kerrific (5g Blackfriars – Striking Zoe by Tribu) is trained by Bruce Watkins at Bunbury and another win in the Bonaire Hcp (1400m) on Saturday will improve his strike-rate to 9 wins in 20 starts.

Kerrific is raced in partnership by owner-breeder Mazzin Kaddoura and his dam Striking Zoe has a yearling filly by Husson Lightning and she foaled another Blackfriars colt in November.  Kaddoura has retained the Husson Lightning filly but there’s no shortage of Blackfriars yearlings at the 2012 Perth Magic Millions next month.

Durham Lodge has entered 23 of the 29 Blackfriars lots catalogued for the Belmont Park sale ring.  “We’ve always believed Blackfriars would eventually take over as Sunspeed’s leading commercial stallion,” Durham Lodge general manager Jeremy Smith said.  “And he’s well and truly fulfilled that potential.”

Durham’s Lot 83 at the Magic Millions is the Blackfriars brother to the Adam Durrant trained filly Just Wicked.  Their dam Dedicated Miss (Mukaddamah) won 14 races to G3 level in the WA Strickland Stakes and Hyperion Stakes.

“Adam was very complimentary about Just Wicked on Wednesday,” Smith noted.  “She came from last to win running away and looks an ultra-impressive filly.”

Smith also reported Durham based Card Queen delivered a Blackfriars colt in August and is safely back in foal to him.  The mare’s unraced colt Brave Prince (Show A Heart) won a Belmont trial on Monday and her flying filly Karuta Queen (Not A Single Doubt) won a Canberra hit-out by 17 lengths on Tuesday.  

Leading owner-breeder Bob Peters bought Brave Prince for $230,000 out of the Durham draft at the 2011 Perth Magic Millions.  The flashy colt will be given another let-up and connections believe he is a feature winner of the future.