Kimochi repays Yulong’s faith in Rupert Clarke
Saturday’s $1 million Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Caulfield provided a dream result for trainer Gary Portelli when Kimochi (4 m Brave Smash – Summer Fun) captured a maiden Group 1 success in the green and white colours of her relatively new owners, Yulong.
After disappointing last time when seventh in the Empire Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Flemington on Derby day, a return to the scene of her Thousand Guineas second behind Joliestar (Zoustar) saw the four-year-old bounce back, as she thundered down the centre of the course under Craig Williams to deny the Ciaron Maher-trained favourite Another Wil (Street Boss) in the dying strides.
The mare returned the 0.46-length winner, with Steparty (Artie Schiller) rounding out the placings another 1.5 lengths behind the pair.
Kimochi joined the Yulong operation following her $2.2 million sale to Ilsay Vale at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale in May when she was offered as part of the Twin Hills Stud draft. The daughter of Brave Smash (Tosen Phantom) began her first campaign under her new ownership with a promise of things to come, claiming the $250,000 Toy Show Quality (Gr 3, 1200m) at Randwick in August.
Kimochi then posted fourth-placed efforts in both the Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and Silver Eagle (1300m) prior to her Empire Rose seventh, and Portelli said he began to feel the pressure to deliver at the highest level.
“There was a bit of pressure on us, Yulong have been on fire with their famous colours in the last few weeks,” the trainer told Racing.com post-race.
“I was able to win first-up with her and she’d just hit a couple of little flat spots since. Back to the 1400 [metres], no weight on her back, champion ride. She was a long way back at one stage, [but] it was a brilliant ride from barrier 13 to get one off.
“It is a dream come true for us. We need the bigger [owners] behind us, that helps, and we’ve repaid their faith. They paid $2.2 million for her at the Inglis sales – we’ve been able to win a Group 1 now and she’s worth probably three times that now.
“For us to get a Group 1 gives them [owners] confidence that any horse that comes through our stable, we can get them to win at this level. We’ve got some nice horses coming through so the race is not over for me just yet.”
When passing the post on Saturday, Kimochi secured the eleventh Group 1 win for Yulong Investments in Australia and continued a dominant spring for Yuesheng Zhang’s operation.
Saturday’s win adds to Via Sistina’s (Fastnet Rock) record-breaking Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) triumph and her electric win in the Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Flemington on November 9, while the operation also celebrated VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) success when their homebred Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express) took the 2500-metre contest Flemington on November 7.
Bred by Aquis Farm, where her sire Brave Smash began his stallion career, Kimochi was purchased for just $21,000 as a yearling by Hall Of Fame Bloodstock at the Sydney Weanling Sale in 2021 out of the Valiant Stud draft.
She is the second foal and second winner out of unraced I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) mare Summer Fun, who herself is a sister to multiple winner and Group 3-placed Real Charisma (I Am Invincible) being out of the Listed-placed Summerbliss (Danehill Dancer).
This season, Summer Fun produced a colt by Kia Ora’s first-season sire Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) and was covered by Snitzel in September.
Kimochi’s first Group 1 victory was also a first for her Yaraman Park Stud sire Brave Smash, who currently stands for a fee of $33,000 (inc GST), unchanged from last season.