Greta West Stud sire Keep The Faith completed a running double with an interloper and a local at Warrnambool on Thursday.

Mount Gambier trainer Michael O’Leary crossed the border to land the first-leg with Faithful Jester in the Harvey Norman Hcp (1300m) and Red Fella scored a home-town victory the Coates Hire Hcp (2000m).

Faithful Jester (4g Keep The Faith – Comic Jester by Danzero) was an odds-on winner at Warrnambool in January but was unwanted at $13 in Race 2 on the last day of the carnival.  The lightly-raced gelding is the only named foal from a mare who won at her only start for O’Leary at Mt Gambier in May 2004.

Punters came to the party with Red Fella in Race 3 although they would have been concerned when the $2.70 favourite was buried back on the fence at the half-mile.  Under a confident Claire Lindop ride, he moved up behind the leaders turning for home and then barged through a gap in the straight to win by a nose.

Red Fella (5g Keep The Faith – Princess Pushy by Cossack Prince) is part-owned and trained by Chris Ryan and connections had to survive a protest before collecting the cash.  He had been sidelined with a tendon injury as a younger horse before scoring a last-to-first victory on debut as February five year-old.

Red Fella was a $17,000 buy for Ryan at the 2009 Inglis Melbourne Premier yearling sale.  “His dam Princess Pushy was here for many years,” Greta West studmaster Laurie McCarthy recalled.  “She had 9 to the races and now all of them have won.

“Red Fella was her last foal.  She was owned by the Leighton family and was 22 when he was born.”

Princess Pushy won 8 races for David Leighton and trainer Jim Moloney including the G2 Herbert Power Hcp at Caulfield and LR Tesio Stakes at Moonee Valley.  Her damsire Century was a Champion Australian sire while standing at Leighton’s Mornmoot Stud in Whittlesea.

Keep The Faith (Sunday Silence) has sired 103 winners of 216 races at a 58% strike-rate.  He will stand at Greta West for a $4,400 (inc gst) service fee this year.

– Karl Patterson

FAITHFUL JESTER
Interstate raider wins on Warrnambool Cup day

Photo / Warrnambool Standard