Star winner for Reward For Effort

Chatswood Stud stallion Reward For Effort chalked up his third first-crop winner at the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday.

The Stuart Kendrick trained colt Montana Star stalked the pace in the HMR Projects Hcp (1200m) on debut before scoring a three-quarter length victory over A Real Heartbreaka (Real Saga) and Big Dollars (Captain Sonador).

Montana Star (2c Reward For Effort – Sister Livia by Galileo) is a homebred for Dean and Kelly Shannon who operate Montana Park at Maleny.  The 42 hectare property is an hour from Doomben and has views of the Glass House Mountains.

The Shannons sent the Sunny Coast winner to Kendrick after he was passed-in shy of a $15,000 reserve at the 2014 Gold Coast Magic Millions.  His dam Sister Livia is an unraced half-sister to city winners Seeyou (Eagle Farm) and Red Belly Black (Flemington).

Sister Livia has a filly foal by Reward For Effort and she was bred back to Statue Of Liberty in November.

Reward For Effort’s last-start Bendigo winner Destiny’s Reward comes to town this Friday night at Moonee Valley.  The Brian Gentle trained colt scored an all-the-way victory over Godolphin filly Overact at his home track on February 7.

Seymour based Take Pride won at Flemington on New Year’s Day and she returns to headquarters for the LR Talindert Stakes this Saturday.  The Murray Johnson trained daughter of Reward For Effort still holds a Group 1 nomination for the Blue Diamond Stakes on February 28.

The winning run has boosted Reward for Effort’s second crop yearlings to be offered at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale in March.  He has 29 lots catalogued for Oaklands Junction from 16 different vendors.

Chatswood Stud’s first to parade is the colt from USA bred mare Lickety Lemon (Lot 319).  A stakes winner at Woodbine, she arrived in Victoria in August 2012 and was among Reward For Effort’s first book shortly after leaving quarantine.

Lickety Lemon followed up with an Americain filly last year before going back to Reward For Effort in November.