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With the Golden Slipper now just two weeks away, Arrowfield Stud's Flying Spur (AUS) has given himself another live shot at winning the race after his grand looking son Krupt (AUS) won the Todman Slipper Trial (Aus-II) at Canterbury racecourse over the weekend. An AUS$450,000 Easter Yearling purchase by trainer Matthew Smith, Krupt heads into the Golden Slipper with a chance of giving his sire two winners in a row of the prestigious race after the royally-bred Forensics (AUS) annexed the race last year (incidentally, she won the Queen of the Turf Stakes (Aus-I) on the same day as Krupt's success).

Based on the Danehill/Storm Cat nick, Krupt rates a B on the TrueNicks rating system, an acceptable rating that was compiled before Krupt himself is considered in the database.

What is interesting, however, is the way that Krupt is bred. He is out of the Hennessy mare Categorical, a granddaughter of the good racemare Grand Luxe. As Flying Spur boasts the same Grand Luxe as his granddam, Krupt is inbred to Grand Luxe 3×3. There is of course precedent for such an inbreeding. From Flying Spur's first crop, bred some 10 years ago, emerged the good 2-year-old filly French Braids (AUS). This filly, who ran a gallant 9th in the Golden Slipper in her year, was inbred to the great racemare and broodmare Fanfreluche, dam of Grand Luxe. Flying Spur is a half brother to the dam of another leading Australian sire in Encosta de Lago (AUS) and it is worth noting that while Encosta de Lago has underperformed with Danehill-line mares in general, he has sired the stakes-winning filly Astounded out of a Flying Spur mare (thus inbreeding to Rolls), while his son Delago Brom (AUS) has sired the stakes performer Butzie (AUS) out of a Flying Spur mare also.

Filed under: Recent Winners