Kalik defies breeding for sprint victory
Speedy Kalik again showed breeding is not always an indication of a horse’s best distance with his win at the Sunshine Coast.
Kalik ($3.50) ran a class record of 57.02 seconds when he beat Le Palmier ($4.40) by a neck in the QTIS Three-Year-Old (1000m).
The gelding is by Champions Gallery who stood at owner Neville Bell’s Kilto Park Stud with the aim of siring a Melbourne Cup winner.
His dam Nuskee is by a noted sire of stayers in Pentire.
“Kalik is bred to win a Melbourne Cup or another long-distance race. But he is a genuine sprinter,” Bell said.
“Funny thing is, when Champions Gallery was ignored by breeders I sent him up to Lyndhurst Stud where he serves Clydesdale mares.”
Bell said trainer Tony Haydon had done a great job with Kalik who had now won three of his six starts.
“Tony is an under-rated trainer who always gets the best out of his horses,” Bell said.
Winning jockey Brad Stewart said he had been able to make the most of the inside barrier and Kalik had kicked back well when challenged in the straight.