For a period of time early last year, Rae-Louise Kelly could be forgiven for feeling like she was handcuffed to Snitzel colt Wanaruah with little way of escaping.
But now the Fernrigg Farm principal is ecstatic she wasn’t freed, figuratively and financially, from the exciting three-year-old who will attempt to make it three wins from four starts when he runs in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude on Saturday.
Kelly bred the colt with her husband Padraig Kelly and their long-term client Tim Scales, with the trio prepared to invest $165,000 on a service fee to send their mare Mella Maria to Arrowfield stallion Snitzel in 2020.
From a commercial breeder’s perspective - and that’s what Hunter Valley nursery Fernrigg Farm is - playing at the top-end of the market can be a comfort blanket: by spending more, there’s less risk, but in racing and breeding there will always be considerable financial ups and downs.
And in Wanaruah’s case, his sire Snitzel is a four-time Australian champion sire and his dam Mella Maria, by Widden’s Star Witness, was not short on racetrack ability, either, winning three Group races in South Africa.
Fast forward 11 months, to September 2021, and a healthy colt was born. Things progressed smoothly in the ensuing 15 months and he was accepted into the Magic Millions Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast.
The goal of turning a profit appeared well on track until pre-sale X-rays identified a bone chip in a fetlock. The decision was made to withdraw him from the Gold Coast sale and have him undergo minor surgery, performed by Kelly’s veterinarian husband Padraig.
Wanaruah as a yearling and as a foal. (Photo: Fernrigg Farm)
With January’s Magic Millions off the agenda, Inglis Easter in April was the logical target, but things went awry there, too.
“The market just got a little bit softer as the year went on and so we put a realistic reserve on him ($300,000), but we decided if he didn't make it we weren't prepared to just give him away,” Kelly told The Straight.
“I'd say he fell through the cracks. It was never a major procedure, taking a chip out, and it was never going to affect him racing, but they want them crystal clear these days.
“He was always a really nice colt from the day he was born and he’s always a beautiful-natured horse, so definitely one that we weren't just prepared to throw away.”
Once the decision was made to retain Wanaruah and put him into training with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, the Kellys’ friend, retired Sydney policeman Ross Murphy, was called into the partnership to help defray the training costs. The three-year-old’s co-breeder Scales, under his Matha Bloodstock banner, also stayed in.
Ex-copper Murphy formed the Oneplusnine Racing syndicate with a group of mates from the force.
“They're all kind of ex-policemen, so they're really good people to have on your side, and they lease a percentage of him,” Kelly said.
“You never know what you've got and they're really good people to race with and they've been big supporters of the farm.
“They’re all enjoying the ride.”
Wanaruah won his first two starts during the Sydney winter before being sent for a short break to target stakes races in the spring. The colt was runner-up to star filly Autumn Glow in the Up And Coming at Rosehill on August 31, his first-up run for the preparation.
Autumn Glow will attempt to make it three from three in the Tea Rose Stakes at Randwick on Saturday, taking on a field which includes Group 1 winner Manaal and the Brisbane winner Bella Khadijah, a Pierata filly bred and sold by Fernrigg as a yearling.
Despite being in the peak of the breeding season, Kelly is bound for Melbourne on Friday night ahead of Saturday’s Caulfield Guineas Prelude, for which Wanaruah is $4.20 favourite.
Blake Shinn, who has ridden 13 metropolitan winners in Melbourne so far this season, takes the ride from barrier one.
Kelly admits to almost being overcome with nervous anticipation about what the next month could hold for Wanaruah.
“We've never raced a horse at this level, so it's a whole new experience for us, so we're very excited,” she said.
“It gives me goosebumps, really, because, like I said, we've never been in this situation before, so it's a whole new experience, and we just love him as a horse.
“I don't know if you've seen him, but at the races, he's just got his head down, he's all business, there's no coltish behaviour with him, he's just such a genuine horse, and he tries really hard, and that's kind of shown so far. Hopefully it continues.”
If all goes to plan, in between foaling and getting mares covered by stallions, the Fernrigg team will be back in Melbourne in three weeks for the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.
“He was always a really nice colt from the day he was born and he’s always a beautiful-natured horse, so definitely one that we weren't just prepared to throw away" -Rae-Louise Kelly on Wanaruah
A win there would be career-defining, for Fernrigg Farm and the stallion value of Wanaruah.
His dam Mella Maria has a return date scheduled with Snitzel this season while Bella Khadijah’s mother Mouquet foaled to Tiger Of Malay last weekend. A trip to Victoria to visit Pierata at Yulong looms large if her Brad Widdup-trained three-year-old daughter performs well at Randwick.
