Promising filly Bonny Rock paid her dues as a juvenile before delivering her first win for trainer Neville Parnham at Pinjarra on Sunday.
Parnham is in serious form at The Pinnacles and winning the Group 1 Railway Stakes with Bustler was a special result apart from racing the son of Playing God with his wife Carolyn and watching their son Steven tick off a 10 out of 10 ride in the Big Mile.
They race him in partnership with good friend and long-time client Santo Guagliardo (Ridgeport Holdings) whose Royal Blue and Lime Green Diagonal Striped colours are fairly flying this season. Bonny Rock also sported those silks for a two-length victory over older horses in the Alcoa Refinery Maiden (1200m).
They bought Bustler from Kojarena and Bonny Rock was also bred and reared north of Perth by Alan and Sue Olive at Gold Front Thoroughbreds near Gingin.
Bonny Rock is a 3yo daughter of Gold Front stallion Awesome Rock (Fastnet Rock) and Bonny Be Good (Blackfriars) who is a three-time Belmont-winning full-sister to three-time Listed winner Tellem We’re Comin (Farnley Stakes, Hannan’s Hcp and Northam Cup).
Gold Front and Awesome Rock go about their business without a whole lot of fanfare letting results speak for themselves. Awesome Rock sits fourth on the WA sires’ premiership and can move up the table this Saturday with Searchin’ Roc’s in the G1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) at Ascot and Red Sun Sensation in the LR Ballarat Cup (2000m).
In Hong Kong, trainer Caspar Fownes was more than happy with Awesome Fluke’s first-up third in the Salisbury Hcp (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Doing his best work at the finish, Awesome Fluke worked home along the rails to be beaten a length under apprentice Alfred Chan.
Known as Awesome John in Australia, he was placed in the G2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m) in March prior to winning the G2 WA Derby (2400m) for visiting trainer John O’Shea. “Awesome Fluke looks like a real staying proposition – 1400m first-up was on the sharp side – but it was nice to see him taking some ground off them late,” Fownes said.
“He looks like a dead-set 2000m to 2400m horse. He stayed through the line strong in his trials and hopefully he will adjust to Hong Kong’s tempo and put the writing on the wall with a win.”
Awesome Fluke’s long-term target is the LR Hong Kong Derby (2000m) worth HK$20million at Sha Tin on March 17.
Closer to home on Monday, Awesome Rock unveiled talented trial winners Own The Queen (Justine Erkelens) and Rocking Gem (Simon Miller) at Belmont. They are unraced 3yo fillies and Awesome Rock’s third winner of the morning – Ortabearockstar – is a 4yo mare who has transferred from Adam Durrant to Roy Rogers.
