ONE good turn deserves another!
A mutual association forged out of harness racing has provided Hawkesbury trainer Darryll Kell with the opportunity to win a $1m race at Royal Randwick next month during The Championships.
Kell’s bonny mare Mahogany Girl, who became a mother during her lengthy absence from the racetrack, earned a place in the 15-horse field for the Polytrack Provincial-Midway Championships Final (1400m) on April 12 by winning her home track Qualifier (1400m) yesterday.
Skilfully ridden by Chad Lever, who has been aboard in all four of the six-year-old mare’s victories, Mahogany Girl ($5.50) led and bravely held out Kembla Grange trainer Kerry Parker’s $2.60 favorite Well Timed.
In the process, Kell claimed the biggest win of his training career – either standardbreds or thoroughbreds.
But it would not have occurred had the former long-time harness racing devotee not become involved of his own volition with the Harness RacingNSW Breeders Association.
“I had taken a break from the industry for about eight years, and mentioned to my wife Lisa (who is Mahogany Girl’s personal attendant) that I wanted to give something back by doing volunteer work,” Kell explained today.
“I didn’t care if it was putting tables and chairs out at a function.
“Somehow I became vice-president and then president and as our goal was to promote the breeding side of the industry, I met Scott Robertson from Gobbagombalin (near Wagga).
“Scott and his wife Kathy are both very successful harness breeders and thoroughbred breeders.
“When they decided to try Mahogany Girl again as a racing proposition (she had raced only once when she came from last to run third at Wagga in a 1200m Maiden Plate on January 6, 2022 and later foaled a colt by Peltzer in October 2023), they called and asked if I was interested in training her.”
Kell, who had begun to focus on thoroughbreds, had only two horses in work (a mare named Out Wrapped and a Shamus Award gelding named Shoesmith), and of course agreed to take up the challenge.
“That was around 12 months ago, and I have to give credit to trackwork rider Simone Vella, who helped me get Mahogany Girl going at Hawkesbury,” he said.
“She would walk her up and down the hill at the back of the track after riding her work, and said to me one day “this mare will make it to Randwick”.
“That was before Mahogany Girl won her first trial (786m) at Warwick Farm last June.
“I took her there without a jumpout, and then she won another trial (800m) at Hawkesbury in August, ridden by Chad Lever.
“Chad has put the icing on the cake. He is a terrific horseman and has done an outstanding job handling Mahogany Girl in work and her races.
“Mahogany Girl likes to lead and is hard to get past as she again showed yesterday when Well Timed challenged her strongly in the straight.”
Kell hasn’t forsaken his harness racing roots, stabling his small team at Luke and Belinda McCarthy’s Cobbitty Equine Farm, and was equally pleased to see Luke train and drive Don Hugo to victory in last night’s $1m Miracle Mile at Menangle.
“It’s a wonderful set-up at Cobbitty, and I’m very appreciative of being able to use the magnificent facilities there,” he said.
The Robertsons are yet to see Mahogany Girl live in any of her four wins for her new trainer.
“Scott was keen to come out to Hawkesbury yesterday as they had a batch of yearlings (standardbreds) to sell in Sydney today at Inglis’ Riverside complex at Warwick Farm,” Kell said.
“But Kathy had the final say. Perhaps she didn’t want Scott jinxing the mare by going to the races.”
Kell now has to decide whether to start Mahogany Girl again in the five weeks until the April 12 Final.
“It’s something I’ll have to think carefully about,” he said.
“I had a quick look at the calendar last night, and there didn’t appear to be any suitable races for her.”
Mahogany Girl is now a firming $11 chance for the Final, with Well Timed retaining his place as one of four joint favorites at $8 with Lord Of Biscay, Matcha Latte, and Welcometobarbados.
Well Timed’s trainer Kerry Parker says his gelding will definitely need another run leading into the Final.
“We’re qualified now, but he’s a big boy and I’ll find probably a Benchmark 88 Handicap in town for him next,” he said.
Well Timed’s stablemate Flying Bandit also will attempt to qualify for the Final at his home track 1400m heat on Saturday week.
Chad Lever’s triumph on Mahogany Girl completed a double for him yesterday as he had earlier won the Bligh Park Hotel Bistro Class 1 Handicap (1500m) for his trainer wife Claire on Casanova ($10).
In scoring with the Stratum Star four-year-old, Claire Lever won her fourth race of the season and she has done an excellent job with the gelding since taking him over from a Sydney stable last year.
She has prepared him for both his wins (the first was at Gundagai over 1400m in August on heavy ground), and he has also been placed on three occasions.
. TAB.com.au’s latest market on the PMC Final is:
8 Lord Of Biscay, Matcha Latte, Welcometobarbados, Well Timed
11 Bojangles, Mahogany Girl, Midnight Opal, Rapt, Wooloowin
15 Alabama State, Flying Bandit, French Ruler, Harlow Mist, Overriding, Rolling Magic, Silvanito
Story John Curtis, March 9, 2025 - Pics Bradley Photos
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