Veteran Perth trainer Fred Kersley is trying to keep the lid on the growing boom about his latest star, the unbeaten Blackfriars two-year-old Blackwood.
Blackwood recorded her third win from as many start at Belmont last Saturday, winning by seven lengths in what many local experts rated as the best win by a two year-old filly in Perth this season.
Blackwood (Blackfriars x Karriwood by Tobougg) is certainly a filly Kersley treasures as she comes from a family close to his heart.
The filly’s third dam Canon Song (Rory’s Jester), the winner of two Melbourne stakes races in 1996, is a half sister to the dam of Kersley’s great champion Northerly.Northerly won two Cox Plates and a Caulfield Cup for Kersley and his Oakland Park owner Neville Duncan.
Duncan also races Blackwood with Kersley and they have retained her yearling half-brother by Rogano.Blackwood has joined another Blackfriars filly London Line, winner of the Listed Supremacy Stakes, among the notable youngsters to win in Perth this season.
Friarbird is another Ascot two year-old winner by Blackfriars expected to make an impact when she returns for the spring and summer racing.She produced a brilliant turn of foot to win on debut and is being set for the G3 WA Champion Fillies Stakes (1600m) in November.
Blackfriars is enjoying another huge season in WA where his success rivals the records of leading stallions standing in the eastern states.The Victoria Derby winning son of Danehill, standing at Scenic Lodge, has his fifth successive WA Sunspeed sires’ title in the bag, his progeny this season led by top shelf performers Black Heart Bart and Shining Knight having won more than $5 million prizemoney this season.
He is the sire of winners of over $27 million, including more than 250 individual winners.