Brian McKnight of Oakford Thoroughbred Farm – where Saturday's Inglis Dash
winner Perpetual Crisis was raised – tells the galloper's story better than
anyone.
So, allow him.
"It's a phenomenal story of this horse. He was born four to five weeks prem, he
came out a July foal, and he was very, very lucky to survive those first couple
of weeks,'' McKnight says.
"Somehow, he got through it and survived, he fought all the way when some of us
thought he might not make it, but he did, just exactly like he did in that race
today, he fought til the end when plenty thought he was going to get run down.
"We raised him and looked after him on the farm until the yearling sale and
after surviving that big scare at the start of his life, he really did become the
King of the Kids on the farm.
"He's such a great fellow. We all love him.''
And then there's the story of Perpetual Crisis' mother, Leica Gossip.
"Ray Campling and Helen Brindle, who own the mare, they bought her to race but
once they got her they took her to the vet and were told she was blind in one
eye and therefore never raced,'' McKnight continued.
"So they sent her to Stryker [at Three Bridges] and this fellow [Perpetual
Crisis] was born, and then they sent her to Lucas Cranach and we're taking that
half-brother to the Inglis Vobis Gold Sale this year too.''
Knowing all this now, it comes as no surprise that Perpetual Crisis
(Stryker x Leica Gossip) fought off a bevy of challengers in the
final 200m of today's $250,000 Inglis Dash at Flemington to earn the biggest
pay cheque of his career.
His trainer Darren Weir paid just $20,000 for him at the 2015 Inglis Vobis Gold
Sale from the Oakford Thoroughbred draft.
Today's win took his earning to over $200,000.
Oakford has a six-strong draft coming to next month's Inglis Premier
Yearling Sale at Oaklands from February 26 – March 1.
On top of his share of the prizemoney today, Weir also earned himself a pair of
SwarovskiOptik binoculars as the winning trainer of an Inglis Race Series
event.
All yearlings sold or passed in at an Inglis Yearling Sale are eligible for
nomination to the lucrative $5million Inglis Race Series. For information,
visit inglis.com.au/races.
Upcoming races in the Inglis
Race Series include:
$250,000 Inglis Premier – Premier nominated 2YOs – Caulfield, VIC, 1200m –
Saturday February 4
$250,000 Inglis Classic – Classic nominated 2YOs – Randwick, NSW, 1200m –
Saturday February 11