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Mighty Gurkha lands Sirenia Stakes at Kempton
The Archie Watson-trained Mighty Gurkha (2 c ex Royal Debt by Royal Applause) finally got his head in front at stakes level when landing the Sirenia Stakes (Gr 3, 6f) at Kempton on Saturday and in the process handed former Darley reverse shuttler Sepoy (Elusive Quality) with his 18th stakes winner.
Having his fourth start in stakes company, the two-year-old colt stayed on bravely to fend off the challenge from Cloudbridge (Hard Spun), eventually beating him by a nose, while Mystery Smiles (Mehmas) came home another length away in third.
Mighty Gurkha is the only winner out of the unraced mare Royal Debt (Royal Applause), who is herself a sister to Group 3-placed Dance And Dance and a half-sister to Listed winner and Group 1-placed Rewarding Hero (Exceed And Excel).
Further back this is the same family as Listed winner Rua D’Oro (El Gran Senor).
Sepoy shuttled to Europe for five seasons and he now exclusively stands at the operation’s Kelvinside base in the Hunter Valley for a fee of $7,700 (inc GST).
