The Snitzel filly Serasana completed a red-letter day for Kia Ora Stud at Caulfield when she made a one-act affair of the $300,000 Group II Neds Sandown Guineas (1600m).
Represented earlier in the day by the $1.1million Exceed And Excel filly Eneeza in the Merson Cooper Stakes, Serasana was a $400,000 purchase for Griffiths deKock Racing / MDK International / Peter Ford Thoroughbreds (FBAA) from the Kia Ora draft at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and runs for a syndicate that includes Kia Ora and Drakenstein Stud.
Ridden by John Allen, the daughter of Snitzel gave Robbie Griffiths & Matthew de Kock running stakes-winners when leading at every call to defeat the Harry Angel (IRE) colt Arkansaw Kid by two and a half lengths with the Hellbent filly Vivy Air a length back in third.
With her maiden stakes success Serasana advances her record to two wins and a third from six starts with earnings of $290,500.
Matthew de Kock celebrated a great forty minutes for the stable after King Magnus saluted in the Group III Kevin Heffernan Stakes.
“This was the goal when we set out as a partnership, thank you so much to everyone involved in us for the support, he said.
“We really really appreciate it and it’s lovely to get a result like this because we’ve always thought really highly of this filly and John just gave it an absolutely perfect ride so what a day to have a Group double.
“We never left the winner’s box from the last one!
“We’ve had Group Two success before but this is definitely our first Group double on the one day, that’s for sure.
“We always had the mile distance in the back of our mind and we actually wanted to be ready for the fillies’ guineas and had a little hiccup in the prep which put us on the back foot so we just took our time with her and focused on this race and as you can see today she’s going to make a lovely miler when she’s older because she’s still immature.
“I had to go to my pedigree guru Robbie Griffiths to ask him about Snitzel’s in the wet but he was pretty confident that they handle it and she was fit and well and there was no reason not to run today.”
A sister to stakes-placed Royal Hale, Serasana is the fourth winner from five to race out of Testa Rossa’s Group II VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Twilight Royale.
A $45,000 Inglis Premier purchase for Bjorn Baker, Twilight Royale banked $495,750 before selling to James Bester Bloodstock for $580,000 at the National Broodmare Sale in 2014.
Twilight Royale has a 2-year-old colt by I Am Invincible named Irama in the stable of Chris Waller after failing to make his $500,000 reserve at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Twilight Royale has a yearling filly by Kia Ora Stud’s resident stallion Farnan and foaled an Exceed And Excel filly on October 8.
There are three members of the family coming up for sale.
Serasana is the 138th stakes-winner for Arrowfield Stud’s champion Snitzel.
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