A self-described “Mums and Dads” trainer, it was some thrill for Gary Portelli to see Kimochi win the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke in the bottle green and white Yulong colours.
The daughter of Brave Smash was miles back around the bend, but chased superbly in the straight, running down favourite Another Wil ($2.60) in the shadows of the post and breaking her G1 duck under Craig Williams.
Kimochi cost just $21,000 as a yearling, but was snapped up by the mammoth breeding operation for $2.2 million in March.
She remained in Portelli’s care and won her first start in the colours, but Portelli said there was some anxiety about getting Kimochi’s first G1 win on the board, after previously being three times placed at the level.
“There was a bit of pressure on us, Yulong have been on fire with their famous colours in the last few weeks,” he said.
“Back to the 1400m, no weight on her back, champion ride. She was a long way back at one stage… (but) it was a brilliant ride from barrier 13 to get one off.
“I was able to win first-up with her and she’d just hit a couple of little flat spots since… it is a dream come true for us. We need the bigger (owners) behind us, that helps, and we’ve repaid their faith.
“They paid $2.2 million for her at the Inglis sales; we’ve been able to win a Group 1 now and she’s worth probably three times that now.”
The win is also a great advertisement for Portelli’s business – while Yulong’s support is obviously a big help, the Warwick Farm-based trainer wants to remain just as committed to his smaller owners as well.
“We’re only a small stable and most of our owners are just mums and dads who want to get involved in racing. We give them an experience they wouldn’t get in some of the bigger stables,” he said.
“So, for us to get a Group 1 gives them confidence that any horse that comes through our stable, we can get them to win at this level.
“I have a great team behind me that do the work at home, and I want to thank them as well. They are the people that go behind the scenes that don’t get thanks enough.
“We’ve got some nice horses coming through so the race is not over for me just yet.”
– racing.com
