On Track Summer 2012 - Moonee Valley Racing Club

6
TATTs coX PLATE 2011
PINKER PINKER
WINNER WINNER
By Shane Anderson
When Pinker Pinker crossed the line a convincing
winner of the 2011 Tatts Cox Plate, a long held dream
had finally been realised.
David and Carol Kirby, who race the daughter of Reset
and Miss Marion, have had a long involvement in racing
and breeding which span some 40 years. In that time, they
have had their fair share of success with a steady stream of
winners racing in their name, whether bred or bought. But a
Group One win had eluded them.
As Carol Kirby reflected, “David and i always said to each
other that we would win a Group One race but we never
imagined that it would be the Cox Plate”.
Now in their 70s and having reduced their involvement in
both racing and breeding, David and Carol were persuaded
to attend the 2009 inglis Premier yearling Sale at oaklands
Junction by their accountant as a day out.
“The first person that we saw was Richard Kerry from
Millford Thoroughbreds and we asked him what he was
offering at the sale and he said that there was only one that
we needed to see, and that turned out to be Pinker Pinker”,
Carol explains.
“Funnily enough, Greg eurell was the next person that we
bumped into that day, and we have had a long association
with him. When we raced horses with Ray Lawson, Greg
would break them in and be involved in the pre-training.
“When he went out on his own, we sent him a few horses.
One of which turned out to be Nick On The Run, who was a
Group Three winner”.
At the request of David Kirby, eurell was asked to take a look
at the Reset filly.
“She was very neat and in great condition, very well
presented for the sales”, Eurell remembers.
“From the outset, she just had the loveliest attitude. Physically,
she possessed a really good hindquarter and she looked like
she had a great deal of strength”.
David Kirby purchased the filly for $120,000 and sent her to
Eurell’s stable.
“From the moment that she went into work, Pinker Pinker
always displayed that she had the ability to do whatever work
you asked of her very easily”, said Eurell.
“By the time she got up to a trial, Pinker Pinker seemed to go
to a new level. Like all good horses, she revelled under the
pressure and would keep stepping up to the mark”.
After a promising beginning to her career, Pinker Pinker made
significant progression as a three-year-old.
“We learned so much during her three-year-old campaign.
She could handle travel and race well, proved herself against
the best of her generation, and was effective on any surface
whether firm or soft”, eurell said.
“The greatest fear for a trainer is that a solid three-year-old
program can burn out a filly and then they fail to come back
as a mare but we always kept some fuel in the tank with
Pinker Pinker”.
After a luckless first up run at Caulfield, Pinker Pinker
destroyed her rivals when winning the Group Two Let’s Elope
Stakes (1400m) at Flemington.
craig Williams aboard Pinker Pinker after
winning the 2011 tatts cox Plate