Photo: Bradleyphotos.com.au
A major injury suffered as a youngster didn’t stop Brah Spring enjoying a lucrative racing career with following stakes success as a broodmare for Little Avondale Stud.
The Darci Brahma mare claimed seven victories, with her daughter Prima Bella (Per Incanto) surpassing that mark at Randwick on Saturday when she added the Gr.3 Toy Show Quality (1100m) to her record.
“She’s a really good mare and when the other horse headed her, that race day fitness came to the fore,” Little Avondale’s Sam Williams said. “She’s tough and eight wins from 15 starts now is outstanding.”
Her homebred mother Brah Spring also displayed fighting qualities to overcome early adversity to star on and off the track.
“She hurt herself as a foal and we did a CT on her and she had damaged her inner ear and was completely deaf in her right ear,” Williams said.
“She used to race with it flopping out to the right and carried her head slightly to the right.”
Prima Bella was offered by Sledmere Stud on behalf of Little Avondale at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, selling for A$320,000, and carries the familiar silks of Group One-winning owners Francis and Christine Cook.
“They saw her as a yearling, it was during COVID and we couldn’t fly to Australia that year, and Christine told me that she said to Francis don’t come home without buying that filly,” Williams said.
“They are big fans of Per Incanto and race a lot of them. Last week Tauto Bar won in their colours and Evaporate ran third (in the Gr.2 PB Lawrence Stakes, 1400m).
“After Prima Bella, we sent the mare to Time Test and missed to Super Seth, and then we decided to sell her a couple of years ago.”
The Matthew Smith-trained Prima Bella claims Group winner and producer Sound Lover as her third dam.
“She’s the fifth stakes-winning Per Incanto horse who is a direct descendant of (foundation mare) Sound Lover, that’s outstanding,” Williams said.
“She was my favourite mare when I came home, and we raced her with the O’Sullivan family and then left four black type horses (Philosophe, Magnum, Men At Work, Sir Lovesalot).
“She had 13 foals with 11 winners, and between them won 56 races.”
Little Avondale continues to breed from Brah Spring’s stakes-winning half-sister Pure Incanto (Listed Power Turf Sprint, 1200m).
“She’s got a really sharp Proisir colt at foot, we sold (for A$200,000) a Proisir at the Easter Sale this year, and she’s in foal to Satono Aladdin,” Williams.
