Three-time Flemington winner Chosen To Fly retired to stud duties following tendon injury

THERE can be no surprise that three-time Flemington winner Chosen To Fly will begin stallion duties this spring.

Chosen to Fly won three times at Flemington in eight career victories and will now be ret

THERE can be no surprise that three-time Flemington winner Chosen To Fly will begin stallion duties at Neville Bell’s Kilto Park Stud near Caboolture this spring.

Bell bred Chosen To Fly from his mare Butterfly Kisses, raised him and retained him to race when he failed to reach his reserve as a yearling.

Chosen To Fly (by Choisir) won eight races — beginning with three at the Sunshine Coast, followed by wins at Eagle Farm and Doomben before adding the three at Flemington over 1000m, 1200m and 1400m.

Chosen To Fly started his spring campaign well enough when second in the Listed Carlyon Stakes at Moonee Valley, but was forced out of training soon after with a tendon injury.

“He is a magnificent type and one of his outstanding credentials is his great temperament,” Bell said.

He set a service fee of $6600 for Chosen To Fly, who will join the English-bred stallion Champions Gallery at Kilto Park.

■ WHEN two-year-old Quick Assault won two of his first three starts in Rockhampton recently to give his sire Teranaba his first winner, Beaudesert breeder Jonathan Davies set out to buy a couple of mares from the family.

Davies stands Teranaba at his Somme Lodge stud and he decided to breed close relatives.

Teranaba sired Quick Assault when he was standing at Patinack Farm’s base in the Hunter Valley, and Davies tracked down Quick Assault’s dam, Star Of Athena (by Fantastic Light), to a stud near Scone — but the owner did not want to sell.

He estimated he then made 30 phone calls trying to find Star Of Athena’s half-sister Lizawi (by Dubawi) which had been racing in Victoria until last year — only to find she was being used as a teenager’s riding pony in the Hunter and also wasn’t for sale.

Davies acquired Teranaba, the 2006 Spring Champion Stakes winner, for Somme Lodge last year when Patinack was scaling down its massive operation, and the stallion served 30 mares in his first season at Beaudesert.

Davies intends to keep searching, focusing now on mares from the Zeditave and Blushing Groom sirelines that he has been advised match well with Teranaba’s pedigree.