Keep The Faith burns Saratoga track
Breeding and Racing - 23 August 2005
In the US, the collective gaze of shrewd Saratoga track-watchers is firmly fixed on Australian-bred black-type winner & 4YO entire Keep The Faith (Sunday Silence-Duelling Girl, by Dayjur). In his US debut last month, Keep The Faith set a course record at Belmont Park in New York in winning a US$75,000 allowance race by nearly 3-lengths in a sizzling 1min 6.82sec which was also a North American turf record for 6 furlongs.
And in his latest attention-seeking performance on the weekend, Keep The Faith was 1 of 53 horses who officially galloped on the Saratoga dirt over 5 furlongs & the only 1 to break 60sec; in fact, he was so much faster than the others, he was officially clocked at 58.2sec.
Now trained by Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor, Keep The Faith is due to race next in stakes company at Saratoga within 2 weeks. In Australia, Keep The Faith (purchased by Darley for $1.2 million as a yearling at the 2002 Inglis Easter Sale) raced 9 times for 4 wins (including the Listed Schweppes Cup over 1600m at Caulfield) & 1 placing (plus 4th in the Gr1 Canterbury Guineas when even-money favourite) for $115,020 prize-money.
He travelled to the UK when a breathing problem was discovered after he choked down in a race at Rosehill in 2004; he was duly operated on in England & then sent to the US where he resumed racing after 16 months away from the track. His dam Duelling Girl is owned by Darley in the NSW Hunter Valley but Arrowfield boss John Messara confirmed Keep The Faith’s yearling half-brother by Dehere will be offered by Arrowfield Stud for sale in the new year.