Kisses
Photo NZTM website
Cambridge brothers Chris Campin and Mark Fraser-Campin don't usually race fillies, but they are pleased they made an exception and kept Kisses (Iffraaj [GB]-La Marmalade[AUS]), especially after she recently won her second Listed race in the Christchurch Casino Easter Cup.
"We are really very proud of her," said Mark Fraser-Campin, "She was always a nice big bold filly. Chris and I don't race a lot of fillies, preferring to race colts that we can trade on but we decided to keep her and take her through to keep as a broodmare."
This time last year Kisses won her first black type race, the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Air Freight Stakes at Riccarton. She went into that race with a maiden win under her belt and a placing in the Listed Fordell O'Leary Stakes at Wanganui.
Shortly after, the brothers who are the proprietors of Chequers Stud in Cambridge, decided to send her to Australia to race.
"She raced so well down in Christchurch last year and was lightly raced, so we decided to go for the big money in Australia and for what-ever reason she didn't do any good over there.
"We brought her home in January and put her in the paddock. She didn't seem to have any problems and was sound so we put her back in work. Given that she had done so well down south previously, I did have this race in the back of my mind for her.
"We took her to Counties and she won fresh up over 1200 metres. That was a huge run - Trudy (Thornton) who rode her in all her track work and in the race got her to settle. She does have a tendency to over-race, and in the last 200 metres the way she ran home was really impressive.
"Trudy said she was going better than ever at the end, so we were pretty confident when we decided to bring her down here. I needed a travelling mate for Satay who ran in the New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance Stakes so she got the nod to come down. Kisses raced really well in the Easter Cup. It was a big step up both from 1200 to 1600 and in class.
"I am not sure what I will do with her now as she has jumped up 20 rating points with that win from a 70 to a 90. I am staying in the South Island for another week so Satay can run in the New Zealand Bloodstock Warstep Stakes and I can go to the South Island Sale, so she will stay down here, and I will decide when we get home," he said.
Kisses is the eighth foal of La Marmalade (AUS), an unraced daughter of Marscay (AUS), and the stakes winning Sagace (FR) mare Liffey's Lace (USA). She is a member of the first Southern Hemisphere crop of Iffraaj (Zafonic [USA]) and is one of five stakes winners from that crop. Iffraaj is currently the leading New Zealand-based sire of two-year-olds this season by earnings and number of winners.
"La Marmalade was a Marscay mare that Dad had bought from Australia and had a bit of success with. She is the dam of Tres Sheik (Desert Style[IRE]), a group two winner in Singapore, and Master Regent (Deputy Governor [USA]) who won six races and ran third in the Listed Matamata RC Slipper Stakes. She is also the grandam of Lady Showheart (Show A Heart [AUS]) a stakes placed winner of five races.
"She was a good looking mare and left that in her stock. Unfortunately she is no longer around, and Kisses was her last foal. We have a share in Iffraaj so we obviously support him. Dad (Jim Campin the founder of Chequers Stud who passed away last year) was still around then and did the mating with Iffraaj. He decided to send this mare there in the hope of getting a foal with a bit more size, and at that stage the mare was getting on and he wanted to cross her with a young stallion. She produced Kisses and she was a lovely big chestnut foal that we all really liked from the start."
Things couldn't have worked out better for the brothers. Not only is Kisses a dual stakes winner, but earlier this year the family received another boost when Costume won the Group One Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa. Costume is a daughter of Disguised (O'Reilly- Liffey[FR]) and is a half-sister to Liffey's Lace, the grandam of Kisses. Disguised has also left the Listed Soliloquy Stakes winner in Masquerade.
"Obviously now Kisses has two listed wins and we will just try and pick up some more black type with her and eventually send her to Battle Paint (Tale of The Cat [USA]-Black Speck[USA]), said Fraser-Campin, referring to the stallion that stands at their Chequers Stud property.
"It would be nice to get a group win with her and maybe this time next year we will be able to have a crack at a race like the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes. We always thought she would get better with age and she is very sound."
- Michelle Saba
"We are really very proud of her," said Mark Fraser-Campin, "She was always a nice big bold filly. Chris and I don't race a lot of fillies, preferring to race colts that we can trade on but we decided to keep her and take her through to keep as a broodmare."
This time last year Kisses won her first black type race, the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Air Freight Stakes at Riccarton. She went into that race with a maiden win under her belt and a placing in the Listed Fordell O'Leary Stakes at Wanganui.
Shortly after, the brothers who are the proprietors of Chequers Stud in Cambridge, decided to send her to Australia to race.
"She raced so well down in Christchurch last year and was lightly raced, so we decided to go for the big money in Australia and for what-ever reason she didn't do any good over there.
"We brought her home in January and put her in the paddock. She didn't seem to have any problems and was sound so we put her back in work. Given that she had done so well down south previously, I did have this race in the back of my mind for her.
"We took her to Counties and she won fresh up over 1200 metres. That was a huge run - Trudy (Thornton) who rode her in all her track work and in the race got her to settle. She does have a tendency to over-race, and in the last 200 metres the way she ran home was really impressive.
"Trudy said she was going better than ever at the end, so we were pretty confident when we decided to bring her down here. I needed a travelling mate for Satay who ran in the New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance Stakes so she got the nod to come down. Kisses raced really well in the Easter Cup. It was a big step up both from 1200 to 1600 and in class.
"I am not sure what I will do with her now as she has jumped up 20 rating points with that win from a 70 to a 90. I am staying in the South Island for another week so Satay can run in the New Zealand Bloodstock Warstep Stakes and I can go to the South Island Sale, so she will stay down here, and I will decide when we get home," he said.
Kisses is the eighth foal of La Marmalade (AUS), an unraced daughter of Marscay (AUS), and the stakes winning Sagace (FR) mare Liffey's Lace (USA). She is a member of the first Southern Hemisphere crop of Iffraaj (Zafonic [USA]) and is one of five stakes winners from that crop. Iffraaj is currently the leading New Zealand-based sire of two-year-olds this season by earnings and number of winners.
"La Marmalade was a Marscay mare that Dad had bought from Australia and had a bit of success with. She is the dam of Tres Sheik (Desert Style[IRE]), a group two winner in Singapore, and Master Regent (Deputy Governor [USA]) who won six races and ran third in the Listed Matamata RC Slipper Stakes. She is also the grandam of Lady Showheart (Show A Heart [AUS]) a stakes placed winner of five races.
"She was a good looking mare and left that in her stock. Unfortunately she is no longer around, and Kisses was her last foal. We have a share in Iffraaj so we obviously support him. Dad (Jim Campin the founder of Chequers Stud who passed away last year) was still around then and did the mating with Iffraaj. He decided to send this mare there in the hope of getting a foal with a bit more size, and at that stage the mare was getting on and he wanted to cross her with a young stallion. She produced Kisses and she was a lovely big chestnut foal that we all really liked from the start."
Things couldn't have worked out better for the brothers. Not only is Kisses a dual stakes winner, but earlier this year the family received another boost when Costume won the Group One Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa. Costume is a daughter of Disguised (O'Reilly- Liffey[FR]) and is a half-sister to Liffey's Lace, the grandam of Kisses. Disguised has also left the Listed Soliloquy Stakes winner in Masquerade.
"Obviously now Kisses has two listed wins and we will just try and pick up some more black type with her and eventually send her to Battle Paint (Tale of The Cat [USA]-Black Speck[USA]), said Fraser-Campin, referring to the stallion that stands at their Chequers Stud property.
"It would be nice to get a group win with her and maybe this time next year we will be able to have a crack at a race like the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes. We always thought she would get better with age and she is very sound."
- Michelle Saba
