Destiny’s Kiss carved out a reputation as the ‘Cups King’ due to his prolific winning record in feature staying races and now another member of his family is striving to do the same.
Joe Pride’s evergreen performer retired in 2019 having won 10 Cup races, starting his spree in the 2013 Winter Cup and rounding it out in the same race six years later.
The Warwick Farm trainer also puts the polish on the family’s latest talent, five-year-old Stockman, and says he is showing similar traits.
Stockman is eight years younger than Destiny’s Kiss but is the equivalent of his equine uncle.
He is out of Crimson, who foaled him at the ripe old age of 22, making Stockman a half-brother to A Fairy’s Kiss, the dam of Destiny’s Kiss.
“You don’t get many mares they are breeding out of at that age,” Pride said.
“There are a lot of similarities between Stockman and Destiny’s Kiss.
“They’re both stayers but they are quite similar in their personalities.
“Even in the way they win their races, they get back in the field and round them up pretty quickly.”
While Stockman has a long way to go to emulate the deeds of Destiny’s Kiss, he has started along the road.
Having already captured the McKell and Caloundra Cups in the winter, he is an early $3.80 favourite to add the Group 3 Summer Cup (2000m) on Boxing Day at Randwick.
The gelding has been enjoying the wet start to the summer, finishing runner-up to Ellsberg on a heavy track in the Festival Stakes (1500m) and closing late for fourth to stablemate Brutality on slow ground in the Villiers Stakes (1600m).
He will appreciate stepping up to a middle-distance as he continues his quest to chase down Destiny’s Kiss’ record.
“Destiny’s Kiss was the Cups King, he won ten Cups,” Pride said.
“This horse has already got two on the mantlepiece, so he has got to work his way up towards ten.”
Interestingly, Destiny’s Kiss contested three Summer Cups but was unable to win one, his best result a third in 2013.