Group 1-winning sprinter Reserve Bank is set to enter the breeding ranks, with the talented son of Capitalist to be offered as a stallion prospect through a private online sale conducted by Inglis next week.
Reserve Bank stallion prospect
The announcement marks a significant next step in the career of one of Australia’s most accomplished young sprinters, whose rise through the ranks culminated in a memorable victory in the Group 1 Goodwood Handicap earlier this year.
Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr, Reserve Bank made an immediate impact on the track. Unbeaten in two starts as a juvenile, he won on debut by an emphatic 5.5 lengths while recording the fastest closing sectionals of the meeting before following up with another dominant success as a spring three-year-old.
His first taste of elite company came in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes, where he was narrowly denied by a nose after a spirited performance. That effort proved a sign of bigger things to come.
Reserve Bank flourished during the autumn of his three-year-old season, claiming the Listed Redelva Stakes and the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes before producing the standout performance of his career in the Group 1 Goodwood Handicap.
Coming from the rear of the field, he stormed home to defeat a high-quality line-up that included multiple stakes performers and top-level winners. The success made him the only three-year-old colt to capture the famous Adelaide sprint in the past 20 years.
The achievement also placed him among a select group of colts to have won an open-age Australian Group 1 race over 1400 metres or shorter since 2018, underlining the quality he displayed during a relatively brief racing career.
His pedigree adds further appeal for breeders. Reserve Bank is a grandson of champion sire Written Tycoon and influential broodmare sire Fastnet Rock, two stallions whose impact on Australian thoroughbred breeding continues to be felt across the industry.
Co-trainer Michael Kent Jr believes the horse possesses all the attributes required to make a successful transition to stud duties.
“He made a big impression early, winning his first two starts by big margins before being beaten by the narrowest of margins in the Danehill Stakes,” Kent Jr said.
“He really came into his own as a three-year-old sprinter, winning three straight races before taking out a very strong edition of the Group 1 Goodwood Handicap.
“He was then aimed at further elite-level targets but circumstances didn’t always fall his way. Nevertheless, his talent was evident throughout his career.”
Reserve Bank’s most recent campaign included appearances during Queensland’s winter carnival, though track conditions and difficult barriers limited his opportunities to showcase his best form.
The colt will become the inaugural offering through Inglis’ new invitation-only private auction platform, known as the Bull Ring, which has been created to facilitate the sale of elite breeding and bloodstock prospects.
Inglis Digital Business Manager Nick Melmeth described the opportunity as an exciting one for prospective buyers.
“He is a Group 1 winner, a very attractive horse and comes from a family with proven success at the highest level,” Melmeth said.
“Reserve Bank presents a compelling opportunity for breeding operations and investors looking to acquire a young stallion prospect with both performance and pedigree on his side.”
With his Group 1 credentials, proven speed and fashionable bloodlines, Reserve Bank is expected to attract considerable interest when the private sale opens next week.
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