Omen-Like SA HOTY Award for Behemoth

At South Australia’s annual thoroughbred awards function over the weekend, the keenly contested South Australian Champion Horse of the Year category was taken out by Behemoth (All Too Hard-Penny Banger, by Zedrich), trained by Goolwa-based David Jolly. Behemoth upstaged fellow finalists Instant Celebrity (Not A Single Doubt) and Gytrash (Lope de Vega) to win the award following his successes in last year’s Gr1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes and Gr1 Memsie Stakes, both at Caulfield, as well as the Spring Stakes at Morphettville. Although clearly not included in the recognition of what occurred in the 2020-21 racing season, Behemoth managed to replicate his Spring Stakes-Memsie Stakes double for a second successive year when triumphing over fellow South Australian-trained Beau Rossa (Unemcumbered) on Saturday. Behemoth’s Vinery Stud-based sire All Too Hard has catapulted off an exceptional season last year to sit in second place on the 2021-22 Black Type Stallion Premiership. The award was also just reward for the Monds family’s Tyreel Stud whose graduates were among the best in the country last season. Behemoth was initially a $120,000 weanling consigned by Tyreel Stud at the 2016 Inglis Great Southern Sale & subsequently a $6,000 yearling consigned by Riversdale at the 2017 Magic Millions National Sale.