Mornington trainer Shane Nichols didn’t mind supporting a move away from a formula that produced a dual Group 1 winner.
Streets Of Avalon won two Group 1 races among six stakes successes as a result of the union between stallion Magnus and the Black Minnaloushe mare Kamuniak.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
The breeding match also produced city-class gallopers Eugenius and Orlando Grove.
However, Streets Of Avalon’s breeders decided to change this for Kamuniak’s 2022 stud season, sending the mare to champion stallion Written Tycoon.
Nichols paid $350,000 for the resulting colt, Bradford, which will debut at Sale on Thursday.
“It’s a great mix of owners, a few new clients and some old clients that have been with me for years so it should be good,” Nichols said.
The trainer said the different sire brought a superior specimen to Bradford’s half-siblings.
“He’s bigger, stronger and has more length than all the others,” Nichols said.
“He’s a better type than Streets Of Avalon, Eugenius, Orlando Grove and Kentucky Woman, better than all of them.”
Bradford is a $26 in early betting on the Vale Peta Tait Maiden Plate (1210m), a race named in honour of a stablehand that died in a Cranbourne stable tragedy earlier this month.
The rising three-year-old finished third and fourth in jumpouts leading up to his race debut but Nichols said the results were a secondary consideration.
“We’re just trying to educate him in his jumpouts because there’s no money in jumpouts,” Nichols said.
“He’ll definitely be competitive first-up”.
Meanwhile, Nichols said his sole Flemington acceptor Fenestella was all but certain to miss Saturday’s TAB We’re On (1410m) in preference for a provincial maiden.
Originally published as Streets Of Avalon’s $350,000 half-brother Bradford to debut at Sale on Thursday