Bend The Knee Adds to Big Arrowfield Week

Arrowfield graduates Bend The Knee (Snitzel) and Port Louis (Maurice) signed off on the Stud’s spectacular 2021 Cup Week at Flemington with a thrilling quinella in the $175,000 The Amanda Elliott 1400m LR on Stakes Day. Bend The Knee is the fourth stakes-winner this spring from Arrowfield’s 2020 Magic Millions draft, after Profondo (Spring Champion S. G1), Hitotsu (last Saturday’s Victoria Derby G1) & Flying Evelyn (Thursday’s Red Roses S. G3). Bred by the long-standing partnership of Northern Farm & Arrowfield, Bend The Knee is the best of three winners produced by dual stakes-winner Kneeling (by Encosta de Lago), herself a half-sister to two stakes-winners and the dam of Australian Derby winner Ace High. His grand-dam Sunday Service (by Sunday Silence) and her stakes-winning half-sister Express Power (by Snitzel) were both Arrowfield-bred, and Kneeling has been based at the Stud since her purchase by Katsumi Yoshida in 2015. A $300,000 purchase by his trainer John O’Shea, Bend The Knee is raced by Carl Holt (who also celebrated Zaaki’s brilliant MacKinnon Stakes victory), George Kairouz, Finemore Thoroughbreds and Arrowfield with Katsumi Yoshida, the owner of Port Louis (Maurice-Cat By The Tale). Kneeling has a 2YO filly Dashing Legend (by Snitzel), bought by Bon Ho and in training with Hawkes Racing, and a yearling filly by The Autumn Sun. The mare has a positive test to Maurice. Bend The Knee takes Snitzel’s career tally of stakes-winners to 116, with a table-leading nine successful in Australia this season.

Bend The Knee and Port Louis were stride by stride (pic: Steve Hart)