A good few days at the races saw Kelley Racing land winners with Aristocrat, Deepwater Artist and King Edward, with the stable striking form across three meetings.

The run started Friday with Aristocrat, who broke through over 1600 metres with Jeff Penza aboard. While it was only a four-horse Class 1, the race didn’t pan out ideally. The speed came right out of it mid-race and Penza was forced to slide forward earlier than planned, taking up the running before the turn. The lightly raced son of Zoustar dug in late and held them off to score, showing the ability the stable has always felt he possessed.

Both trainer and jockey noted he is still learning and can do a few things wrong, but the upside is there once he puts it all together.


Sunday belonged to Deepwater Artist, who continued his strong form at Nowra with another tough win, charging home from the back to make it three wins from six starts. The $2,750 Inglis Digital purchase continues to prove a sharp buy and has quickly developed into a consistent performer for the stable. (Full race recap available here.)

The weekend finished Monday at Albury where King Edward delivered an impressive win over 2000 metres in a Class 1.

The five-year-old gelding by Vadamos, formerly trained in Adelaide for OTI Racing before joining Kelley Racing, showed clear improvement second-up for the stable. First-up at Sapphire Coast he raced greenly and hung badly, which led to a trial to straighten him out. Back on race day at Albury he travelled comfortably throughout and once Billy Owen angled into clear running at the top of the straight, the race was quickly over, with the gelding pulling away to win by a length and a half.

Owen said post-race he felt like the winner a long way from home once he had clear air.

Three winners across the weekend capped a strong patch for the stable, with the Lewis family colours becoming a familiar sight in the winner’s stall as the team continues to build momentum through the season.