Hunter Valley mentor Chris Kedwell has played a part in plenty of big race wins.
His rearing operation at Madyl Lodge, named after his kids Madison and Dylan, has homed a Million Dollar Chase winner, a Vic Peters Classic champion, a Paws Of Thunder victor, as well as numerous track record holders and big money earners.
“We’ve had plenty of good dogs come to the farm and it’s been great to watch them go on and have success. Blue Kermaro, Rinsed The Lot, King Cratos, French Martini and Gatlin were all here. And Fire Legend, She Is Fire, Barcia Blue Boy and McKeon all came through at so some stage as well,” Kedwell said.
Blue Kermaro won both the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase and the Paul Wheeler in 2024
“We also have a great relationship with Peter McDermott and Denis Donoghue [the Dee and Pee Syndicate] so Poco Dorado, Veloce Nero, Really Unreal and Vamos Penny have all whelped litters here as well.”
But despite playing a hands-on role in so many feature race success stories, Kedwell has never trained a Group race winner himself.
That could all change come Saturday night though when he walks Out Of Style to the boxes for the final of the Ladbrokes Brother Fox at Dubbo.
“Out Of Style ran third in the Group 1 Peter Mosman last year and that’s the closest we’ve come,” Kedwell said.
“She had a handful of starts after that race including a couple of really good wins at The Gardens, but you wouldn’t believe it, we targeted her towards the Maitland Cup and she came on season the day before the heats.”
Out Of Style not racing between November 16 last year and May 10 (last Saturday night), where she finally made a winning return to the track in a preliminary of the $50,000 Brother Fox.
“It was a massive run considering it was her first 500m in six months. She had a seasonal spell and then we just had a few little issues getting back to the track. It’s been frustrating but it’s great to see her back out there,” Kedwell added.
“You wouldn’t even know she’s had the run...that’s how good she’s pulled up. She’s a naturally clean-winded dog but it still surprised me how well she’s bounced out of it.”
“We’ve had the Brother Fox eyed off for the last three months because I wanted to put her up against some good dogs. We tried to time her run perfectly, ideally we probably needed another week to get some more work into her, but she still performed really well.”
“She’s got Box 5 in the final and at first, I wasn’t too happy but looking at a few replays I think it might suit her. She’s not a real railer and she usually tracks about two wide through the first bend so it might work out alright.”
“I think Warlord Nev will lead the race and Zipping Kristoff has speed in Box 2 as well, but if my girl comes out like she has at The Gardens before, she’ll set the pace.”
The 44-year-old hopeful his daughter of Aston Rupee x Fire On Ice won’t be underdone heading into Saturday night.
A strong, albeit peculiar, trial at the Dubbo circuit also giving him some extra confidence.
Out Of Style with Chris (R) and Dylan Kedwell after her 29.95 Brother Fox heat win
“She had a good post to post out there but it was nearly a big error,” Kedwell laughed.
“My brother and daughter took Out Of Style and another dog out there to have a look before the heats, and I said my brother “slip the first dog six lengths out in front of her and let her chase him down.”
“Anyway, it’s been a while since he slipped a dog. He tried to let the first dog go but he still had the lead in his hand and it got caught on the muzzle. So the dog was doing 360’s trying to chase the lure and my daughter didn’t know what to do with Out Of Style.”
“Eventually the muzzle broke so the lead dog took off and put 10 lengths on Out Of Style before my daughter realised what had happened. Madison eventually let her go and she still got within a length of him by the time they got around.”
The girl they call ‘Tay’, named after the pop megastar Taylor Swift, currently a $17 chance of adding her name to the long list of Group race winners to emerge from the Kedwell’s property.
“We’ve slowly been building the business over the last few years. We’re on 27 acres here, we’ve got 19 long yards and numerous other small yards so the dogs have plenty of room to develop.”
“Once the whelping process is done we put them into the smaller yards to let the growth plates develop properly. We do a bit of squeaker work with them and after that, they go into the longer yards and have plenty of room to gallop and run around. That process prepares them for the breakers as well and gets them used to running around with other dogs.”
The Group 2 Ladbrokes Brother Fox final will be run in Race 8 at Dubbo this Saturday, May 17.
