Less than six months after the retirement of reigning Golden Easter Egg and Million Dollar Chase winner Power And Glory, Kenny Burnett may have already found a new kennel stud.
Boom juvenile, Blue Storm, looks likely to go around as a prohibitive favourite in a semi-final of the Group 3 Launching Pad at Sandown on Thursday night.
And after blowing his competitors away in a superb heat win a week ago, caretaker trainer Jamie Ennis says Blue Storm’s clock busting early career form mirrors that of a former Group 1 winning star.
“Not many dogs his age run 29.09 at Sandown and there definitely wouldn’t have been too many dogs run that time in just their sixth start…I’ve only had one dog do it and that was Amron Boy,” he said.
“We were confident going into the heats and we liked where he was boxed. He had dogs inside him that were always going to the fence but it’s still hard to overcome wide draws at city tracks. You only need to look at the strike rates and percentages to know that, especially with a dog that lacks a bit of early pace.”
“But he’s clearly an elite talent…everyone saw that in those two really good wins in the Robert Smith Memorial maiden series at The Gardens before he came to us.”
“Not long after he arrived down here, I took him to Geelong for a trial and it was the quickest first look over 400m I’ve seen there in a long time. He went 22.06 over a distance that wasn’t ideal and I could tell straight away he was pretty good.”
Ennis and wife Brooke thrilled to be handed the collar and lead of arguably the most exciting young talent in the NSW sprinting ranks.
An inside draw on Thursday night giving him a great chance to advance to the $150,000 series final.
“He’s drawn the speed heat so there should be at least three dogs in front of him early. But if he can get around the first corner OK, I still think he will be hard to beat,” Ennis added.
“The top four go through to the final so things don’t have to go perfect for him to qualify and have another chance next week. It’s a terrific series for young dogs and I think Sandown really suits his racing style too.”
“You don’t necessarily need early speed to have success at Sandown whereas Wentworth Park is a bit more of a front running track. I think Blue Storm is more of a ‘wind up dog’ and he’s definitely on the path to being pretty special.”
Music to the ears of Burnett and Mandy Brunton who had no hesitation sending the dog to the Ennis kennel for a crack at the Victorian riches on offer.
“I knew you had to have less than six wins to go in the Launching Pad and I thought it would be a perfect race for him,” Burnett said.
Blue Storm with Ken Burnett and Mandy Brunton after winning the Robert Smith Memorial maiden final in February
“I would never send a dog down to Melbourne unless it was pretty good and Brooke and Jamie were happy to take him. I drove him down a week after he won the Robert Smith Maiden and even though he fell in the Launching Pad qualifier, we still managed to find a ticket into the series.”
To be eligible for the Launching Pad, participants must hold one of 40 pre-purchased slots worth $2,500 each.
“We would have preferred to get through the qualifying series…that would have been the cheaper way in as well,” Burnett laughed.
“But we know he’s got ability this dog. Jamie said to me when he got him “I don’t know what you’ve sent me but he’s a very fast dog” and that means something coming from a guy who has had the likes of My Bro Fabio and Amron Boy…but we’ll see what he can do on Thursday.”
Blue Storm is a son of Group 1 winning parents Tommy Shelby and Just Terms and won the 2026 Robert Smith Memorial maiden final in a race record time of 29.46.
