Craig Kerry
Cameron Crockett’s $13,000 “fail from the sale” Durova has already paid plenty of bills for the Scone owner-trainer.
Now he hopes to cash in even more with the four-year-old Russian Revolution mare at Randwick on Saturday before a shot at a home-town feature in three weeks.
Durova has won six of seven starts for Crockett, and more than $145,000 in prizemoney, after he picked up the former Ciaron Maher-trained Bendigo winner at the 2025 Inglis June Early Online Sale.
A $250,000 yearling buy for Maher at the Karaka Sale in 2023, Durova had one win in six starts before she was sold at auction for $55,000 and sent to Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker. However, she was declared a fail from the sale and returned when a throat problem was detected in an endoscopic exam the next day.
Crockett heard about the development through an owner, did his research and waited for what he hoped was a bargain buy two weeks later online.
“I rang up Chris O’Sullivan, he was the independent vet through Inglis,” Crockett said.
“He scoped it and he said to me, ‘I had to fail it, but if I was your stable vet, and you were happy with this horse and I scoped it and saw that, I would tell you not to worry about it’.
“So I bought it for $13,000, which was a little bit more than I planned and because of everything it had been through, I thought I’ll just keep it myself and hoped for the best, and she’s just gone from strength to strength.”
Crockett said, “ultimately, she’s a roarer” but the wind condition had never been a problem.
“She may end up having a throat operation, but I’ve never once told a jockey at the races it has a wind problem and never once has a jockey got off and told me it has one,” he said.
Durova won her first four starts for the new stable, at Dubbo, Tamworth, Newcastle and Dubbo again, before a sixth at Randwick on Melbourne Cup day over 1000m in a benchmark 84. She has spelled and returned with two victories at Muswellbrook.
Crockett hoped she could overcome a rise to 59 kilograms and have better luck at this time Randwick in the fifth, a 1000m benchmark 78, on the eight-race Anzac Day meeting.
“I thought she was just a bit trained off the last time I took her to Randwick,” he said.
“I was a bit disappointed, but I’ve watched the replay a few times since, and I thought she went pretty bloody good. It was just circumstances on the day, with the rail out that time of the year, it was impossible to win, and she got beat only two-and-a-bit lengths.
“I should have taken her straight back to Sydney this time in, but she’s kept winning, so I can’t complain. The only thing now is she’s competing in a 78 with that weight.
“But I own all of her and she’s paid off a lot of bills for me.”
Crockett is aiming to pick up black-type with Durova beyond Saturday and increase her broodmare value. The listed Ortensia Stakes (1100m) at Scone on May 16 was a potential target.
“If she runs well enough on Saturday, I’ll run her in something at home here at the carnival, then send her up to Queensland for the back end of the carnival there,” he said.
“When they run these standalone meetings in the country, every now and then a horse that’s probably not quite up to stakes grade can bob up because it’s on its home track, so I’m hoping.”
The Australian Turf Club is giving free entry on Saturday to former and current military personnel, those wearing medals of late servicemen and women, and those with tickets to Dragons v Roosters NRL match that afternoon.
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