Bargain Buy takes home Best Performed Horse Award

Ultra consistent galloper My Khalifa’s brilliant season was rewarded winning the Evright.com Best Performed Horse Award at Saturday’s Racing SA Industry Awards at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

The Gordon Richards and Damien Moyle-trained My Khalifa, a $17,000 weanling purchase by Richards has gone on to win just shy of $300,000 in his 25-start career.

His outstanding 2022-23 season got rolling by winning a Benchmark 0-62 Handicap at Murray Bridge, showing enormous durability winning seven of his 16 starts culminating with a Listed City of Adelaide Handicap victory at Morphettville in April.

He won four races in succession between October and December, while the newly crowned TAB Metropolitan Apprentice Jockey of the Year, Lachlan Neindorf was in the saddle for four of his wins across the season.

“He’s always shown us bits and pieces but put together a really good season, he’s just a little racehorse who loves going to the races,’’ co-trainer Damien Moyle said.

“Winning the Listed race, three or four in town in a row was really good. If you’d told me at the start of the season, he’d win a Stakes race I probably wouldn’t have believed you,’’ he said.

Moyle said a paddock incident would see My Khalifa back at the races late in the spring carnival.

“Spring is on hold a little bit,’’ Moyle said.

“Unfortunately he cut his leg in the paddock, and we had to keep him out a few more weeks than we would have liked.

“Hopefully at the back end of the spring there will be a couple of races here for him and something in Melbourne at the back end,’’ he said.