Terror’ loves the breeding business

New stallions joining the siring ranks in New Zealand always creates a bit of excitement each season and this year is no different with several ' newbies' on offer.

One of these is the colonial bred Terror To Love who has created a lot of interest in New Zealand in his first year at stud and somewhat surprisingly also in Australia.

The eight year old son of Western Terror won his first race as a two year old at just his fourth start when he took out the Group 3 Sapling Stakes over  two future top liners in Ohoka's Bondy 1:53.6 ($388,148) and Major Mark 1:55.9 ($677,720).

At three he came back bigger and better, winning eight of fifteen with many great battles with his arch nemesis, Gold Ace including dead-heating with him in the Group 2 Flying Stakes.

Placed in both Derbies and the Harness Jewels, Terror To Love was only just warming to the racing game.

From his four year old season through to his retirement, Terror To Love stepped up and dominated the open class pacing ranks in New Zealand.

Highlighted of course by his stunning three NZ Cups, Terror To Love was just a monster in that period, winning just about every race of any note including Auckland and Easter Cups.

That earned him the Pacer Of The Year title three times and overall Horse Of The Year twice.

The only blip on an otherwise magnificent career was his record at Tabcorp Park Menangle.

Terror To Love could just never get to grips with the track surface and in ten starts managed only three placings which did include a second in the $750,000 Miracle Mile to Baby Bling.

They did resurface Tabcorp Park Menangle late in Terror To Love's career and he produced an outstanding run for fourth from barrier ten in Christen Me's 1:49.1 Miracle Mile which was a performance more in keeping with his ability.

Terror To Love did show Australian fans the real 'Terror' when wearing down the dual Grand Circuit Champion Christen Me in the $100,000 Cranbourne Cup last year.

When retired to the stallion barn, Terror To Love had faced the starter 76 times for thirty one wins and twenty three placings for stakes totaling $2,429,618 with a best time of 1:51

Terror To Love is bred to be good with a pedigree chock full of good horses.

His sire Western Terror has over $61,000,000 on his card as progeny earnings in North America with 25 in 1:50 and worldwide he has seven millionaires to date.

The maternal side of Terror To Love's pedigree has been producing quality horses for nearly eighty years.

Established by Roydon Lodge, the first superstar was Parisienne who raced in the Inter-Dominions in the 1930s and appears as the seventh dam of Terror To Love.

Mary Wootton, the sixth dam of Terror To Love produced the top race horse and then sire in Scottish Command who won an Auckland Cup.

The fifth dam of Terror To Love is Roydon Mary who left Roydon Dream who won the New Zealand broodmare of the year title after producing two outstanding open class sons in Roydon Glen and Roydon Scott.

Roydon Dream is the fourth dam of Terror To Love so it is not hard to see from that maternal family why Terror To Love was so good.

There are not many pedigrees in New Zealand that have two broodmare of the year winners in the first four dams

A crowd favourite in New Zealand, Terror To Love was always expected to serve a good sized book in New Zealand and that is how it is panning out.

Peter O'Rourke who is managing Terror To Love at stud has been thrilled with the response.

" Our aim at the start of the season was to serve 100 mares in New Zealand and we are well on track to do that."

" Not only has he got good numbers but I have been very pleased with the quality as well," Peter said.

After his issues while racing in Australia, a lot of pundits thought he would struggle to attract any mares from there but Peter has been pleasantly surprised with the result to date.

" Well respected horsemen such as Brian Hancock and Luke McCarthy have both booked four mares in which shows the horsemen know how good he was."

" All up it looks like we may do twenty five in Australia which is a good start," Peter said.

It is a hard row for a colonial stallion to get established these days with the very best of the North American stallions available to breeders down under but Terror To Love has both the breeding and the race record to make his mark in the stallion barn.

Terror To Love – 2013 New Zealand Cup