Weekly spotlight on breeding

Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents all the harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America every Friday brought to you by Garrard’s Horse & Hound.

Bettor’s Delight top NZ sire

Bettor’s Delight is New Zealand’s top sire for the 10th consecutive season. During the closing season his stock won 387 races and secured 709 placings for $7,328,730 in stakes.

The NZ Cup winner Self Assured, the NZ and Great Northern Derby winner Krug, the dual Oaks winner Bettor Twist, the champion racemare Amazing Dream, Spankem and the brilliant juvenile Akuta have been among his best winners this season.

In the 15 seasons that this stock have raced they have won a total of $64,950,379 in stakes in NZ, besides massive totals in both North America and Australia.

Bettor’s Delight was also the leading sire of two and three-year-olds in the 2020/21 season.

Majestic Son topped the trotters only section with 78 individual winners, 154 races won and and $2,109,897.

Love You was again the leading sire of two-year-old trotters and Muscle Hill headed the three-year-old list for the second time.

Christian Cullen was the leading broodmare for the sixth year on end with a record $4,373,300. His daughters left horses the calibre of Self Assured, Amazing Dream, Akuta, B D Joe and It’s All About Faith.

Sundon topped the trotting broodmare sires’ all aged list for the 11th time with a record total of $3,166,721 and the three-year-old table on the 12^th occasion.

They trace to Hot Foot family

Go Dancing, who won the Holloway 3YO Classic at Ballarat at a 1:56.7 rate over 2200 metres, and Runaway Celebrity, an impressive winner at Bendigo one night earlier, and who have each won four of their five starts this season, are both by A Rocknroll Dance and are members of the noted family founded by the Mark Lobell mare Hot Foot.

Go Dancing is now a likely Derby candidate and Runaway Celebrity could well train on to be one of the season’s top three-year-old fillies.

Runaway Celebrity ranks as a half-sister to the dual Listed winner Starburst Girl 1:53.6 ($143,670) and the Southern Cross 2YO Final winner Our Celebrity 1:55.1 ($130,019).

Their dam, Celebrity Ball, who left seven in 2:00, was by Presidential Ball from Larrakeyah Lady, a Vicbred champion by Windshield Wiper from Hot Foot.

Go Dancing, a three-year-old gelding, is out of the Victoria Oaks placegetter Celebrity Guest (1:55.2), a half-sister by Mach Three to Runaway Celebrity and co.

Champion pacer Ride High (1:49), the Hunter Cup winner Safe And Sound (1:57), The Good Times (1:54.4), the Derby winner Major Secret and others all belong to Larrakeyah Lady’s branch of the family.

Star four-year-old by Art Major

A bright future is being predicted for the Art Major four-year-old Diamond Party NZ, whose success in the Group 3 Jane Ellen at Melton was her fifth from 13 starts in Victoria.

She has a good deal in her favour on the score of blood. Apart from being by Art Major, Diamond Party is out of the Christian Cullen mare Isabella Anvil, a half-sister to the exported Democracy 1:50 ($435,760), being out of We Love To Party, by Fake Left from the Butler B G mare Bee Gee’s Dream (2:00.5), who founded a strong branch of the Imperial Polly family.

It includes the A. G. Hunter Cup winner Another Party, Waylade (WA 4YO Championship)   the NZ 2YO Filly of the Year Party Party, Cowgirls N Indians (Harness Jewels and Breeders Crown), American Boy (1:50.2), this year’s Redcliffe Cup winner LL Cool J and others.

Mini Mine Yet impresses

Mini Mine Yet, who won her third race from her last five starts at Gloucester Park, is a five-year-old mare by A Rocknroll Dance from Seven Point One, a useful racemare who took a record of 1:56.1.

She is a member of an old-time New Zealand family, which was represented by Bondi Shake (by Somebeachsomewhere), a half-brother to Mini Mine Yet who won at Redcliffe two nights earlier.

Seven Point One was a Lis Mara mare from Cassie’s Medley, by Badlands Hanover from Port Medley, by Meddlesome (son of Bret Hanover). Port Medley was the dam of a top WA pacer in Lively Medley 1:54.6 ($131,055), Falcon’s Medley 1:55.1 ($186,312), who won 11 at Gloucester Park, the Wyndham Cup winner Michael’s Medley, Holme Medley (1:54.8) and Ok Medley (dam of Medley Moose 1:56.9).

Holmes Dream, a Holmes Hanover mare from Port Medley, left the Kilmore Cup and NSW Renshaw Cup winner Bold Cruiser 1:56.8 ($574,801), the Group 1 Nevele R Fillies winner Badlands Jewel 1:56.7 ($154,578) and Christy Breanna (TT1:51.7), dam of the exported Global Domination 1:52 ($125,969).

Melton two-year-old winner

Interest Free, the season’s latest two-year-old winner, in easily beating a useful field at Melton, gives the impression that he could develop into one of next season’s top three-year-olds.

Bred by Eric and Heather Anderson, Interest Free is a well developed gelding by Art Major from Picobello, a NZ bred mare who won seven races in Victoria and NSW.

Picobello, who took a record of 1:52.3 at Menangle, was a Christian Cullen mare from Lynne Falcon (1:59.4), by Falcon Seelster from Electrofying Franco (1:59.8), by Holmes Hanover. It is an interesting fact that there is a double strain of The Old Maid blood in Electrofying Franco (third dam of Interest Free), through both Bachelor Hanover and Dancer Hanover (sire of the dam of Albatross – sire of Holmes Hanover).

Picobello was a sister to the Melton winner Millwood Nebraska (1:56.6) and a half-sister to the Menangle victor My Patronus (1:54.1) and Tombelina (3 NZ wins to date).

This is the family which produced such winners as Rock Of America 1:51.4 (NSW Breeders Challenge 4YO Final), Cambo (NZ Reefton Cup), the Melton winner Hot To Rock (1:55) and the Menangle and Albion Park winner Melanna Beach (1:53.2).

Never Been Said’s Championship

Never Been Said, winner of the Group 3 Winter Championship Final at Menangle, continues to prove herself in the top bracket among the NSW female pacers.

She has won 19 races and $1151,058 in stakes and holds a mile record of 1:50.7. Bred by the Gibson family of Success Stud, Young, Never Been Said is a six-year-old Well Said mare from a fine racemare in Muscle Beach 1:56.6 ($200,820), a Mach Three mare who has produced others in Written In Red 1:54.8 ($194,624), Muscle Mach (1:51.5) and Pumpniron (1:55.6).

Muscle Beach, who won the Breeders Crown as a three-year-old, is out of the American mare Beach Dahrlin (1:56.4), by Beach Towel from the Nero mare Sweet Dahrlin (1:55.8), dam of Sweet Fame 1:52.6 ($313,784), an American pacer who later competed successfully in Australia, winning the Queensland Trans Tasman, NSW Golden Mile and a heat of the Inter Dominion.

The world champion colt pacer and leading sire Sweet Lou (1:47) is a member of the same family as Never Been Said.

Victorian trotter has string bloodlines

One of the most promising trotters racing in Victoria is Kyvalley Chief NZ, trained by Brent Lilley. A five-year-old, Kyvalley Chief is in his second full season of racing, but from 32 starts he has won 12 and been six times placed for $102,760 in stakes.

Kyvalley Chief has a background of trotting blood second-to-none. His sire, Muscle Hill, has left the great Australian trotting mare Dance Craze, and other top trotters in Glenferrie Burn, Tickle Me Pink, La Grange and Elite Stride. His dam, Love Ya Doosie, is by Love You, the leading sire of trotters in Europe for many years.

Kyvalley Chief ranks as a brother to the NSW Trotters Derby and Victoria Tatlow winner Kyvalley Hotspur (Tr 1:57.9).

Love Ya Doosie, who won twice, ranked as a half-sister to the champion NZ trotter and dual Inter Dominion winner I Can Doosit 1:55.5 ($1.3 million) and the Group winner Sno’s Big Boy.

Kyvalley Chief was bred by Ken and Karen Breckon, of Breckon Farms, Te Awamutu.

Melton winner from good broodmare

Musztang, an Art Major four-year-old and a double winner at Melton recently, is out of Mesmerizing, a smart racemare with a record of 1:57.9 and $179,221 in the bank, who is proving a successful broodmare.

Mesmerizing is also the dam of Messini 1:54.2 ($711,711), a dual Vicbred champion and NZ Kindergarten Stakes winner, and his full brother Messerati (1:56), a winner of 10 races to date.

Mesmerizing was an Our Sir Vancelot mare from She Bites, by Safely Kept from the outstanding racemare Jasmarilla 1:55.2 ($503,000), by Tarport Low from the noted Lumber Dream mare Shu Fly. Since producing Musztang in 2016, Mesmerizing has left a three-year-old gelding by Rock N Roll Heaven and a two-year-old gelding by Art Major and is due to foal to American Ideal.

Mesmerizing was a half-sister to a capable trotter in Gentleman Jim ($131,817), Alveres (1:57.6), Sexy Lady, dam of Juliustigres 1:53.8 ($104,065) and the Leeton Breeders Plate winner The Kew Legend, and To The Machz, who became the dam of the APG 3YO Consolation winner Marmitta (1:53.2).

Their dam, She Bites, was unraced, but she left six winners. She was a half-sister to Grace Robinson, dam of the Group 1 winners Two Eye See 1:52.4 ($306,703), Eye See Diamonds 1:51.6 ($284,875) and Hardhitter 1:51.4 ($175,430).

Other members of this family, which was founded in NZ by the thoroughbred mare Topsy, were the Victoria Oaks winners Carome Julie and Floreat, Gold Hero 1:57.8 ($245,066) American Muscle (Vic. 4&5YO Championship) and the dual Southern Cross winner Carlisle Queen.

Broodmare double

The Badlands Hanover mare Braeview Creation left winners in both hemispheres on the same day.

The three-year-old filly Asante Sana (by Courage Under Fire) led from end-to-end to clear novice ranks at the Bendigo midweek meeting.

A few hours earlier, Braeview Bondi, her older half-brother by Somebeachsomewhere, emerged successful in 1:53 at Yonkers Raceway, New York. Braeview Bondi holds a mark of 1:49.6 and has earned more than $200,000.

Braeview Creation, who is being bred from by Sal and Nicki Ferraro, won three races, $53,000 in stakes and took a record of 1:59 at three.

By Peter Wharton for Harnesslink