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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. 
Phoenix Prince wins Mildura Cup
The most important race of the Sunraysia calendar, the $60,000 Mildura Pacing Cup, was won by the Somebeachsomewhere gelding Phoenix Prince, who downed the favourite and stablemate Our Millionaire. Both horses won their qualifying heats.
Phoenix Prince has only been sparingly raced owing to injury but has shown up to be a very useful and it was a top field he beat at Mildura.
An eight-year-old gelding, Phoenix Prince is out of Classic Cathy, a moderate racemare, by Classic Garry, a Garry Rowan horse who won the WA Golden Nugget and belonged to the noted Miss Tommy family.
Classic Cathy was out of Sans Pariel, by Lock Up (grandson of Grattan Loyal) from Filet Mignon, by U Scott from La Mignon, by Light Brigade from the Inter Dominion champion Parisienne.
Classic Cathy, the dam of seven winners, was a half-sister to a brilliant Victorian juvenile in Part Of Glory, the top Tasmanian pacer Swishinon, Triumph Lad (Vic. Sires Produce), Skorpios (1:56) and to the dams of Udoit (Tas. 3YO Championship), Lockaway Kacie ($112,708) and Fine Glance.
Swingband on Derby trail
Talented three-year-old Swingband is rated a top WA Derby prospect.
He won his third Group race for the season when he donkeylicked his rivals in the $50,000 APG Gold Bullion Series Final at Gloucester Park. Earlier in the season he took out the $50,000 WA Sales Classic and the $40,000 Caduceus Club Classic.
Swingband is a strongly built gelding by the deceased Alta Christiano, who won the WA Derby himself, from the Bettor’s Delight mare Bettor’s Gem 1:54.6 ($103,276), a dual Listed winner who ranks as a half-sister to the two-year-old winner The Hope Diamond (1:58.7).
Bettor’s Gem, who won 11 races, was out of Falcon’s Gem, a NZ bred mare by Falcon Seelster from the Payson’s Brother mare Payson’s Gem, dam of the Group 1 winner Ebony Gem 1:56.9 ($317,030), whose 13 successes included the Chariots of Fire and Paleface Adios Sprint, and the Victoria Derby winner Rare Gem 1:52.6 ($215,350).
Tapestry, an Albert Albert mare from Payson’s Gem, left the Melton winner Our Pontiac (1:56.5), the Albion Park victor Hez Declan (1:55.1), Hunua Honey (1:59.3) and the promising WA pacer The Notorious One (1:57).
Payson’s Gem was a sister to the prolific Moonee Valley winner Payson’s Jewel and a member of the same family as the top American pacers Hilarion, Die Laughing and Shadow Star, all successful sires in Australia.
A Downbytheseaside half-sister to Swingband was knocked down for $65,000 at the APG yearling sale in Perth in February.
Wonderful To Fly top WA filly
When she won the $50,000 APG Gold Bullion Final at Gloucester Park Wonderful To Fly proved herself the top three-year-old filly in WA of the current season.
It was her fourth success on end, and she soundly trounced a smart field in the Gold Bullion, leading from the outset and establishing a fresh track record of 1:53.6 for 1730 metres from behind the mobile barrier.
In 25 starts Wonderful To Fly has now won 15 – including four at Group level – and has been six times placed for $270,176 in stakes for part-owner-trainer-driver Shane Young.
Wonderful To Fly is by the former top flight juvenile Fly Like An Eagle, and out of the unraced Not Now Delilah, an Allamerican Ingot mare who was a half-sister to the WA Western Gateway and Navy Cup winner Jumbo Operator 1:57 ($313,175) and the WA Sires Stakes champion Getaway Plan 1:58 ($135,549).
Wonderful To Fly was bred by Kevin and Annette Charles.
Amazing Dream’s half-brother
With Amazing Dream making headlines in America, it is of interest that his half-brother Power Up (by Art Major) was a convincing winner at the Melton midweek meeting.
Unplaced in four starts as a two-year-old last season, Power Up roared home is 56.6 seconds in a three-year-old maiden. He is a member of John Dickie and Sammy Kilgour’s team, and is owned by Domenic Martello.
Amazing Dream and Power Up are both out of the Christian Cullen mare Christian Dreamer, the dam also of Let’s Chase The Dream 1:49.9 ($604,589), now racing successfully in America, Dream Major (1:59.7) and Catch The Dream (1:59.8).
Mildura track record
A fresh Mildura track record for 2190 metres was established by the Rock N Roll Heaven gelding Cant Top This of a 1:55.1 rating – bettering the previous record of 1:55.6 by Major Crocker by half a second – when he won the Free-for-all on the final night of the Cup carnival.
Cant Top This, who has now won seven races, ranks as a half-brother to the brilliant but ill-fated Ideal For Real 1:54.4 ($324,600), a winner of 13 races including the NSW Derby and the Breeders Crown and Vicbred 4YO Finals, being out of the American-bred mare Tamara Hall (by Real Desire), whose dam Tabloid 1:53.6 ($321,604) was by No Nukes, a champion colt pacer and sire.
Tabloid, a former Canadian 2YO Filly of the Year, was a half-sister to the USA Pacing Championship and Dan Patch Invitational winner BJ’s Whirlwind 1:49.2 ($954,463), The Globe 1:50.6 ($772,462), a sire of winners in Queensland, True Blue Hall (1:49.2), BJ’s Breeze (1:51.4) and Terri Hall (1:51.6).
Tamara Hall, the dam of Cant Top This and Ideal For Real, was purchased as a yearling in America but bowed a tendon a couple of weeks prior to qualifying and was imported to Australia as a broodmare by Ballarat breeder-owner Bruce Edward.
Gigi Bob in top form
One of the most improved mares racing in NSW at present is the five-year-old Gigi Bob, most won her sixth race from nine starts this season at Menangle last Saturday.
Bred and owned by Cindy Rixon, Gigi Bob is by the Art Major horse For A Reason, and one of his second crop, out of the handy racemare Bobbi Grace (1:59.2), a half-sister by Aces N Sevens to the Menangle winners Norm’s Courage 1:56.5 ($117,591), Kiamasrosie (1:56.7) and Just Ponder (1:57.1).
Their dam, Rosie Rose, was only lightly raced but she left five winners. She was by Peace Of Art from Kaystace (2:00.2), a Listed winner by Three Times One from Who Da Thought It, by Toliver Hanover from Pippo’s Daughter, by Pippo (son of Local Light) from Courgesse, by the successful trotting sire Court Martial.
Other members of this family, which was founded in NSW by Gertie, were Roman Ruler (Vic. Tatlow), Braeview Bondi (1:49.6), Jiggle And Jive (QBred Triad 2YO), Holly Golightly (NZ Queen of Hearts) and Michele Bromac (Kaikoura Cup).
Group 2 to Valedictorian
Valedictorian, a good looking Art Major gelding, is WA’s top two-year-old to date this season, particularly after his success in the $50,000 APG Gold Bullion Series Final, one of the season’s major two-year-old classics. He has won three and been once placed from five starts.
In the Gold Bullion, he was never really extended in running out the 1730 metres in 2:04.2, a mile rating of 1:55.5 with the last 800 in 56.7 and the final 400 in 28.2.
Valedictorian, by Art Major, is out of Courage On Fire, who took a record of 1:56.2 and earned $102,378 in stakes. She was a Courage Under Fire mare from Winsome Rock, by Caprock from Some Patron, by El Patron from the noted producer Winsome Tricks.
Courage On Fire was a sister to Winsome Courage (1:58.4), dam of the good Globe Derby Park winner Official Art (1:55.6) and a half-sister to the Albion Park winner Winsome Caesar (1:55.8).
A top flight NZ filly in Coma Berenices belongs to this family. She won seven races including the NZ Caduceus Club Classic and Thames Nursery.
Valedictorian ranks as a half-brother to Peligroso, who won at the Gloucester Park midweek meeting recently.
Ninth winner from broodmare
When the Bettor’s Delight two-year-old Cheeky Eagle won at the Launceston twilight meeting, he credited his dam Three Eagles with her ninth individual winner.
Cheeky Eagle, bred by Benstud Standardbreds, had been placed at his previous four starts. Others from Three Eagles to win have been Fly Like An Eagle 1:53.9 ($699,419), Mach Doro 1:50.2 ($574,125), Higherthananeagle 1:50.6 ($217,057), Three Squared (1:55.9), The Ethletic (1:59.6), Playboy Cullen, My Golden Eagle, Come Say Hi (1:53.1), a promising three-year-old filly, and now Cheeky Eagle.
Three Eagles, who is now in her 23rd year, has since produced a yearling colt by Art Major, to whom she is in foal.
Three Eagles was a Falcon Seelster mare from Pretty Smooth, by Smooth Fella from Nell’s Pride, dam of the champion pacer Chokin.
By Blitzthemcalder
Blitzthemcalder, a former dual Trotters Derby winner and Australian two-year-old mile record holder, who died a few years ago, was recently represented by his first winner in the three-year-old gelding Gaelic Lad.
He toyed with a maiden field at his eighth start at Bendigo, clocking 59.2 seconds for his last 800 metres under a hold.
Blitzthemcalder was only lightly used at the stud and Gaelic Lad is his only starter from his first crop.
Gaelic Lad, bred and raced by Terry Cahill, is the first foal of the Melton winner Gaelic Lass (1:58.9), a Lawman half-sister to Tommy Kay, who established the SA trotters mile record of 1:59.2.
