Weekly spotlight on breeding

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

From Black Watch family

Beyond Delight, who won the $210,000 APG Gold Bullion Series 4YO Final at Menangle, is a Bettor’s Delight entire from the same family as that which produced a top pacer in Cash N Flow, a winner on the same program as Beyond Delight won.

Beyond Delight has been sparingly raced, having had only 19 starts in three seasons, but he has shown up as a very useful pacer, and it was a strong field he beat at Menangle.

Bred by Bruce and Vicki Edward, Beyond Delight is out of Whatahottie (1:54.3), by the NZ bred champion Christian Cullen. Whatahottie, who won six races, left others in Miss Serena 1:55.6 (10 wins) and Whatadelight. Whattahottie was out of Milagro, by Dream Away from Aberfeldy, a Mark Lobell mare from a noted broodmare in Black Watch.

Whatahottie was a sister to the multiple Melton winner Christian Miracle (1:55.2) and a half-sister to the Melton victor Emiliana (1:55.6), the Perth winner Hezgot Fushion Power (1:56.2), Miracle Mach and the Bettor’s Delight mare Better Rose, dam of Be My Rose (1:51.6), who won three at Menangle, and recent Wagga winner Miss Chantilly (1:54.6).

Their dam, Milagro, was an unraced half-sister to a top flight filly in Megaera 1:56.8 ($250,646), the Inter Dominion Consolation winner Reba Lord 1:56 ($342,070), Il Gusto (1:55), Reba Nero and others. The Black Watch family had a terrific influence on NZ breeding through several branches.

Top four-year-old mares meet

While Ladies In Red won the heat of the APG Gold Bullion Series at Ballarat, Tough Tilly beat her narrowly in the $210,000 Final at Menangle and she is entitled to be rated the top four-year-old mare so far this season.

Tough Tilly is a well developed Captaintreacherous mare and was bred and is raced by Benstud Standardbreds. She is out of the Art Major mare Beninjurd, an unraced mare who is proving a successful broodmare having left others in Centenario 1:53.4 ($332,520), the 2018 2YO Colt of the Year, the APG Gold Bullion winner Lightning Dan 1:56.5 ($107,250) and Somedan 1:55.9 ($167,554).

Beninjurd was a sister to the dual Inter Dominion heat winner and Vicbred champion Philadelphia Man 1:52.6 ($559,135), being out of the top Queensland racemare My Liberty Belle 1:57.5 ($185,333), by Fake Left from the multiple Group winner Sweet Liberty 1:57.9 ($102,706), by Gatwick from the grand producer Sue Adios, by Jerry Adios.

This family has produced some useful pacers over the years. They include Expensive Ego (1:48.6), the winner of four Group 1’s and $816,317, and Diamond Shooz, winner of the recent Vicbred Platinum Homegrown 3YO Classic at Melton.

APG Consolation winner

Seb’s Choice, the winner of the $50,000 APG Consolation Final at Melton and recently the winner of the Warragul Pacing Cup, is one of the best four-year-olds in Victoria at present.

He has won $136,983 in stakes, a worthwhile return for the $70,000 paid for him as a yearling. By the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight, he is out of a capable racemare in Alta Calypso (1:59.4), by Village Jasper from the American-bred mare Ballie Hanover (1:56.6), by the USA Breeders Crown winner Kentucky Spur.

Seb’s Choice ranks as a half-brother to the Vicbred champion Milly Perez 1:52.7 ($353,882), the good Melton winner Changing Code 1:53.9 ($126,516), Thomas Burns (1:55.1), Our Lola Mae (1:55.4) and Charissa Tee (1:58), dam of the NSW Derby winner Patsbeachstorm 1:53.4 ($178,720).

An unraced daughter of Alta Calypso in Always A Target (by Always A Virgin) left the Bathurst Gold Crown runner-up Lochinvar Chief 1:54.2 (7 wins to date).

Judyfree’s son wins Changeover Classic

The $20,770 Changeover Classic, the first Queensland feature race for two-year-olds, and run at Albion Park, was won decisively by The Tax Cullector, a gelding by the Christian Cullen horse Gotta Go Cullect from the smart racemare Judyfree (by Ponder), who won 18 races and took a record of 1:54.7.

The Tax Cullector, who has won two of his three starts, is the first produce of Judyfree whose dam, Ally Shazam, was by Albert Albert from Jazzy Miss (1:58.2), a good Harold Park winner by Majestic Skipper from the Three Times One mare Time To Jazz (1:58.7) and tracing eventually to the foundation mare Mary Wood (by Wildwood Junior).

Judyfree was a half-sister to the Ballarat Oaks winner Union Ally (1:56.8), dam of last season’s juvenile winner Mac Cheddar, and to the Melton winner Lohi Liz.

Gotta Go Cullect, the sire of The Tax Cullector, is now standing at Mario Borg’s property at Sampson Flat, near Adelaide.

APG winning line

A bright future is being predicted for the Heston Blue Chip four-year-old mare Girl From Oz, whose success in the $52,000 APG Consolation Final at Albion Park was her third win at Group level.

Girl From Oz was an Australian Pacing Gold purchase in 2019 in Sydney, and is a daughter of the American Ideal horse Heston Blue Chip (sire of Eye Can Run), from Girls Go Racing, who took a record of 1:58. She is also the dam of Miss Ex (1:53.8), who finished runner-up in the APG Gold Finals at 2 and 3.

Girls Go Racing was by the American import Sportswriter from Benevolent (2:00.2), by Troublemaker from the Armbro Del mare Blythbank Del (1:58.5), dam of the dual QBred Triad winner Benefactor 1:56.4 ($263,798), Beneficent 1:55.4 ($107,441), Benefaction (1:58.4) and the second dam of the APG Gold winners Sir Galvinator and Esprit De Kayjay.

Blythbank Del is also the third dam of Brigadier Bronski, Admiral Bronski, Bronski Mackenzie and Major Bronski, all pacers of some worth.

NSW Trotters Oaks winner

The Sydney filly Tough Love, who firmly clinched her claim to being the best three-year-old filly of the season when she won the $50,000 NSW Trotters Oaks at Menangle, is a member of one of NZ’s top ranking trotting families.

Tough Love, who is undefeated in four starts this season, is a filly by the leading European sire Love You, whose frozen semen is available from Haras Des Trotteurs’ farm at Ballarat (Vic.).

Love You has been most successful in both NZ and Australia. His stock include the champion Monbet, rated one of the best trotters in NZ over the past decade, Enghien, Habibti, Queen Elida and Ultimate Stride.

Tough Love is out of the multiple Group winner Tough Tussle, by the NZ bred sire Wrestle (a son of Game Pride and the bonny mare Tussle) from Tough Whiz, by Gee Whiz II from the Tuft mare Tuftala.

Tough Tussle, a winner of 16 races, figures as the dam of the NSW trotting standout Tough Monarch 1:53.3 ($567,144), a Group 1 winner on both sides of the Tasman, and the two-year-old filly Tougher, a winner at Menangle last month.

Sisters win at Bathurst

It was no mean feat for the full sisters Ballerini and Cala Jane to win consecutive races at the recent Bathurst midweek meeting.

Both bred and raced by Joe Picker are by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight.

Just Cala, the dam of Ballerini and Cala Jane, won 10 races including the Breeders Crown 3YO Final and $231,007 and took a record of 1:55.4. By Art Major, she was out of a capable racemare in Lilsistar (2:00.3), the dam also of the NZ Listed winner Classiesistar, a winner in North America in 1:51.8 and Nicolas Breakspear (1:59.2).

Lilsistar was out of the handy racemare Sagitta, who had a record of 1:57.6 and won five races. She left the Australian winners Our Nero Star (1:55.1), Bright Smiling Star (1:55.5), Deimos (1:56.2) and Betelgeuse (1:56.7).

Valedictorian, winner of this year’s WA Sales Classic and APG Gold Bullion and rated the top two-year-old in WA, is a member of this family.

Unbeaten two-year-old

Rupert Ross proved much too seasoned for his two-year-old rivals in the Kindergarten Series Final at Globe Derby Park. He led from end to end and at the line had two lengths to spare over Layla’s Princess (by Betterthancheddar) and Lildabldooya (by He’s Watching).

Rupert Ross was bred by the late Mark Webster and is raced by his daughter Laura.

By Huntsville, and one of the first crop of the Somebeachsomewhere horse who is now standing in America, he is out of Closure (1:58.8), by Northern Luck from the SA Oaks winner Really Can Scoot, by Stoneridge Scooter from One Special Lady, by What’s Next from Gay Lark, the dam of the prolific Perth winner Main Morris 1:59.6 ($145,471).

Others from this family included General Dodge, a brilliant but injury plagued pacer, a top racemare in Golden Goddess, Golden Gears (Fremantle Cup), Party Date, Bettor Party, Social Aspect (WA Champagne Classic) and Rocknroll Whitby.

Promising sire Rock N Roll World dies

The death of the American import Rock N Roll World (1:48.6) was an immense blow to the Australian breeding industry.

Rock N Roll World died as the result of a colic attack at Cobbitty Equine Farm, Cobbitty (NSW) where he had just completed his third season at stud. He originally stood at Allwood Stud Farm in WA before moving to Victoria in 2021.

Rock N Roll World, a son of Rocknroll Hanover and the champion mare Worldly Beauty, won 18 races and $721,627 in a career spanning four years. His major successes were the Tompkins Geers as a two-year-old and the New Jersey Futurity and the Adios Stake Consolation at three.

His first crop of yearlings sold for up to $30,000 at the Australian Pacing Gold sale in Perth in February.

Rock N Roll World was imported to Australia by prominent Perth breeder-owner Bob Fowler.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink