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.

Victoria Sapling Stakes winner

Major Celebrity (Art Major), the season’s latest two-year-old classic winner, in beating a useful field in the Victoria Sapling Stakes, gives the impression that he could develop into one of the best of his age, gait and sex.

Bred by Richard Camilleri, Major Celebrity is a well developed colt from Celebrity Ball, the dam of the Listed winner Starburst Girl 1:53.6 ($143,670), Our Celebrity 1:55.1 ($130,019), Celebrity Guest (1:55.2), Runaway Celebrity (1:53.5) and the Live Or Die mare All The Magic, who left an outstanding colt pacer in Ride High 1:49 ($289,427) and the top racemare Rocknroll Magic 1:54.5 ($466,183).

Their dam, Larrakeyah Lady, was a Windshield Wiper mare from Hot Foot, by Mark Lobell from Sceptical, by Garrison Hanover. It is an interesting fact that there is a double strain of Meadow Skipper blood in Celebrity Ball (dam of Major Celebrity), through his damsire Presidential Ball and grand-damsire Windshield Wiper and a strain of Overtrick blood through Mark Lobell.

Celebrity Ball was a half-sister to a grand pacer and Hunter Cup winner in Safe And Sound, The Good Times, Massarua, Gold Rocket and Safeguard, all pacers of some worth.

Won NSW Regional Championships State Final

The most important race at the Menangle meeting last weekend, the $100,000 Regional Championships State Final, was won by the little fancied Defiant (Roll With Joe), who downed the second favourite Let’s Get Rockin in a tight photo.

It was his seventh success. At his previous start he finished second to Rocknroll Runa in the $100,000 Riverina division of the Championship at Wagga and before that he was runner-up in a heat.

Defiant has not done a great deal of racing, having averaged seven starts a season. In three seasons of racing Defiant has won seven races and has been 12 times placed from 23 starts for $121,207.

He is out of the Elsu mare She’s A Jackson (1:58.2) and the first of her produce to race. She’s A Jackson, who won eight races, was out of a grand producer in Sister Pattie, by Westburn Grant from Steamy Dream, by Windshield Wiper from Waitaki Ayr, by Waitaki Hanover.

An interesting feature of Defiant’s pedigree is that it combines several lines of rather noted colonial-bred blood through Elsu, Westburn Grant and Waitaki Hanover, all top racehorses.

Elsu and Westburn Grant were both Inter Dominion champions and Waitaki Hanover won a Hunter Cup and an Auckland Cup.

Group 2 to American Arma

American Arma (American Ideal), winner of the Group 2 $50,000 APG 4YO Consolation Final at Gloucester Park, continues to prove herself in the top bracket among the mares in WA.

She is a member of one of NZ’s most successful families, being a four-year-old mare from a fine racemare in Arma Xpress 1:56.5 ($279,890), an Artiscape mare who has produced others in Arma Veyron (1:57.8) and the promising three-year-old Arma Xfactor (1:58.1).

Arma Xpress was out of Arma Antoinette, a good producer by Holmes Hanover from Arma Class, by Talk About Class from the top flight NZ racemare Ar Miss, by Armbro Del.

Arma Antoinette produced the Group placegetters Arma Xceptional (1:57.9) and Arma Rich Girl (1:58.2). She is also the second dam of the NZ Ashburton Winter Cup winner Sans Le Sou (1:56) and the Gloucester Park victor Arma ORourke (1:56.7) and the third dam of the WA Listed winner Fifty Five Reborn 1:56.5 ($192,604) and Arma Einstein 1:54.9 ($132,236).

The Ar Miss family has earned a place all of its own in producing racemares such as Armalight, Sand Pebbles, Arma Xpress and Irish Black Label,  – all Group 1 winners – and colts in the same class such as Spankem, Ohoka Punter, Excel Stride, Majestic Mach, and others.

Tasmanian mile record

A fresh Tasmanian mile record was established by the Sportswriter gelding Sunny Sanz of 1:54.1 – bettering the previous record 1:54.3 held by Call Me Hector by 1/5^th second – when he won at the Hobart twilight meeting.

Sunny Sanz, who has now won 13 of his 26 starts, is a member of the same family as Soho Burning Love.

Sunny Sanz ranks as a half-brother to the Dandy Patch winner Colby Sanz and Stormy Sanz (1:59.4), being by Sportswriter from the Western Ideal mare Soho Summer, whose dam Lombo Portrait (1:59.9) was by Perfect Art from the top racemare Lombo Adreamin 1:56.8 ($337,575), by Classic Garry from My Image, by Windshield Wiper.

Soho Summer was a half-sister to the Gloucester Park winner Soho Monroe (1:57.4), Playboy Shadow (1:56.4) and to Soho Bordeaux, the dam of the joint fastest Australian bred mare of all-time in Soho Burning Love 1:48.2 ($612,763) and Persimmon 1:49.8 ($213,156), both racing successfully in America.

This is the Parisienne branch of the celebrated Bessie B family. It includes the Inter Dominion champions Preux Chevalier and Boncel Benjamin, the three-time NZ Cup winner Terror To Love, Lombo Pocket Watch, Lochinvar Art (Victoria Cup), Alta Orlando, Lombo La Fe Fe, and many others.

Five wins on end

A bright future is being predicted for the Art Major four-year-old mare Town Echo, whose success at Menangle last weekend was her fifth winning run in as many starts in Australia this campaign.

She has a good deal in her favour on the score of blood. Apart from being by Art Major, Town Echo is out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Cordelia, a half-sister to the Wellington Cup winner Agios Nikolaos (1:52.2) and Vingt Coeur (17 wins), being out of Corbie, by Vance Hanover from the Scottish Command mare Black Watch, whose family today is one of the best in the NZ stud book.

It includes 1:50 winners in Cash N Flow (1:49) and Ilikemebettor (1:49.8), the NZ Cup and Hunter Cup winner Arden Rooney, Rocknroll Lincoln (WA Pacing Cup), Keayang Cullen, The Unicorn (Kilmore Cup), Sovereign Hill (Aust. Pacing Championship), Shandale and the top racemares Megaera, Katy Perry and Pacific Flight.

Ton up for Tuppence

Tuppence, who became the latest member of the ‘$100,000 Club’ when he emerged successful at Melton, is the sixth progeny of Lincoln Royal to reach six figures – Bundoran, Vivere Damore, Lincoln’s Girl, Rupert Of Lincoln and Iamajoyride were the others.

He is a four-year-old gelding from Star Crossed (1:56.2), by Art Major from the crack racemare Endeared (1:56.7), by Albert Albert from Tuapeka Reign, a NZ bred mare by Vance Hanover. This family has produced some useful pacers over the years. Star Crossed also ranks as the dam of a smart three-year-old in Cobber (1:58.6), a winner of five races to date.

Tuppence was bred and is raced by David and Glenda Battye, of Adelaide, who have bred from this family over three generations.

Rising star from Ashlee’s Babe

A star four-year-old in Victoria so far this season is Bettor Isolate, bred by the late Joe Cordina and part-owned by his son, Daniel.

A gelding by Bettor’s Delight, he is out of a champion racemare in Ashlee’s Babe and is the last of her produce. He won effortlessly in restricted company at Melton last Saturday and looks a four-year-old with the potential one would expect of his breeding.

Ashlee’s Babe, a dual Vicbred champion, left earlier winners in Scarlet Babe 1:52.2 ($190,441), a Group 3 winner, Gypsy Babe (1:53.8), Artegra (1:57.8) and Ashlee’s Gem (1:56.9), dam of the Albion Park victors Illbewatching (1:55.4) and Ashlee Nitro (1:57.7).

Eighth winner from broodmare

When the Somebeachsomewhere two-year-old Eve Crocker won at the Penrith midweek meeting, she credited her dam Aratusa Lass with her eighth individual winner.

Eve Crocker, one of the last crops by the deceased Somebeachsomewhere, had been placed at her previous three starts. Others from Aratusa Lass to win have been Major Crocker 1:49.4 ($980,207), who is still racing in America, Adam Crocker (1:51.3), Innocent Crocker (1:52.1), Offyarocka Crocker (1:54.8), King Crocker (1:57.2), Samara Crocker (1:58.2), Lisa Crocker and now Eve Crocker.

Aratusa Lass, who is now in her 21^st year, has since produced a yearling filly by Art Major and a weanling colt by him.

A Moonee Valley winner, Aratusa Lass (1:57.1), was a D M Dilinger mare from Fanciful, by Classic Garry from the Paulos Hanover mare Romantic Joanne and tracing to the noted foundation mare Rawene.

Eve Crocker was bred and is owned by well known Adelaide identity Gary Crocker, who also raced her dam.

Elitlopp winning line

The Elitlopp winner Etonnant is a son of the Star’s Pride line horse Timoko, who won the Elitlopp twice himself.

Fourth in his elimination, Etonnant went offstride early in the $1.1 million final before catching the field and powering home four deep around the home turn to win by one-and-a-half lengths in 1:51.6.

Etonnant, who is raced and trained by Richard Westerink, has now won 18 races with 19 placings from 77 starts for over $1.94 million in stakes.

The French bred eight-year-old is out of the Alligator mare Migraine, a Group 1 winner in the Monte class.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink