Pebble Beach on his way for stud duties in Victoria

The ranks of Victorian harness racing sires were given a terrific boost with the announcement that the 2022 USA and Canadian 3YO Pacing Colt of the Year Pebble Beach 3, 1:48.2 ($1,720,875) will do stud duties at Alabar Bloodstock, Echuca.

Alabar, Australia’s largest standardbred nursery, in conjunction with New Zealand’s Nevele R Stud, have secured the lifetime southern hemisphere rights to the world champion.

The richest son of the emerging, young sire Downbytheseaside, Pebble Beach raced only as a two and three-year-old, winning 17 races with 11 placings from 29 starts for $1,720,876 – an average of $59,340 per start.

He clocked seven winning race miles in 1:50 or better and holds the distinction of being the only pacing male to win inside 1:49 at both two and three.

As a two-year-old he won seven of his 11 starts for $361,250 including the $93,300 International Stallion Stakes, the final of the $250,000 Kentucky Sires Stakes Championship (in a season’s best 1:48.8) and an elimination of the Breeders Crown and ran third in the $600,000 Final.

Pebble Beach really came into his own during his sophomore campaign, banking a season’s high $1,359,625 from 10 wins and seven placings in 18 starts.

He won three of the biggest plums on the three-year-old calendar, the $1million North America Cup, the $911,000 Breeders Crown and the $363,500 Tattersalls Pace, racing against top horses such as Beach Glass (1:47.4), Mad Max Hanover (1:47.8), I Did It Myway (1:48.2) and Bythemissal (1:48.6).

Actually, Pebble Peach was a class above his rivals in both the Breeders Crown and North America Cup, scoring by 3-1/2 lengths in a new lifetime mark of 1:48.2 in the Crown and by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:50 – untouched with the earplugs still in – in the Cup.

A bay horse of 15.2 hands, Pebble Beach is a member of the noted Mach Three sireline, that which produced Somebeachsomewhere, Captaintreacherous, Stay Hungry and Huntsville, all top sires.

He is by the world champion Downbytheseaside, the sire of the winners of $13million and four in the 1:50 list in America and the classic-winning juvenile Waverider (WA Sales Classic and APG Gold Bullion) and the Group 1 placegetters Sinbad and Aardiebytheseaide in Australia and NZ from just two racing crops.

Santa Rosa, the dam of Pebble Beach, is a member of one of America’s greatest families – that tracing to Jessie Pepper, the premier 2:00 family in the world today.

A 1:53.4 two-year-old, Santa Rosa is by Western Ideal from the Hall of Fame broodmare Art’s Vintage, the dam of six in 1:55 and the winners of more than $4.6million including the world champion Vintage Master ($2.1million) and Great Vintage ($1.5million).

Pebble Beach is standing his first season at Diamond Creek Farm in Kentucky. Numbered among his consorts are Ab Fab (dam of Wheels On Fire 1:48.2 – $1,035,758); Ali Blue (dam of Blue Ivy 1:50.2 -$741,110), Agent Q 1:48.8 ($1,291,415), Dancin Barefoot (dam of Sintra 1:47.4 – $1,658,513), Delightful Dragon 1:50 ($819,971) and Flyme To The Moon (dam of I Did It Myway 1:48.2 – $928,798).

Courages Law, the runaway winner of the two-year-old trot at Bendigo, was bred and is raced by the Angove family, who not only bred his sire Sundons Courage, but his first three dams in Truscott Law, Yankee Truscott and Southern Truscott.

Courages Law is the first winner and first starter sired by the triple Breeders Crown champion Sundons Courage, who stands at Truscott Lodge, Muckleford South, near Maryborough.

Captain Cassini, a Captaintreacherous five-year-old who won on debut at Ballarat recently, ranks as half-brother to the 2019 Australian 2YO Colt of the Year Be Happy Mac, who is based at Wingate Farm, Wagga.

Young Kialla reinswoman Grace Bilney purchased her first horse, a filly by the Hunter Cup winner Soho Tribeca from the American-bred mare J K Luckbealady, at the Nutrien Equine sales.

A half-sister to three winners, the filly was offered by Rhiannon Park, Congupna of Dean and Blanche Poole.

by Peter Wharton, for Harness Racing Australia