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.

Sew What is some mare

One of the most capable mares racing in Victoria at present is Sew What (Western Terror), who has worked her way to the top flight over the winter period at Melton.

A six-year-old, Sew What put an exclamation mark on her career when she downed a top field in the $30,000 Cinderella Stakes, the most important race last weekend, and pushed her stake earnings to just below $200,000.

Sew What has a wealth of blood to back up her claims to further promotion, being by Western Terror from the Live Or Die mare Sewinyaface, a member of the renowned Norice tribe.

Sewinyaface (1:58.7), a Melton and Moonee Valley winner, produced earlier winners in Sewican (1:55.4), Sewplayful (1:58) and Sewcanhugh (1:59.8). But after producing Sew What in 2016 she has left only one live foal, a weanling filly by the speed merchant Lather Up.

Sewinyaface was by the leading NZ sire Live Or Die from Spring Thaw, by Falcon Seelster from Tuapeka Frost, a half-sister by Vance Hanover to the dual Derby winner Brad Adios, the outstanding racemare Tuapeka Star and the NZ Group winner The Orator.

This is a long established NZ family and an earlier top pacer belonging to it was Iraklis, who won 22 races including the NZ Cup and NSW Miracle Mile and $1,019,142 in stakes.

Sew What was bred and is raced by Melbourne enthusiasts John Hawke, Rob Merola, Sam Godino and Dianne Giles, who trains her.

Tontine Championship winner

Blake Bolac (Sunshine Beach), winner of the time-honoured Tontine Championship at Ararat, has won three races from as many starts this season and is regarded as one of the best young pacers in Victoria.

Blake Bolac is a three-year-old gelding sired by the Somebeachsomewhere horse Sunshine Beach, a world champion pacer who stood stud for several years in Victoria and has now returned to Canada. 

He is out of Satimer Sunset, a lightly raced Panorama mare from Saraburi, by Classic Garry from Pat Petulus, a New York Motoring mare who established a great winning line for well known Shepparton breeder John Hallam. She left the brilliant but ill-fated Exhilarator and a top flight WA pacer in Allwood’s Chief.

Blake Bolac ranks as a half-brother to the Melton winner Captain Snoozzze.

Star four-year-old by Betting Line

A bright future is being predicted for the Betting Line four-year-old mare Dannemora, whose success at Melton last Saturday was her fifth winning run in as many starts on Australian soil.

She has a good deal in her favour on the score of blood. Apart from being by Betting Line, and one of his first crop, Dannemora is out of the Christian Cullen mare Gracy Lady, a half-sister to a fine racemare and Victoria Ladyship Cup winner in Talaspring (1:53.4), being out of Spring Thaw, by Falcon Seelster from the Vance Hanover mare Tuapeka Frost and tracing to the imported mare Norice, whose family today is one of the best in the NZ stud book.

It includes the NZ Cup winners Iraklis, Monkey King and Camelot, the Miracle Mile winners Mount Eden, Sokyola and Holmes DG, the champion racemares Elect To Live and Tuapeka Star, the A. G. Hunter Cup winners Adios Court and Vic’s Vance, the derby winners Brad Adios, Lavros Star and Locharburn and many others.

Siblings win at Gloucester Park

It was no mean feat for the siblings Acharne Girl and Faster Than Dad to win on the same night at Gloucester Park.

ACHARNE GIRL REPLAY

Both are by the deceased Christian Cullen horse Alta Christiano (a leading percentage sire).

Slick Bird (1:55.7), the dam of Acharne Girl and Faster Than Dad, was by Bettor’s Delight out of Who’s The Bird, by Falcon Seelster out of a smart racemare in Donna Who, a winner of 19 races including the APG Final.

Besides Slick Bird, Who’s The Bird was also the dam of the Gloucester Park winner High Courage 1:53.4 ($143,950), the Group 2 NZ Southland Oaks victor Smokin Byrd (1:55.1), the exported Who’s Smokin (1:52), Cullen Who (1:55) and the NSW Listed winner Who’s Escaped 1:52.7 ($127,377), dam of the 1:51.4 Menangle winner Ideal Escape.

A half-sister to Who’s The Bird in Whola Dancer, figures as the grand-dam of the Breeders Crown placegetter Sweet Louise (1:55.6).

For Real Life is top three-year-old

Bought for $18,500 and now a winner of $148,592, For Real Life (For A Reason) firmly established himself as one of the best three-year-olds in Queensland when he won the $52,000 Garrard’s Redcliffe Yearling Sale Series Final, rating 1:56.6 for 2040 metres.

By the Art Major horse For A Reason, For Real Life is out of She’s Elegant, a lightly raced mare by Safely Kept. She’s Elegant left others in Tightrope 1:53.6 ($204,098), the Melton winner Somedreamsomewhere (1:56.6), Hec’s Elect (1:56.3), Teamenup (2:00.2), Swanky’s Atom (2:00.8), Royal Jinx (2:00.9) and Elegantly Spoken.

She’s Elegant was out of She’s Our Angel, by Classic Garry from She’s Cool, a Glen Almahurst mare from the noted Pride Of Lincoln family. She was a sister to the Victoria Sapling Stakes winner Nightn Georgia, the Listed winner Kasey John 1:50.6 ($235,239), who is racing successfully in America, the Devonport Cup winner Sky Tower 1:58.5 ($241,236) and Jasmin Amal 1:55 ($101,511).

2040 metres.

Their dam, She’s Our Angel, was a half-sister to a capable racemare in Aleppo Lady (1:57.9) and to the unraced Heaven, dam of the Menangle winner Schouten Island 1:53 ($129,109) and the Moonee Valley victor Dreams Of Heaven 1:58.9 ($150,444), who, in turn, left the dual Derby winner Menin Gate 1:54.3 ($574,758).

She’s Elegant was 20 when she left For Real Life.

Crack colt by Sportswriter

A two-year-old colt to take a high ranking in Western Australia is Run Cork Run, one of the second last crop sired by Sportswriter, who is now at the stud in Canada.

He has won two of his three starts to date including the $30,000 Western Crown in the smart time of 1:56.5, and appears every bit as good as the Sandgropers rate him. He is out of the Westral Mares Classic winner Millview Sienna 1:56.5 ($157,330), by Jereme’s Jet from Millview Lily (1:59.1), by In The Pocket and tracing back to the Wrack mare Tondeleyo.

Bred and raced by Rob Tomlinson’s Oz-West Pacing group, Run Cork Run is the first foal of his dam.

Nase Vira wins Crown

Nase Vira (Alta Christiano), who won the $30,000 Western Crown for two-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park, has a pedigree of more than usual interest in that she represents a combination of the blood of two of NZ’s outstanding winning families – that of Black Watch and Millie C.

NASE VIRA REPLAY

Nase Vira is one of the last commercial crop of a top colt pacer and Derby winner in Alta Christiano, a Christian Cullen horse who died three years ago when at the height of his stud career. 

Alta Christiano is one of several members of the Black Watch family to go to stud – others being The Unicorn, Tay Bridge, Flight N  Irish, Malak Uswaad, Reba Lord and Creegan.

Sovereign Faith 1:53.6 ($132,719), the dam of Nase Vira, was sired by a fine North American pacer in Live Or Die, who later became a successful sire in NZ and Australia.

Sovereign Faith’s dam, Innsbruck, was a Soky’s Atom mare from a smart racemare in Saucy Wave, by Berry Hanover from Sundown Girl. This branch of the Millie C family produced a top Tasmanian pacer in Pachacuti, who won 35 races.

Broodmare double

Two of Victoria’s star trotters at present, and both recent winners who promise to be a force in the forthcoming feature races are the siblings Courage Stride and Satin Stride. Courage Stride won the Free-for-all at Melton in a new lifetime mark of 1:56.4.

Both bred and raced by Emilio and Mary Rosati are by Muscle Hill from the American bred mare Nitengale Stride, who left other straightout trotting winners in Monarch Stride (1:59.5) and Tiara Stride.

Nitengale Stride, who was unraced, was by the Self Possessed horse Cantab Hall (a USA Breeders Crown champion) from the Stakes winner Lunar Dream OM (1:55.6), by Muscles Yankee from the Speedy Crown mare Crown Dream, dam of the Hambletonian winner and successful sire Victory Dream.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink