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 family of Lazarus

Star Casino (Bettor’s Delight), who won the $50,000 Group 3 WA 4YO Championship, main event at Gloucester Park, is a Bettor’s Delight gelding from the same family as that which produced a champion New Zealand pacer in Lazarus.

Star Casino, who won five races in NZ before being sold to Perth interests, has won three of his five starts in his adopted country, and it was a strong field he beat at Gloucester Park.

He will be among the leading fancies for the $200,000 WA Golden Nugget next month. Star Casino completed a double on the night for Bettor’s Delight, the other being Steel The Show, an impressive winner in the Free-for-all.

Star Of Venus (TT1:53), the dam of Star Casino and the top flight NZ pacer Self Assured, winner of the $186,000 NZ Free-for-all at Addington on the same day, was out of Starlitnight, by Tuapeka Knight from Star Of Bethlehem, by Soky’s Atom from the Able Bye Bye mare Tabella Beth.

Starlitnight, who was unraced, left a fine pacer and six-time Group winner in Star Galleria 1:52.9 ($509,388) and the Melton Plate placegetter Night Of The Stars 1:55.5 ($114,982).

Star Of Bethlehem, the dam of Starlitnight, also left the high class pacers Stars And Stripes 1:51.2 ($796,528), winner of four Derbies, and the NZ 2YO of the Year Light And Sound 1:50.4 ($560,833) and the unraced Spirit Of Tara, dam of the Australian Listed winners Spiritual King and Star Of Tara.

Rakero Rebel star mare

Rakero Revel (Rock N Roll Heaven) advanced strong claims to being one of the best female sprint pacers in Australia today when she scored an effortless win in the Garrard’s Horse and Hound Sue Kelly Stakes in 1:53.1 at Menangle. 

It was her third win from her last five starts. At her previous start she ran second in the $150,000 Queen of the Pacific at Melton, and before that she disposed of Ladies In Red, Treachery and others in the Make Mine Cullen.

Rakero Rebel has not done a great deal of racing, having averaged eight starts a season. In three seasons of racing Rakero Rebel has won seven races and has been eight times placed from 24 starts for $126,250.

By Rock N Roll Heaven, she is out of Timeless Perfection (1:56.9), by Christian Cullen from Sirius Flight (1:54.4), an American bred mare by The Big Dog from the NZ Oaks winner Pacific Flight (1:51.2), by Vance Hanover from Significant, by Out To Win from the prized matron Black Watch.

Rakero Rebel is a half-sister to the NZ Listed winner Plutonium Lady 1:54.2 ($212,464), the exported Wah’s Fire Bug 1:51.4 ($225,214), Show Me Heaven (1:55.6) and the Albion Park victor Time Traveller.

Timmy Rictor on Breeders Crown trail

Bought for $7,500 at the Bathurst Gold Crown Yearling Sale and now a winner of $58,398, Timmy Rictor (Modern Art) is one of the leading fancies for the $200,000 Breeders Crown Final to be held at Melton.

Bred by NSW studmaster Paul Carmody, the colt has won four of his five starts including a heat and semi-final of the Breeders Crown and a heat of the Bathurst Gold Crown.

By the Artsplace horse Modern Art, who stands at Carmody’s Lochend Stud, Maitland, Tommy Rictor is out of Bettor’s Package (1:55), by Bettor’s Delight. Bettor’s Package left others in Moreartsthanclass (1:59.7), Shoobee Gotcha (1:58.3) and Shoobee’s Spirit (1:59).

Bettor’s Package, who won 12 races, was out of Total Package, by Mystical Prince from Classic Figure, by Classic Garry from the broodmare gem Soky’s Number, by Soky’s Atom. Total Package was a half-sister to the WA Golden Slipper and Pearl winner Genuine Numbers 1:53.6 ($190,112), Configuration 1:58.l2 ($102,383) and to Rapt In Cotton, dam of the NSW Breeders Challenge and Redcliffe Cup winner Kept Under Wraps 1:51.8 ($649,410).

Their dam, Classic Figure, was a half-sister to the WA Pacing Cup winner and sire Saab, the WA Derby winner Talladega and the Vicbred champion Saabella. The Soky’s Number family has had a terrific influence on Australian breeding and racing.

Fiamma bred to be good

Fiamma (Bettor’s Delight), the convincing winner of the $40,000 Breeders Crown Mares’ Championship at Melton, continues to prove herself in the top bracket among the female pacing ranks.

Bred by the Johnson family of The Rock (NSW), she is a member of one of NZ’s most successful families, being a four-year-old Bettor’s Delight mare from the handy racemare Twice As Hot (1:59.6), an In The Pocket mare who produced others in the dual Inter Dominion Final placegetter Flaming Flutter 1:49.2 ($879,694) and the Listed winner Two Times Bettor 1:52 ($222,555).

Twice As Hot was out of Twice As Good (1:56.5), a noted producer by Butler B G from Princess Nandina, by Able Bye Bye and tracing eventually to the taproot Lady Ajax (by Ajax).

Twice As Good produced three cup class pacers in Mark Dennis 1:51.4 ($340,269), St Barts 1:57 ($162,506) and Waitfornoone 1:55.7 ($201,804) and others in Fight Fire With Fire 1:56 ($151,657) and Double Shot (1:57.9).

But the second generation of Twice As Good’s family has bred on with the same distinction as she did. She figures as the grand-dam of the NZ 2YO Filly of the Year and former NZ mares’ mile record holder Elle Mac (1:51.6), the outstanding Perth pacer Pacific Warrior, Duplicated (1:49.4), Montana Storm and so on.

Fiamma promises to do this fine family further credit.

Noted family of trotters

The $30,000 Breeders Crown Championship, for four-year-old trotting males, one of the features of the Breeders Crown carnival at Bendigo, was won by Keayang Chucky, a strongly fancied gelding by Love You.

Love You, a French bred son of Coktail Jet, has been one of top sires of trotters in recent years in both Australia and NZ. He has sired such winners as Queen Elida, Monbet, Enghien, Habibti, Valtino and Aroha Koe, who finished second in the Breeders Crown.

The Sun Goddess, the NZ bred dam of Keayang Chucky, was by Sundon, who also distinguished himself as a sire of trotters, from Elgin Princess, by Paul Evander (son of Great Evander) from Elgin Lady, by Tuft from Tronso, winner of the 1966 Dominion Handicap.

Bred by Pat Driscoll, Keayang Chucky ranks as a half-brother to the dual Derby winner The Bohemian and the NZ Listed winner Dieu De Lamour.

Well related three-year-old

Oliver Dan (), who won a semi-final of the Breeders Crown three-year-old male series at Melton, showed ability as a two-year-old last season when placed at his first attempt.

He has been one of Bettor’s DelightVictoria’s leading three-year-olds this season, winning six races including a heat and semi of the Breeders Crown and qualifying for the Victoria Derby, NSW Breeders Challenge and Nutrien Equine Classic.

By Bettor’s Delight, Oliver Dan has a wealth of breeding on his dam’s side, being out of the top racemare Miss Hazel 1:57 ($310,063), by Presidential Ball from My Ami Lee, by Safely Kept from the Thor Hanover mare Cosmophylla, who established a great winning line for the Xerri family. She left four $100,000 earners including Prince Benji and Fourwing Sweepa.

Among others from the Cosmophylla family have been the dual NSW Breeders Challenge winner Louvre, Benicio (1:50.2), Let’s Go To Brazil, the Derby winner Renaissance Man and Victorian pacing sensation Captain Ravishing.

Siblings win at Menangle

Two of NSW’s star youngsters at present, and both winners at the Menangle midweek meeting, are the two-year-old Ravishing Sloy (by Bettor’s Delight) and his Sweet Lou three-year-old half-brother Mufasa Bart. 

Both bred by the Xerri family are from Ravishing Girl (1:57.1), a smart pacer herself, and who has left the superstar pacer Captain Ravishing and Let’s Get Rockin.

Ravishing Girl was by the Artsplace horse Sportswriter from Ravaged, by Safely Kept from Cosmophylla, by Thor Hanover. Ravishing Sloy won a heat of the NSW Breeders Challenge Regional series and will be one of the leading fancies for the $30,000 Final in December.

Breeders Crown trotting winner

The Breeders Crown Championship for four-year-old trotting mares, run at Bendigo, fell the way of Egret (Father Patrick), who won the Crown as a three-year-old last season.

Egret was handily placed throughout and raced to the front in the dying stages and won decisively from her stablemate Revelstoke and Aldebaran Keepa.

Bred and part-owned by Angela Morris, Egret is mare by Father Patrick, a Cantab Hall horse who is a leading sire of trotters in America, from Moyabamba, a Listed winner by CR Commando from the Harold Park winner Urubamba – a predominance of straight out trotting blood.

Egret is a half-sister to the Breeders Crown placegetter Red White An Bloom and the multiple Menangle winner Sobomba.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink