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.

Three Rumours is well bred

Three Rumours, winner of the Free-for-all at Gloucester Park last Friday, continues to prove herself in the top harness racing bracket among the female brigade in Western Australia. She has now won 10 races and $193,359 in stakes.

She is a member of one of NZ’s most successful families, being a six-year-old Mach Three mare from Boom Time Baby, a Bettor’s Delight mare who has produced others in Maleficence (2:00) and last year’s juvenile winner Supertramp.

Boom Time Baby, who was unraced, was out of a fine racemare in This Time Franco 1:57.9 ($249,151), by Holmes Hanover from Tango Franco, by El Patron from Tempest Tiger, dam of the Miracle Mile winner Franco Tiger.

This Time Franco left only two winners, but the second generation of her family has bred on with distinction. She figures as the second dam of the Sunshine Sprint and dual Tasmanian Cup winner Motu Crusader 1:52.9 ($361,343), the Victorian country cups winner Motu Meteor 1:55.4 ($252,295), the WA Christmas Gift victor Motu Treasure 1:55.9 ($191,566) and the top SA pacer Futurist 1:56 ($180,123) and the third dam of the Tatlow Memorial winner Tempting Tigress 1:53.4 ($130,458).

Three Rumours was one of the winners sired by Mach Three on the night, the others being Machnificent and Machlani.

Siring feat to The Storm Inside

Rather a notable siring feat was credited to the Rocknroll Hanover horse The Storm Inside at Bendigo recently, when he had three runners in a seven-horse field in the first two-year-old race of the season.

Two of his stock, Viva Storm, a good type of filly, and Stormy Woods finished first and second respectively, and his third runner, Bolt Of Cobargo, finished fifth.

The Storm Inside’s oldest stock are two-year-olds and include four qualifiers from 58 foals.

Viva Storm was bred by Jane Hearn and John Nalder and is the second foal of the unraced Falcon Seelster mare Viva La Nina, a member of the same family as the triple Inter Dominion champion Our Sir Vancelot.

Lost 50 metres – and won!

The highlight of the Launceston meeting last Saturday was turned on by Mickey Oh, who broke soon after the start and gave the leaders 50 metres start in the $40,000 Devonport Cup.

With 1600 to run he was still 30 metres from the leaders, and his chance could have been written off. But Mickey Oh circled the 14-strong field at the 1200 metres to face the breeze, reached the front on the home turn and finally held off all comers.

Mickey Oh’s performance was an amazing one in every respect. Bred by Latrobe enthusiast Shane Hawes, he is a five-year-old gelding by the Roll With Joe horse Racing Hill, a top racehorse himself and who later returned to stand stud in America.

Ark Breeze, the dam of Mickey Oh, was a Stonerbridge Regal mare from the good producer Ark Drifter (1:59.7), by Golden Greek from Triumphal Ark, by Title Holder from the Meadow Paige mare Ark Page.

This family has consistently produced a number of good winners in Tasmania over the years. It includes Ark Breeze (Granny Smith), the Tasmanian Sweepstakes and Youthful Stakes winner Ark Princess, Drifting West (Tas. Sires Produce) and Frankie Falzoni (Tas. Country Derby).

Mickey Oh, who has won 13 of his 25 starts and $182,420, promises to do this fine family further credit.

Cup winner by A Rocknroll Dance

Curly James, who won the $75,000 Shepparton Pacing Cup – Kanena Provlima, Petes Said So and Taipo filled the placings behind him – has made smart progress through the grades.

He is a grand stayer and one of the best of the progeny left by the Rocknroll Hanover horse A Rocknroll Dance, who sired top pacers of the calibre of No Win No Feed, Blacksadance, Whereyabinboppin and others.

Curly James is a six-year-old gelding from the unraced Someone To Love, by Somebeachsomewhere from the American-bred mare Kabbalah Karen B (1:52.8), dam of the champion racemare Ladies In Red 1:51.9 ($1million) and the Breeders Crown and Derby winner Our Little General 1:49.8 ($765,566).

Bred by Anne and Bill Anderson’s Lauriston Bloodstock, Curly James has not done a great deal of racing, having averaged nine starts a season. In four seasons of racing Curly James has won 12 races and has been 17 times placed from 36 starts for $201,559.

New Year’s Gift winner

One of the most capable young pacers racing in NSW at present is Our Cosmic Major, who has quickly worked his way to the verge of cup class.

The Art Major gelding took his Australian record to five wins from six starts – he finished a neck second in his other performance – when he led throughout in 1:50.2 in the $30,600 New Year’s Gift at Menangle.

Last season he won the $50,000 NSW Carousel.

Our Cosmic Major has a wealth of blood to back up his claims to further promotion, being by Art Major from the smart Bettor’s Delight mare Rozelski 1:57.3 ($174,746), a half-sister to the NSW Listed winner Loubowski (1:52.8).

Their dam, Highview Hazel (1:57.5), was by Holmes Hanover from Smooth Mystery, by Smooth Fella from the Admiral Halsey mare Spandau Mistique and tracing to the taproot Millie C.

Bred by Ken Breckon, who part-owns him, Our Cosmic Major ranks as a brother to the Menangle victor Dragon Tattoo (1:54.2).

Victorian trotter has strong bloodlines

Love Gun, a winner at the Shepparton Cup meeting and the latest member of the ‘$100,000 Club’, is a six-year-old trotter of some potential.

He is the result of the Franco-Australian breeding cross, being by the French sire Love You, a leading sire in Europe for many years and now making a huge impact ‘down under’, from a topflight racemare in Spidergirl, a winner of four Group 1 races and $317,657 in stakes. Love Gun is her first produce.

Spidergirl, bred at Shepparton by Kevin Riseley, was out of Lunar Landing, a half-sister to the Vicbred champion Master Maori, and also to Pretty Peggy Sue, dam of the Victoria Oaks winner Pretty Majestic and the dual Vicbred winner Kinvara Sue.

This has been a most successful family, as Spidergirl, the dam of Love Gun, was a half-sister to the Breeders Crown champion Illawong Armstrong and the dual Group winner Illawong Stardust.

Well related three-year-old

Sergeant Lou, who won the Graham Head Memorial 3YO at the Shepparton Cup meeting, showed ability as a two-year-old last season when he qualified for the Vicbred Final.

He has opened his three-year-old season on a winning note and will be well in line for the major juvenile classics.

He is a colt by the Yankee Cruiser horse Sweet Lou from a brilliant racemare in Bella’s Delight 1:54.3 ($442,523) and is her third foal.

Bella’s Delight, a dual Vicbred and Breeders Crown champion, was a half-sister to a handy racemare in Rockabella Starz, being by Bettor’s Delight from Bella Aurora, by Northern Lights from Precious Milly, by What’s Next from the Torado Hanover mare Sheza Beauty, who established a great winning line for Melbourne media identity Rob Auber.

Others from this family have been the Melton winner and Vicbred finalist Le Belle Bijoux (1:55), Heza Modern Guy, Bide Our Time and Valencia.

Bettor’s Delight leading American sire

The Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight was the leading stakemoney sire in North America for the sixth consecutive season and the tenth time overall. During the closing season his stock earned $24,257,240, of which his two and three-year-olds won $5,660,651.

His total was more than $5million ahead of his nearest rival Sweet Lou, the leading sire of three-year-olds.

Captaintreacherous, who finished third on the all-aged list, was the leading sire of two-year-olds for the third season on end.

The world champion Walner was the leading sire of trotters in every category – two-year-olds, three-year-old and all aged. His progeny banked $11,649,702, almost $500,000 ahead of his own sire Chapter Seven.

Muscle Hill, the five-time champion sire, Father Patrick and Cantab Hall rounded out the top five in the trotting section.

First winner

The Lis Mara horse Mel Mara, a million dollar winner and now at Llowalong Farms in Victoria, was represented by his first winner when the three-year-old Letsgetrowdy was successful recently at Maryborough.

The gelding had been unplaced in three starts as a two-year-old last season.

Bred by Helen Head, Letsgetrowdy is out of the Art Major mare She’s Offlimits whose dam, Roaring Franco (by Falcon Seelster) left several useful winners including a topflight racemare in Tell Me Tales (1:49.6).

A Capt Midnight half-sister to Letsgetrowdy will be offered as Lot 209 at the APG Melbourne sale on Sunday, February 4.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink