Weekly spotlight on breeding

Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America brought to you by Yabby Dam Farms & Racing!

Yabby Dam Racing, principal Pat Driscoll’s dream to breed and race world class trotters was born after seeing a billboard on the Champs Elysees in Paris advertising the famous trotting race the Prix d’Amerique. Driscoll attended the Prix d’Amerique and immediately a love affair with the trotter was formed.

Driscoll spent the next five years visiting world class trotting establishments in Europe before embarking on his own venture here in Australia where he has lead the charge in the significant advancement of Southern Hemisphere trotting.

Along the way Driscoll formed friendships with many of Europe’s leading owners and breeder.

Swayzee wins The Dish

The opening leg of the NSW Carnival of Cups, the $60,000 The Dish, run at Parkes, was won by the Rock N Roll Heaven gelding Swayzee, who is the reigning NZ Cup winner.

Swayzee was back in his field in the early running but raced to the front two laps from home and finally won decisively from Donegal Luther, Nerano and Smooth Buzz.

It was his 22nd success and lifted his stake tally to $1,042,243 in stakes

A six-year-old gelding, Swayzee is out of the smart racemare Lettucereason (1:55.9), an Art Major mare who also ranks as the dam of the superstar pacer Leap To Fame (1:48.3) and Maximus Red (1:51.6).

Lettucereason was a sister to the millionaire pacer and Victoria Cup winner For A Reason (1:49.4), being out of Left For Me (1:59), by Fake Left from Our Lady Delwin, by Lordship from the grand Armbro Del mare Del’s Dream.

Victoria Cup prospect

One of the stronger Victoria Cup candidates, particularly among the youthful brigade will be Captain Ravishing (Captaintreacherous ), who has proved himself in the top flight and has returned to the fray with two recent Free-for-all successes.

His latest winning run over 1720 metres at Melton was a top performance. He tramped his last 800 three deep in 53.4 seconds and returned a mile rating of a slick 1:52.4.

A brilliant sit-sprinter, Captain Ravishing is a five-year-old entire, being by Captaintreacherous from Ravishing Girl (1:57.1), dam also of useful winners in Let’s Get Rockin 1:54.1 ($217,395), the NSW Derby and Breeders Challenge heat Ravishing Sloy (1:50.8) and Mufasa Bart (1:53.5).

Ravishing Girl was sired by Sportswriter (son of Artsplace) from Ravaged, by Safely Kept from the Thor Hanover mare Cosmophylla. This has been one of the most successful branches of the Flora (by Berlin) tribe, Ravishing Girl being a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Tsunami Sloy (1:55.5), the Listed winner Aussieaussiestride (1:55.2), Surfer Dude (1:57.8) and others.

Dainty’s Daughter Classic winner a Gem

Atlantic Gem (Downbytheseaside) is proving herself a three-year-old of some worth in WA and last weekend she numbered the $50,000 Dainty’s Daughter Classic among her successes, beating a very good filly in Water Lou.

Atlantic Gem as an Australian Pacing Gold purchase in 2022 in Perth, and is a filly by the Somebeachsomewhere horse Downbytheseaside from the Bettor’s Delight mare Bettor’s Gem (1:54.6), a half-sister to the Pearl winner Menemsha 1:56.7 ($202,363).

Bettor’s Gem, a dual Listed winner, also figures as the dam of the four-time Group winner Swingband 1:54.2 ($388,149).

Breeding of Carousel winners

Two of the brightest prospects on the NSW racing scene in the pacer Mick Danger and the trotter Affaire De Cover took out their respective finals of the Carousel at Menangle.

Mick Danger, who took his earnings to beyond $100,000 with his sparkling come-from-behind success, is a four-year-old gelding by Captaintreacherous, and one of his third crop.

Mick Danger looks certain to take a tight mark and as a stayer he has a bright future. He is the first produce of the Rock N Roll Heaven mare Queen Taia, a half-sister to the millionaire pacer and four-time Derby winner Divisive (1:56), being out of Smooth Jes, by Smooth Fella from Monaco Doll.

The gelding was bred and is part-owned by Michael McGeechan.

Affaire De Cover, now the winner of 15 races and $208,000, was bred by Tim Cregan and is a member of a very successful pacing family. He is a six-year-old by the leading French sire Love You from the Live Or Die mare Nigella Bites, a dual pacing winner who left the trotter Shang Fang Sword (1:58.5) and the pacers The Puritan (1:58.3) and To Be Feared.

Nigella Bites was a sister to the exported Mulcay (1:50.4) and a half-sister to Maddison Paige (1:51.6) and the Albion Park victor Seduce Me (1:52.8). 

Chynchilla is well bred

Chynchilla (Sunshine Beach), who won her sixth race from her last seven starts at Albion Park, is a four-year-old mare expected to graduate far beyond her present rating.

Bred by Alabar Bloodstock in NZ, she has a good deal more in her favour on the score of blood than most. By Sunshine Beach, a 1:47 son of Somebeachsomewhere, Chynchilla is out of the Jereme’s Jet mare Gotta Go Jet Away whose dam was a crack racemare in Elect To Live 1:55.5 ($ ($535,800), the winner of five Group 1 races and who left horses the calibre of Gotta Go Harmony (1:55.5) and Gotta Go Cullect (1:57), a successful colonial sire. 

Elect To Live was out of the unraced Lopez Elect, a Lopez Hanover mare who ranked as a sister to the exported Cadiz (1:54.6), being out of Ruling Miss, by Card Shark from Ruling Caste, by Brahman from a fine racemare in Riviera, a U Scott mare from the family founded by the imported mare Norice.

From the Riviera branch of it and to which Chynchilla belongs, others in the Hunter Cup winner Vic’s Vance, the Derby winners Mach Alert and Locharburn, Captn Me (NSW Breeders Challenge) and a champion juvenile in Nicotine Prince are also members.

Promising sire’s absence a loss

Worlds Above’s win in the $35,000 Battle Of Bunbury further demonstrated the loss of Rock N Roll World to breeders.

With only two crops racing, he has sired 36 winners from 68 starters including the Westsired Classic winner World Secret, Arionrock (1:54.2), Highview Heidi (WA Gold Bracelet) and the Group 2 placegetter Rox The World.

In all, Rock N Roll World’s Australian-bred progeny have earned more than $870,000.

Worlds Above stood at the Allwood Stud near Perth, of leading WA studmaster Bob Fowler, who bred and owns Worlds Above.

A winner of nine races, Worlds Above is out of the Courage Under Fire mare Our Citation and is her first produce to race.

Vicbred Bronze winner

I Dream Of Millie, who is proving herself a smart young trotting mare – she has now won five races including the Vicbred Super Series Bronze – boasts of pedigree of more than usual interest.

She is a four-year-old by Sebastian K, a Swedish born trotter who established a world mile record of 1:49 in America, from Amelia Darling (1:59.1), an Oaks winner who produced others in Rosehill Magic ($100,890) and Ignite (1:57.4).

By Kadabra (a member of the Star’s Pride line), Amelia Darling was out of the outstanding reacemare Africa (1:56.6), a winner of 29 races and $341,434 in stakes, by Chiola Hanover from the Game Pride mare Game Flyer, dam of the exported Bo Didley 1:56.8 ($201,834), and the Queensland Listed winner Willy Lightfoot and grand-dam of the Group winners Pocaro, Daenery’s Targaryen and Sun Of Anarchy.

Jug winner’s breeding links to Australia

Captain Albano, the winner of the $525,000 Little Brown Jug in straight heats, has close breeding ties to Australia – on both sides of his pedigree.

By Captaintreacherous, the colt is out of Angelou (1:54), by American Ideal from Copywriter (1:51.4), by Artsplace from Clear Copy, by Jate Lobell from the Race Time mare Shifting Scene and tracing back to the prized matron Golden Miss.

This is the family that has produced the successful sires Rocknroll Hanover, Panorama, Safely Kept, Real Desire, Grinfromeartoear and Sunshine Beach and the Jug winners Tell All (2007) and Strike Out (1972).

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink