Special moment for Andersons

Harness racing breeders Todd and Fleur Anderson experienced a career high recently at Show Day in Christchurch, when Merlin (Art Major) and Captains Mistress (Captaintreacherous) who are both out of their mare Imaginary Bet, won Group One races.

“I was there with a mate. The other two favoured ones had drawn the front line and Captains Mistress had to do a bit of work. The one that she was following didn’t get her as far as she would have liked but she had a desire to win,” Todd said.

The feat has only ever been achieved once before, when Have Faith In Me (Sires’ Stake Final) and Adore Me (New Zealand Cup) both out of Scuse Me, won on Cup Day in 2014.

To make the rare feat even more special, Scuse Me is the third dam of Merlin and Captains Mistress so the achievement is a real ‘Scuse Me’ moment.

Interestingly another daughter of Scuse Me, Splendid Dreams, left a Group One and a Group Two winner on the same night in Auckland in March 2015. Dream About Me won the Group Two Delightful Lady Classic whilst Christen Me won the Group One Auckland Cup.

Scuse Me (2014-2015) and Splendid Dreams (2015-2016) each won a New Zealand Broodmare of the Year title.

Five individual winners bred by the Andersons have now won twelve Group or Listed races in New Zealand. These are led by Merlin who’s won three Group Ones, two Group Twos and two Listed races whilst Captains Mistress has won a Group One and two Group Twos. Dance Til Dawn has won two Listed races, and La Rosa won a Listed race.
Success has come in the sales ring too.

At the last three yearling sales the couple have sold four yearlings for $200,000 or more; Magician (Captaintreacherous – Imaginary Bet) for $200,000 in 2022, Holy Moley (Bettor’s Delight – Safedra) for $230,000 in 2023 and at this year’s sale, Palladium (Bettor’s Delight – Platinum) for $200,000 and War Chief (Captaintreacherous – Delight In Me) for $220,000.

Under the Taffy brand, eight yearlings are being prepared by Laura Smith for the 2025 Sales in Christchurch.

The draft is headlined by a Captaintreacherous colt out of Imaginary Bet which is a full brother to Captains Mistress and a half-brother to Merlin. He’s named Mahomes after the American Football Quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The couple have two other colts by Captaintreacherous entered, one out of De Lovely making it closely related to Catch a Wave and the other out of The Best Of Me. The Best Of Me is an unraced Bettor’s Delight mare out of Splendid Dreams, the dam of Christen Me (32), Dream About Me (25) and Hands Christian (13).

Two Bettor’s Delight colts feature in their draft – one out of Tandias Bromac and the other out of Imagine Me.

Their broodmare Cheer The Lady has a Stay Hungry filly in the sale while their two trotting entries are a Bold Eagle filly out of Girls On Film and a Bird Parker colt out of San Deigo Love.

Todd and Fleur are breeding from twenty five mares this season and have some fresh breeding stock on their books.

In partnership with Laura Smith who prepares all Taffy yearlings, they recently purchased Smarty Party (Bettor’s Delight – Democrat Party) from John and Katrina Price.

“She got kicked when she was a foal on the mare and this has resulted in her not racing due to soundness issues.”

Five Bangles (Bettor’s Delight – Beaudiene Bad Babe) has also joined their broodmare band.

“We sold her as a yearling to Australia. She was a beautiful type and sold for $220,000. Beaudiene Bad Babe is no longer with us and we didn’t have a daughter, so we bought her back.”

Five Bangles won eight races in Australia and banked $71,863 with a best mile time of 1-55.9.

Another new addition is Allegra (Bettor’s Delight – Safedra) which won three of her six starts as a two year old for Robert and Jenna Dunn before being sold to Australia where she had limited starts due to injuring a suspensory.

She too was originally sold by the Andersons at the yearling sales.

Luna Lou (Father Patrick – Luby Lou) which the couple had shares in and raced her from Tony Herlihy’s stable has been retired from racing after she finished second in her only two starts. She’s an older sister to Meant To Be which won the Group One Sires’ Stakes Two Year Old Trotters Championship and the Group One Ace of Clubs Two year old Colts at Addington last month.

Luna Lou is heading to Orlando Vici.

Another addition is Ideal Belle, an American Ideal mare that won eight races for Barry Purdon, including the Group One New Zealand Oaks. One of her daughters Perfect Bet (Bettor’s Delight – Ideal Belle) which Todd and Fleur are also breeding from, has just had her first foal, a colt by Captaintreacherous.

On the foaling front the next generation is being born and all eyes are on Imaginary Bet who is carrying a Captaintreacherous foal.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what she has. Not many mares leave Group One winners. She left two on Show Day which was awesome and she’s starting to go into that elite bracket now.”

With two of her close relations having won Broodmare of the Year titles, there’s a strong chance Imaginary Bet will be added to the list. That would be another ‘Scuse Me’ moment.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink