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.

Siring feat to Bettor’s Delight

Rather a notable siring feat was credited to the Cam’s Card Cark horse Bettor’s Delight when he sired two of the winners of the Nutrien Equine Classic Race Series Finals at Melton.

Kitzbuhel Delight, a good type of colt, took out the $200,000 Final for two-year-old colts and geldings, while Ivseenheavenslight won the $125,000 Final for three-year-old fillies.

Bettor’s Delight also figured as the damsire of Delizioso and Path To Greatness, the winners of the two-year-old fillies and three-year-old colts and geldings divisions respectively.

Won Nutrien Equine Classic

The winner of the Vicbred Super Series final as a two-year-old last season, Ivseenheavenslight downed the top three-year-olds at the $125,000 Nutrien Equine Classic at Melton, including a top ranking three-year-old in Beach Diamond.

Ivseenheavenslight has lot done a great deal of racing but has proved herself a young pacer of great ability. By Bettor’s Delight, Ivseenheavenslight is out of the top racemare Heavens Trend 1:52.1 ($385,683), the dam of earlier winners in Captain Tom (1:51.6), Heavenly Sign (1:54.5) and Smokescreen (1:56.9).

Heavens Trend, a Breeders Crown champion, was got by Rock N  Roll Heaven from Trend Setter (1:55.6), and by Perfect Art from the Present Laughter mare Trendy Brooke (1:58.1), who left eight Setting The Trend (1:55.5), dam of the Listed winner Rockin With Elvis 1:51.6 ($214,649).

Ivseenheavenslight was bred by Bruce and Vicki Edward, of Durham Park Standardsbreds.

High priced yearling’s Classic success

Kitzbuhel Delight (Bettor’s Delight), the season’s latest two-year-old feature winner, in beating a useful field in the $200,000 Nutrien Equine Classic at Melton, gives the impression that he could develop into one of next season’s top three-year-olds.

The second highest priced yearling at the 2024 Melbourne sales at $200,000, Kitzbuhel Delight is a well developed colt by Bettor’s Delight from Beninjurd, the dam of the crack racemare Tough Tilly 1:51.1 ($618,333),the brilliant but ill-fated Centenario 1:53.4 ($332,520), Lightning Dan (1:51.7) and Somedan (1:55.9).

Thie dam, Beninjurd, was an Art Major mare from My Liberty Belle, by Fake Left from the Group winner Sweet Liberty (1:57.5), by Gatwick from Sue Adios, by Jerry Adios. It is an interesting fact that there is a double strain of Albatross blood in My Liberty Belle (grand-dam of Kitzbuhel Delight), through both Albatross (damsire of Fake Left) and Gatwick.

Beninjurd was a sister to the Vicbred and Breeders Crown champion and dual Inter Dominion heat winner Philadelphia Man 1:52.6 ($559,135).

A top flight NSW pacer in Expensive Ego belongs to this family. He had a mile mark of 1:48.6 and in all won 25 races including four at Group 1 level and $992,307 in stakes. The Oaks winners Sweet Clementine and Adios Trick, Art’s Treasure (QBred Triad 2YO), Rockyourbaby, Lagoon Stride and Gran Chico are among many good winning members of Kitzbuhel Delight’s family.

Kitzbuhel Delight was bred by one of Australia’s leading nurseries, Benstud Standardbreds.

Classic winner by Ride High

The $200,000 Nutrien Equine Classic, for two-year-old fillies, run at Melton, was won by Delizioso, a little fancied filly by Ride High, and one of the first crop of the Art Major horse who stands at Alabar Bloodstock’s Victorian property.

Delizioso was a $5,000 purchase at last year’s Nutrien Melbourne sale, and is a filly out of the unraced Bettor’s Delight mare Miss Delightful and the first of her produce to race. 

Miss Delightful was a half-sister to the Victorian Provincial Cup winner Damysus (1:55.6), being out of Ninkasi (1:58.8), a Group 2 placegetter by Western Terror from Golden Angel, by Golden Greek from Heather Rainbow, by Afella Rainbow from Heather Frost, dam of the champion pacer Preux Chevalier, a winner of 40 of his 53 starts.

Luv The Nitelife is Oaks material

Luv The Nitelife, who won the $30,600 Golden Easter Egg at Menangle and is regarded as Oaks material of the highest order, is a three-year-old filly by Poster Boy from Kabbalah Karen B, a Canadian bred mare with a record of 1:52.8.

She ranks as a half-sister to the millionairess Ladies In Red (1:51.9), the Derby winner and dual Breeders Crown champion Our Little General 1:49.8 ($765,566), Perfect In Pink (1:53.3) and Kasbah Kid (1:53.1).

Kabbalah Karen B was a Western Terror mare from Mib Hanove (1:55.6), by Tyler B (grandson of Meadow Skipper) from Mighty Impressive (1:56.6), by Harold J. Mib Hanover became the dam of 10 individual winners including the Dan Patch victor Cammibest 1:50, a successful sire in Queensland.

Luv The Nitelife was bred and is raced by Lauriston Bloodstock’s Bill and Anne Anderson.

Path To Greatness is well bred

Path To Greatness, who won the $125,000 Nutrien Equine Classic at Melton, is a three-year-old gelding expected to graduate far beyond his present rating.

A member of Grant Dixon’s Brisbane team, Path To Greatness has a good deal more in his favour on the score of blood than most. By Captaintreacherous, who provided the quinella pair, Path To Greatness is out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Passion’s Delight (1:56), whose dam was the top racemare Passion’s Promise 1:57.3 ($272,345), the winner of 12 races including the Breeders Crown.

Passion’s Promise, the dam of four winners, was a Modern Art half-sister to Beso’s Baci, dam of the Group 3 Perth victor Hotly Pursued (1:55.3). 

The family then traces through mares by Beach Towel, Holmes Hanover, Lumber Dream, Garrison Hanover, Fallacy and Grattan Loyal to the foundation mare Erin, ancestress of the NZ Free-for-all winner Master Dean, Rauka Lad (NZ Easter Cup), the Oaks winners Scent and Young Eden, Makes Every Scents (Bathurst Gold Tiara) and the top trotters Tough Monarch, Tough Tussle and Monaro Mia.

Path To Greatness was bred by NSW enthusiasts Ben Settree and Shane Caffyn.

Broodmare treble

The Art Major mare French Charm, bred and owned by Kevin and Kay Seymour, left three winners at Albion Park in the space of 24 hours.

Fact Finder, a four-year-old American Ideal gelding, started the ball rolling with a convincing win in 1:55.7 on Friday night. The following night the three-year-old French Fries (by Captaintreacherous) and Free Thinker (by Hurrikane Kingcole) both led throughout in 1:52.1 and 1:53.6 respectively.

A half-sister to the Group winners Fame Assured (1:50.8) and Frankie Rocks (1:52.2), French Charm produced others in the Inter Dominion heat winner Future Assured 1:50.9 ($228,244), Frontliner (1:56.5) and Feel The Charm (1:58.7).

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink