Who’s who of international trotting stallions at NZ yearling sale

Some of the biggest names among the trotting stallion ranks in Europe and North America have strong representation in the catalogue for next month’s NZB Yearling Sales at Karaka and Christchurch.

The list includes global hot properties such as Walner, Ready Cash, Face Time Bourbon and Orlando Vici, emerging young sires in On A Streak and Ecurie D and the proven North American horse E L Titan – all members of the Victorian-based Yabby Dam Farms’ sire roster.

A world champion juvenile and Breeders Crown winner, Walner was the leading sire in every category in America in 2023 and has finished runner-up to his own sire Chapter Seven in the last two years.

Walner has amassed progeny earnings of almost $50 million from just five racing crops with 175 in 1:55 including five inside 1:50 and 116 $100,000 earners including nine millionaires. 

He has sired numerous exciting talents including the outstanding racemare Jiggy Jog S, Warrawee Michelle, Emoticon Legacy, Winner’s Bet and Special Way, all Breeders Crown champions.

Three of Walner’s first ‘down under’ crop feature in the catalogue, namely a colt out of the Group winner Hopeful Beauty Fra (Lot 113) and a filly from the Cups winner Destinee Jenilou Fra (Lot 81) at Karaka and a filly from the free-for-all winner Egee Money Fra (Lot 258) at Christchurch.

Ready Cash, a winner of nine Group 1’s including the Grand Prix D’Amerique twice, has been the leading sire in France for the last nine years and has topped the sires’ list in Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland.

He has sired the winners of more than $70 million including horses the calibre of the dual Prix d’Amerique winners Bold Eagle and Face Time Bourbon, the seven-time Group 1 victor Bird Parker, the dual Swedish Horse of the Year Readly Express and the gifted American trotter Back Of The Neck.

Ready Cash is represented by two colts – both from the Yabby Dams’ draft at Karaka and both members of his last NZ crop. One is out of the Group 1 winner Amandine (Lot 59) and the other is from the good Melton winner Continentallady USA (Lot 76).

Himself a dual world record holder and the winner of 17 Group 1’s and $5.4 million in stakes, Face Time Bourbon is widely regarded as one of Europe’s brightest young stallion prospects. 

He was the leading 2025 sire in Sweden by average earnings, with his filly La Yuca recently winning the Swedish Breeders Crown. He also ranks among the leading sires in Italy and France.

Face Time Bourbon is dually represented at Karaka, one being a half-brother to the Vicbred champion Rapid Return (Lot 1) and the other a half-brother to the Vicbred champion Revelstoke and the talented Belle Neige (Lot 132).

As the sire of the great Just Believe and with a 100 percent strike rate of winners-to-starters in Australia, Orlando Vici is without doubt one of the most proven stallions available to ‘down under’ breeders.

The French bred import has two representatives in both sales headed up by a full brother to Just Believe (Lot 107) and filly from the Breeders Crown champion Val Gardena (Lot 44), the dam of the Vicbred Final winner Gardena Ronda at Karaka, and a pair of fillies, both out of daughters of the millionaire racemare One Over Kenny in Lots 138 and 144 at Christchurch.

Ecurie D, who began his career in Europe winning his first seven starts and later competed successfully at the top level in America, winning the Breeders Crown twice, will be represented by his first NZ crop at Karaka.

The offering includes colts from the Victoria Derby and dual Oaks winner Une Belle Allure (Lot 42) and Saint Etienne (Lot 18) and a filly from the French bred mare Etsic Etaitvrai, a half-sister to international trotting star Callmethebreeze (Lot 97).

E L Titan, a royally bred son of Muscle Hill, was the second leading percentage sire of two-year-old trotters in America in 2025 behind only Chapter Seven and one of the premier stallions in the very competitive New Year Sires Stake program. To date he has sired the winners of just shy of $16 million with 30 in the 1:55 list.

E L Titan will be represented at Karaka by a colt out of the Vicbred champion Reina Danzante (Lot 12), a half-sister to the Inter Dominion champion The Locomotive and crack racemare Dance Craze, and a filly in the Christchurch sale from the winning Ready Cash mare Parisian Opera (Lot 142).

A grand looking son of influential sire Cantab Hall, On A Streak’s successes included the US Breeders Crown and the $535,000 Wellwood Memorial and he was subsequently voted the Canadian 2YO Trotting Colt of the Year in 2020.

On A Streak will be represented by a single entry from his second Australasian crop at Karaka in Lot 103, a filly out of the French bred Glenferrie Unixa, the dam of three Group winners.

By Peter Wharton for Harnesslink