Bargain buy Layden goes to the next level

Layden (Rock N Roll Heaven), who cost a modest $17,000 at the Australian Pacing Gold Melbourne Yearling sale in 2019, is proving one of the success stories of Victorian harness racing.

The Rock N Roll Heaven four-year-old entire notched his fifth win for the season and tenth lifetime when he unleashed a sustained finishing burst from second last to prevail in the last bound at Melton last Saturday.

The win lifted his bankroll to $82,340.

Layden was bred by former Harness Breeders Victoria president Dr Tony Britt and his wife Helen out of their handy racemare Ruby Slippers, a daughter of Mother Courage, one of Australia’s best mares of the late 1990’s.

“I bred Polly Peachum out of her and then I had to have a knee replacement and I wasn’t going to breed from Ruby Slippers while I was recuperating,” Britt said.

“Robert Rothacker rang me and asked me if I would be interested in leasing the mare to him.”

Ruby Slippers subsequently produced the filly Shezaruby to the cover of Captaintreacherous.

“The lease was still active and the mare was based at Alabar, so I said to Robert that if I paid the service fee would he be happy with that arrangement,” Britt said.

“He agreed and so I bred her to Rock N Roll Heaven and the result is Layden.”

“She’s got a full brother to Layden who I put in the 2023 sales and didn’t get any interest.”  

The next foal, a yearling gelding by Always B Miki, was put up for auction last April and was knocked down for $10,000 with only one bidder.

“I’ve got an Always B Miki filly out of Ruby Slippers going to the Nutrien Equine sales next April under the care of Garry Graham,” he said.

“It’s the same family and cross as Aardie’s Express, Aardie B Miki and Aardie’s Flash, so I am optimistic that there will be buyer interest.”

Britt said he offered Ruby Slippers in foal to Rock N Roll Heaven at a mixed online last June and she failed to attract a bid. She’s due to foal later this month.

Mother Courage, the dam of Ruby Slippers, won 30 races in a decorated career including two Oaks classics, the Vicbred 2YO Final and the Victoria Ladyship Cup and $462,520 in stakes.

Another Nien, an impressive winner at Melton on Saturday, is the latest product of the Pangrazio family’s very successful ‘Sheffield’ breed

David Scott, the president of the Cranbourne club, bred and part-owns the promising trotter Mojito Madness, a recent winner at Melton and Geelong

Country Rockstar, who won at the midweek Shepparton meeting, is a member of the same family that produced Country Duke for popular Goulburn Valley couple Russ and Pauleen Thomson

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink