Record-breaking sire Volstead continues to impress

Trotting phenomenon Volstead reached an important milestone when his three-year-old harness racing progeny broke through the $1 million barrier at the Redwood carnival at Maryborough.

Last season’s record-breaking first crop sire, the Cantab Hall horse has left three-year-old winners of stakes totalling $1,000,970 to date. This figure easily eclipses the previous record set by Majestic Son of $771,218 in 2017/18, and there’s still two months of the racing season remaining.

Volstead was represented by 13 runners on Redwood Day and four emerged successful and two were placed and they amassed $119,800 in stakes, due largely to the successes of Keayang Zahara in the Haras Des Trotteurs Victoria Trotters Derby and Vytis, who took out the Aldebaran Park Redwood Classic.

Volstead is also a runaway leader in this season’s two-year-old sires’ premiership and is second only to Majestic Son on the all aged list with only two crops racing.

The biggest contributors to his record tally have been Keayang Zahara ($267,330), Derek The Jet ($198,890), Maori’s Mac ($145,805), Violet Stanford ($126,730) and Nordic Reign ($91,101), all Group/Listed winners.

Volstead was the first son of Cantab Hall ever imported to Australia. He stood his first two seasons at Pat Driscoll’s Haras Des Trotteurs stud at Ballarat, producing 50 and 45 foals respectively.

Last season his frozen semen was available through Wagga veterinarian Dr Lauren Eggins, who this season, in conjunction with Dr Kath McIntosh’s Llowalong Farms, is distributing his frozen semen to breeders.

In New Zealand, Volstead has been represented by the winners of $412,000 so far headed up by the four-time Group winner Empire City ($228,475), while in America, he has left the winners of $2 million with his first crop.

Speaking about The Redwood, Les Chapman, one of the driving forces behind the iconic carnival, bred a winner in Mumstheword at Maryborough last Friday

Victorian bred horses won three of the four feature races at Globe Derby Park in Ultimate Vinnie (SA Pacing Cup), Jazspur (SA Trotters Cup) and Meteor Moth (SA Pacing Derby)

Alabar Bloodstock’s Victorian farm bred a two-year-old winner at Addington in Joyride, a filly by Always B Miki from the Group 1 winner and producer Joyfuljoy

by Peter Wharton, for Harness Racing Victoria