Son of Captaintreacherous ‘catching fire’ in Queensland debut

Pete McMullen’s enthusiasm for the Interdominion Series in his home state may have taken a dip after the first round of heats saw him take the reins five times for a single placing in the sulky.

However, the way the new addition to his stallion ranks, Catch The Fire (Captaintreacherous), has been received at McMullen’s Somerset Farms, any disappointment on the track is water off a duck’s back.

McMullen and his wife, Chantal, are synonymous with harness racing down under as one of the leading husband-and-wife training and driving partnerships in Australasia.

They caught the attention of North American interests this year when it was announced the fifth-fastest stallion of all time would be making his way down under to stand in the flesh at their resident stud farm in Queensland.

At the time, McMullen called the opportunity a dream come true, and the way Catch The Fire has been received by breeders locally and interstate, the dream is now being realised in more ways than one.

“His confirmation, attitude, everything is perfect. He’s an absolute gentleman and he is really exciting to have on the farm,” said McMullen.

“He took maybe a day or two, but he had it all worked out pretty quickly. He’s very willing and wants to work with you and obviously, we are only collecting him, but he’s such a cool dude with a great attitude and it’s been very exciting.

“He gives you the feeling that his progeny are going to get up and go early. If they have his confirmation and his attitude, they are going to make really good juvenile pacers,” he said.

CATCH THE FIRE | ADIOS REPLAY

The recent yearling sales results in North America would indicate that the horseman and buyers in that market agree with McMullen’s sentiments.

The first crop sire was the second leading sire on average in his home state at the Ohio Selected Jug Sale with an average of $35,909 for 22 yearlings sold, including the sales topper and highest-priced yearling ever sold in the ‘Buckeye State’.

The $225,000 purchase was HIP 106, a Catch The Fire half-brother to Captain Cowgirl p,3,1:49.3f ($600,579), named Catch The Cowboy.

The Sugar Valley Farms product was also well received at Lexington and Harrisburg where his three yearlings across the two sales averaged $21,000.

Catch The Fire was a unique prospect having raced successfully from the age of two to five. In his juvenile season, he won a leg and the final of the rich Kentucky Sires Stakes Series where he paced 1:49.4 to win the $250,000 feature whilst also finishing third in the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes Final.

At three he was the winner of the Delvin Miller Adios Pace where he took out the $375,000 final in an unbelievable time of 1:49.3 on a sloppy track. He was an outstanding winner of his elimination in the Little Brown Jug pacing the same time of 1:49.3 before finishing third in the final.

At four he was the winner of the $325,000 Dan Patch Stakes at Hoosier Park where he became harness racing’s newest millionaire, stopping the clock in a sizzling 1:48.1. That same season he lowered his lifetime mark, winning his first Sam McKee Memorial at the Meadowlands in 1:47.2.

“He was always just an impressive individual on the racetrack who carried himself well and got better as time went on. Every year he got faster which is a trait of a horse with a desire to be good,” said Sugar Valley Farms principal, Joe McLead.

Catch The Fire was given an opportunity to come back as a five-year-old where he was afforded the chance to defend his crown in the $278,000 Sam McKee Memorial.

He defended the title in exhilarating fashion pacing 1:46.4 for the mile becoming the eighth equal fastest pacer of all time, making him the track record holder for entires at the world’s most famous track. The fact that he did this on the back of serving his second book of mares makes it even more phenomenal.

“The first year we had him (2021) when he bred and raced, we limited his book to 85 mares. Not many horses could assume stallion duties and race 19 times and hit the board in 14 of those starts winning $618,000,” McLead said.

While the debut season of Catch The Fire is on pace to break the 85 mares Catch The Fire served in his first North American stud season, McMullen is hoping for a late-season surge with the son of Captaintreacherous available through December and January before returning to Ohio sometime in February.

“We’ve done about 75 mares so far and while I think we probably would have liked to have more numbers, I think getting those numbers is still a bit of a compliment in the current climate,” said McMullen.

“A lot of the breeders I am talking to that are supporting him are familiar with his race record and achievements, but a lot are also looking to get that Captaintreacherous blood into their families and then you throw in the Bettor’s Delight dam and it’s some pretty bloody good.

“Around 40% of the bookings have been local here in Queensland, but he has had a lot of interest up and down the Eastern seaboard. But I think a lot of people haven’t cottoned on to the ‘Q Bred’ system, particularly in New South Wales.

“There are a lot of people down there who still bring horses up and send horses to Queensland trainers for the winter, and on the other side of the coin, send mares up here to foal to be eligible for the scheme. If they just breed to a ‘Q Bred’ eligible stallion like this guy, a $14,000 first win bonus and $7,500 second win bonus, it’s pretty incredible really,” he said.

Catch The Fire is standing for $5,500 including GST.

For all enquiries please contact Pete McMullen at Somerset Farms on 0423 858 487.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink