South Aussie breeders celebrate double success

It was a weekend to remember for South Australian breeders and owners Danielle Helbers and Paul Arnup, who notched up a pair of impressive victories with their homebred pacers.

Promising gelding Zenario turned heads with a dominant heat win in the Vicbred Super Series, stamping himself as one to watch and delivering another proud moment for SA breeding. The son of Sportswriter (from his final Southern Hemisphere crop) boasts a 50% winning strike rate and continues to build on a strong foundation laid by his dam, Kayteeoh Denario — a Rocknroll Hanover mare who won in New Zealand, and New South Wales, before ending her career in Western Australia.

Zenario, bred and raced by Helbers and Arnup, now progresses to the Vicbred Semi Finals, with connections eyeing a berth in the $100,000 Group 1 Final on November 22. A return to Globe Derby is also on the radar, where he could attempt to defend his Southern Cross crown on December 20 — a title he claimed as a two-year-old.

Helbers, a long-time standardbred breeder, previously enjoyed success with Bullapark Beno, a 15-time winner by Changeover sold through the Adelaide Yearling Sale.

Adding to the weekend’s highlights, the duo’s two-year-old filly Mezzanotti scored stylishly at St Arnaud on Sunday, defeating older rivals in the opening event. Like Zenario, she’s bred and raced by the South Australian pair, further underlining their growing influence on the national stage.

by Gary Newton