The new kids on the black – part two

The first of the Nutrien Equine Yearling Sales is now just a few days away and the excitement of the Menangle Carnival leading to the Miracle Mile this Saturday night fuels the dreams of owners looking for that next harness racing champion.

One of the starters in that Miracle Mile is Expensive Ego (Rock N Roll Heaven) who has now won over $917,000.  He was purchased for just $27,000 at a Queensland Yearling Sale in 2018 so he has certainly been a dream come true for his owner.

The exciting NSW Oaks winner last Saturday night, Windy Hill Tara (Betting Line), also has turned a dream into reality for her owners.  She was purchased for just $21,000 at Bathurst in 2021 and has now won $144,000 in six starts.

Both these horses mentioned were in the early crops of young stallions, Rock N Roll Heaven and Betting Line respectively.  There are seven stallions with their first crops represented next Sunday at the Inglis Complex at Warwick Farm  –  four of these were reviewed previously so now lets take a look at the other three.

McWicked 1.46.4  –  by McArdle from Western Sahara by Western Ideal.

Not many standardbreds anywhere in the world win over $5 million and there have been only two pacers to achieve this remarkable feat – McWicked being of those.

McWicked is a tall [ 16 hands ] and powerful horse who dominated the North  American tracks as a three-year-old in 2014.  Twelve victories and earnings that year of $1,472,937 gave him the title of both the USTA and Canadian Three-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year.

He then had some soreness issues for a couple of seasons but returned as a seven and eight-year-old to claim another 18 victories and add a further $2.609 million to his bankroll.

He took his 1.46.4 record at The Red Mile defeating another champion well known to us in Lazarus.

His sireline has been immensely successful with our Southern Hemisphere bloodlines – Falcon Seelster, McArdle and the son of McArdle in Tintin In America have all sired outstanding horse in both Australia and New Zealand.

His female pedigree is strong as well with his dam and third dam being by the highly successful stallions Western Ideal and Matts Scooter.

The first Australian crop of McWicked’s contains 95 foals and of those 11 [ eight colts and three fillies ] will be on offer at the Warwick Farm Complex this coming Sunday.

Stay Hungry 1.47.6 – by Somebeachsomewhere from My Little Dragon by Dragon Again

Stay Hungry is a good size and a very handsome son of the mighty Somebeachsomewhere.

He had a lot to live up to with both his sire and his dam being multiple millionaires on the racetrack  –  in fact they retired with over $5.54 million between them.

Stay Hungry didn’t let them down, being voted the USTA Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year in 2017.  He completed a two-season career with 12 victories and $1,358,885 in earnings.

His pedigree is laden with some stars of North American racing  – his Dam My Little Dragon 1.48.2 won $2.318 million whilst his grand-dam is a half sister to one of the great females of the late 20th Century in Delinquent Account 1.51.8 $1,038.997.  The pedigree also houses the outstanding racehorses and sires Artiscape 1.49.6 and Western Terror 1.48.6.

The first crop of Stay Hungry’s raced in North America in 2022 and he finished in fourth position on the USTA Two-Year-Old Sires List with progeny earnings of $2,528,568.

His best performer was the filly Zanatta 1.50.2 $390,360 who was from an Art Major mare.

The debut crop of Stay Hungry progeny in Australia number 46 and from these five [ one colt and four fillies ] will go under the hammer this Sunday.

Tiger Tara 1.49.8 – by Bettors Delight from Tara Gold by Dream Away

We all remember this powerhouse of a horse – a son of Bettors Delight with physical size [ 15.3 hands ] and a huge motor.

Anyone who was at Melton on 15th December 2018 will remember the demolition job that Tiger Tara put on a field of the best Pacers in the land in an Inter Dominion Final.

“ What a win …  and in style “ were the emotional words of racecaller Dan Mielecki as the The Tiger cruised to a new track record.

We all remember Tiger Tara as the monster who won 24 races as a six, seven and eight-year-old but we should not forget that he was also voted the New Zealand Three-Year-Old Colt of the Year in 2014 after winning the G N Derby and the NZ Sires Stakes Final.

He is a son of one of the greatest stallions in the history of the sport in Bettors Delight whilst his dam is a half sister to two outstanding horses in Power of Tara 1.50.6 $846,608 and A Gs White Sox 1.52.7 $608,814.

Although Tiger Tara did breed a handful of mares whilst racing, this crop of foals born in 2021 is his first commercial crop and number 44 in total.  Lot 116 – a colt from the McArdle mare Mac Toddy is his sole representative this Sunday.

To view the catalogue for the Sydney Sale, click here.

by John Coffey