Tuddenham farewells Sting Lika Bee

One of Australia’s best harness racing pacers of the early 2000s, Sting Lika Bee (Walton Hanover) has died.

Sting Lika Bee was euthanised on Monday after a breaking a leg at the Haddon property of his owner and trainer Brian Tuddenham.

The 24-year-old stallion had been in retirement since 2010.

The all-American bred Sting Lika Bee was a headliner in his racing career, winning 37 of 133 starts and being placed 56 times for $1.042m in stakes.

He won the Group 1 Ballarat Pacing Cup and Group 1 A.G. Hunter Cup at Moonee Valley back-to-back in 2007.

They were among seven consecutive wins, which also included the Stawell Cup, Shepparton Cup, Casey Classic and Bendigo Cup.

He also won the 2006 Shepparton Cup, 2006 Inter Dominion Pacing Championship Consolation in Tasmania, 2007 Kilmore Cup off the back mark of 30m and 2007 Cranbourne Cup, which was his last victory.

For Tuddenham, he has not just lost a champion and the best horse he raced, but also his best mate.

He said Sting Lika Bee had been a once-in-a lifetime horse, on and off the track.

Tuddenham, 88, said he would miss his daily chats with “Sting”, particularly at feed time each morning and evening in a yard only metres from his house.

“I’ve worked (my life) around him. I knew him inside and out,” he said.

Tuddenham had his share of success as a hobby trainer through the 1980s and 1990s, winning with the likes of Victory Blue Chip, Jun Jun Fella, Lunar Alto, Cathy Hanover and Wilfred Jay, but it would be Sting Lika Bee which would take him to new heights.

He acquired the horse during a tough time in his life.

His wife Kath died in 1996 and Tuddenham was still looking for something to fill part of the void of that loss when Sting Lika Bee arrived.

“My life was empty. I didn’t know what I was doing or what I was going to do,” Tuddenham recalled.

Tuddenham said the Sting Lika Bee story began when Ballarat bloodstock agent Peter Dow alerted him to a dispersal sale in the Goulburn Valley.

He said he was immediately attracted to a weanling by Walton Hanover US and out of Armbro Caprice US – making the colt a full-brother to US million-dollar earner and winner of 43 races Hi Ho Silverheels.

Tuddenham said he first laid eyes on Sting Lika Bee as a four-month-old on his way home from the Cobram trots.

“I can still see him. He was in an orchard with his mother eating grass. He was that long in the legs,” he said.

Tuddenham admitted to playing it a little bit cagey on the day, showing more interest in the mare while it was the foal he really wanted.

Tuddenham said his plan on sale day was to spend $15,000 on acquiring the mare and $25,000 to secure the foal.

“I didn’t get her, so I went to $30,000 and got him,” he said.

Sting Lika Bee made his race debut as a two-year-old in the Australasian Breeders Crown and showed ability right from the outset, winning two heats and finishing sixth in the final before claiming a heat and semi-final of the Vicbred Super Series.

He was consistent through to his six-year-old campaign, but it was as a seven-year-old that he signalled his arrival as a big-time performer.

The rest is history.

Tuddenham said Sting Lika Bee provided many highlights, with probably none bigger than his win in the Ballarat Pacing Cup.

“You never in your wildest dreams think you’re going to get a horse that good,” he said.

“You hope, but don’t expect it to happen.

“He had the look and there was the full brother with the record (in the US).”

He said as well as the success on the track, Sting Lika Bee had provided new life experiences and enabled him to meet a whole range of people.

In a sad time for the Ballarat harness racing community, another Grand Circuit performer in Decorated Jasper was also put down earlier this week.

He was 20 years of age.

Decorated Jasper was bred and raced by Ballarat and District Trotting Club chief executive officer Paul Rowse, his father Ken and brother Peter, and Gary Mannington.

He was by Village Jasper and out of Painted Black, who won seven races before producing four race-winning foals.

Decorated Jasper won 29 of 105 starts, and was placed 29 times on the way to earning $430,000.

He retired in 2013 after a career which featured wins in the Group 2 2012 Bendigo Cup and 2012 listed Casey Classic, as well as four starts in the Ballarat Cup and two fourths in three Victoria Cup appearances.

by David Brehaut for Harness Racing Victoria