VicBred Pure is more bang for buck!

Astute buyers looking for best value at this weekend’s Nutrien Melbourne Yearling Sale will be doing well to put asterisks in the catalogue beside VicBred Pure-eligible harness racing youngsters.

There are approximately 200 pacing yearlings going under the hammer on Sunday and Monday (Apr 2 and 3).

Of that number, 40 (20 percent) are Vicbred Pure yearlings – from mares that were bred and foaled in Victoria and sired by a Colonial stallion who also was based in Victoria at the time of conception.

Stallions whose progeny are Vicbred Pure are:

• • Jilliby Kung Fu (two colts, three fillies)
  • Poster Boy (six colts, two fillies)
  • Soho Lanikai (one colt)
  • Soho Tribeca (four colts, seven fillies)
  • The Storm Inside (six colts, two fillies)
  • Ultimate Machete (one filly)
  • Vincent (three colts, three fillies).

A lucrative $12,000 first win bonus is payable to buyers of Vicbred Pure yearlings if they win a two-, three- or four-year-old race in Victoria in addition to prizemoney.

Now that is an attractive path – a gold brick road to the barns where these yearlings are accommodated.

The seven stallions siring the eligible yearlings are all outstanding horses, both in racetrack ability and in their breeding.

They certainly should not be discounted against stallions who raced only in North America – undoubtedly each and every one of them would have recorded times of between 1.46 and 1.48 had they raced in North America.

For example , Jilliby Kung Fu and Soho Tribeca were both timed in 1.46.9 or 1.47 when placed in the 2018 Miracle Mile.

They are all sons of outstanding Stallions such as Somebeachsomewhere, American Ideal, Rocknroll Hanover, Art Major, Bettors Delight and Four Starzzz Shark and four of them are from Artsplace line mares, so there is very little difference in their breeding from the North American bred stallions.

One could argue that our horses who race on Australian tracks have to race tougher than their North American counterparts who more often than not race in single file and hand up the lead without any fight.

Now here is a brief summary of each of these seven stallions, just to refresh memories:

Jilliby Kung Fu was the winner of the Chariots of Fire in 1.48.8 with a last half in 53.2. Then two weeks later he finished just a head from the fastest mile in Southern Hemisphere history in the 2018 Miracle Mile – timed in 1.46.9.   He raced in seven Group Ones from two through to a four-year-old, winning three and finishing runner up in three.

Poster Boy (bred on exactly the same cross as Captaintreacherous, by Somebeachsomewhere from an Artsplace mare) has a race record that is purely outstanding – 30 starts for 22 wins and seven placings.   He raced in nine Group Ones from two through to four year old winning, five of them including the NSW Derby, Chariots Of Fire and Vicbred Final (twice).  He won the Chariots Of Fire in 1.49.1 and was third in the Miracle Mile, two weeks later, timed in 1.48.4.

Soho Lanikai is by Somebeachsomewhere from an American Ideal mare from one of the hottest families today.  We will never know just how great he might have been, but that one start on debut to win the Victorian Premiere Stakes by 65 metres (rating 1.54) remains one of the most amazing debuts in living history.

Soho Tribeca is by American Ideal from an award-winning Art Major mare, whose progeny have now collectively won $2.5 million. Soho Tribeca won $1.1 million in a 59 start career and raced in 16 Group One races from two through to five year old.  He defeated the champion Lazarus twice and in an unbelievable run in the 2018 Miracle Mile finished a combined 48 metres ahead of Lazarus, Lennytheshark and Tiger Tara.

The Storm Inside was the Australian two year old Pacing Colt of the Year in 2016 after being undefeated in six starts. He finished his race career with the astonishing record of 19 starts for 16 wins and two seconds and a best time of 1.50.7 when winning the Lightning Sprint at Ballarat in December 2019. He is all-American bred, being by Rocknroll Hanover from an Artsplace mare, and is from the same family as the highly-successful stallions Panorama, Grinfromeartoear and Rocknroll Hanover.

Ultimate Machete was voted the Male Pacer of the Year in New Zealand in both his three- and four-year-old seasons.  He showed his class in defeating the Aussie champ Tiger Tara in the NZ Free For All and finished a close second to stable mate Vincent in the 2017 NSW Derby with a last quarter in 25.5 seconds. He is a son of the super sire Bettors Delight from a mare who produced not only Ultimate Machete but also Ultimate Sniper ($842,793) and Major Reality ($434,455).

Vincent a blazing son of Art Major from a dual Oaks winning mare Kept For Pleasure.  Once again, an amazing race record of 19 starts for 16 wins.  He won the NSW Breeders Challenge at three in 1.50.2 and the NSW Derby in a last quarter in 25.5 seconds. Vincent is away to a flying start to his siring career with his son Sherlock being in the top echelon of three-year-olds in NZ and Hammer Dan being the best two-year-old in Victoria this season to date.

by John Coffey for Harnesslink