Weekly spotlight on breeding

Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents all the harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America every week brought to you by Garrard’s Horse & Hound.

Cranbourne Cup winners

Two outstanding horses to win the Group 1 races on Cranbourne Cup night and both bred in New Zealand were Major Meister (Art Major), who took out the $100,000 Cranbourne Pacing Cup, and Majestuoso, winner of the $50,000 Trotters Cup.

Major Meister, who won over the sprint trip at Ballarat and then over 2555 metres at Cranbourne, is a five-year-old gelding by the champion sire Art Major.

Major Meister looks certain to take a much tighter mark and as a stayer he has a bright future. He ranks as a half-brother to the Victorian winner Don’t Tell Tom (1:57.3) and this season’s NZ three-year-old winner He’s A Meister, being out of Lite Jagermeister (1:56.3), by In The Pocket from Lite Jade, by Holmes Hanover from Jessica MacFaber.

This family has consistently produced a number of good winners over the years. A close relative of Major Meister in Australia is Top Tempo (1:56.5), also by In The Pocket. She is the dam of the Group 1 winners Speak No Evil, Musical Delight and Queen Of Pop and the second dam of this year’s NSW Oaks winner Just Hope, Beach Music and the multiple Group 1 winning three-year-old Ripp.

Majestuoso, who is rated by experienced judges as having greater potential than any other trotter in Australia, was bred by Alabar Bloodstock and is raced by Norm Jenkin, who owned the retired champion square-gaiter Tornado Valley.

Majestuoso looks to be the one to beat in the forthcoming Aurora Australis series early next year in Victoria. He is a six-year-old by Majestic Son from Rosemaryz Luck, the dam of the exported Need Luck (1:54.6), Igniting Stride and recent Auckland two-year-old trotting winner Castana. Rosemaryz Luck was a Monarchy mare from the good producer Howz Lucky, a Sundon mare from the noted Evening Sun family.

Won WA Golden Nugget

Western Australia’s premier race for four-year-olds, the $200,000 Golden Nugget, run at Gloucester Park, was won by Himself (Sportswriter), and although Lavra Joe, rated the top four-year-old of his year, failed to get into a place, this fact could not detract from the merit of Himself’s success.

HIMSELF REPLAY

He has won 11 of his 21 starts this season, while Lavra Joe has won eight out of 18.

Bred by Mark and Debbie Smith, of Shard Farm, Invercargill, Himself was sold at NZ Bloodstock’s 2019 National Yearling Sale at Christchurch for $30,000. He was a grand type of yearling and has developed into a beautiful four-year-old.

His sire, Sportswriter, was one of the best performed sires ever to come ‘down under’, being by Artsplace, a son of Abercrombie. Sportswriter had a record of 1:48.6 and was one of America’s greatest colt pacers. His oldest stock in Australia are 10-year-olds and include Our Uncle Sam, Egodan, Niki No No, Lumineer and others, and in America he sired 20 in the 1:50 list.

Shards Of Myross, the dam of Himself, was a McArdle mare from She’s Mighty, by New York Motoring from Mighty Miss Mac, by Lordship from Gretna Hanover, by Scottish Hanover.

Shards Of Myross, who was only lightly raced, was a half-sister to the NZ Derby and Sires Stakes 2YO Championship winner Likmesiah 1:55.9 ($427,965), the exported Mighty Cullen 1:50.4 ($643,448), the multiple Group winner Mister Presley 1:54.1 ($259,444), the Listed winner Shard Ark and to Shard’s Fantasy, who left a string of winners in Australia including Rick Reilly, Bledisloe and Slice Of Heaven.

Himself is the first foal of his dam.

Ragazzo Mach’s Free-for-all

Ragazzo Mach (Mach Three), who won the Free-for-all at Gloucester Park, after appearing to be hopelessly out of it at one stage, has now won 11 races and is rated one of the brightest prospects in his class. He ranks as a four-year-old half-brother by Mach Three to the newly crowned Inter Dominion champion I Cast No Shadow.

Ragazza Bromac, the dam of Ragazzo Mach and I Cast No Shadow, was a Falcon Seelster mare from the American-bred mare Red Delite, by Fame from the Most Happy Fella mare Miles End Dianne, has proved a most successful broodmare. She is also the dam of a capable racemare in RR Sand Dollar (1:55.5), a winner of seven races.

Ragazza Bromac did not race but she was a half-sister to the crack American pacer SS Sand Dollar 1:49.6 ($632,406), the Melton and Albion Park winner Boston Legal (1:56.1) and a sister to Rikki Lee Bromac, dam of the Albion Park winner Rockstar Rikki (1:57.5).

Christmas Gift to Loyalist

Loyalist, a five-year-old son of the American sire Bettor’s Delight, is proving one of the stars of the summer racing at Menangle.

He has won three of his last four starts – he finished second at his other appearance – including a heat and the Group 3 final of the Christmas Gift in a new lifetime mark of 1:51.6.

Loyalist is closely related to the NZ Cup and A. G. Hunter Cup winner Arden Rooney, who won 21 races and was 15 times placed for $1,070,230 in stakes.

Loyalist is by Bettor’s Delight from Loyal Arden, by Art Major from Tosca Hanover, by Walton Hanover from Tosti, and tracing directly to Black Watch, who founded a very successful branch of the Regina tribe.

Loyal Arden, who was only lightly raced, is also the dam of the Victorian winner Mr Perfect (1:56.6). Besides Arden Rooney, she was a half-sister to the Menangle winner Arden Messi 1:51.8 ($113,048), now racing successfully in America, Arden Torres (1:58.3) and Maritime Arden.

Delightful Angel tops ton

Delightful Angel, who won her eighth race at Menangle and became the latest member of the ‘$100,000 Club’, is a five-year-old mare by Bettor’s Delight from Distant Memory, a very smart racemare who took a record of 1:55.1.

She is a member of an old-time NZ family, which was represented by a winner at Newcastle in Koby’s Delight on the same night as Delightful Angel won.

Distant Memory was a Troublemaker mare from the grand producer Macrandra, by Classic Garry from Melanie NZ, by Nero’s B B from Port Melody, by Tarport Coulter and tracing to the Inter Dominion champion Parisienne. Distant Memory left the multiple Group winner How’s The Memory 1:50.1 ($154,424), the Vicbred Silver winner Beach Memories (1:53.4) and the exported Something Bettor (1:53).

Distant Memory was a half-sister to the Melton winner Sahara Miss (1:54.4) and Fuller Vee Em, both of whom founded good winning families.

Sahara Miss became the dam of the Group 2 winners Sahara Sirocco 1:53.8 ($150,790) and Starofsahara (1:56.2) and the Melton winner Sahara Tiger 1:56.3 ($130,822) and the grand-dam of the good Gloucester Park winner Sahara Storm 1:54.4 ($101,236) and Prince Sahara (1:55).

Fuller Vee Em left three winners including the Menangle victor Our Money Rocks 1:50.2 ($103,565).

Delightful Angel was bred by Wagga couple Denis and Jo Howe.

Traralgon Cup winner from good broodmare

District Attorney, a Courage Under Fire three-year-old and the winner of the Traralgon Pacing Cup at Warragul when having only his 13^th start, is out of Crown Defender, an unraced mare who is proving a successful broodmare.

Crown Defender is also the dam of the grand stayer and NZ Cup winner Cruz Bromac 1:50.1 ($1.1 million) and the Breeders Crown Silver winner Carter Bromac (1:52.4). Crown Defender was a Life Sign mare from Classic Blue Jeans, by Camluck from the American-bred mare Oh Please, by Albatross.

Crown Defender was a half-sister to the NZ Franklin Cup winner Attorney General 1:48.4 ($323,098), the Victoria Derby heat winner Crown Bromac 1:54.1 ($139,878), a top Victorian juvenile in Cullen Bromac 1:55.1 ($131,616) and Chiquita Bromac (dam of Cheyella 1:55.5).

Their dam, Classic Blue Jeans, was unraced, but she left 10 winners. She was a half-sister to the Listed winner Falcon’s Blue Jean 1:51.8 ($442,232) and the top Tasmanian pacer The Majority.

Up-and-coming trotter

The Garrard’s Christmas Trotters Cup, one of the features of the Queensland Summer carnival at Albion Park, was won by Indefensible, a well performed gelding by Armbro Variable from Mental Power.

Armbro Variable, a half-brother by Donerail to the leading trotting sire Armbro Invasion, has been a consistent source of trotting winners in recent years from restricted stud chances. He has sired such winners as Asdenro (SA Derby), Paris Pepperell, Ball Park, Variance, Four Walls (The Holmfield), Rosehill Magic and others.

Mental Power, the dam of Indefensible, was by Its Motor Power, a well-bred son of New York Motoring who won 17 races at Moonee Valley and a string of Victorian country cups.

Mental Power won twice at Listed level and earned almost $80,000 and at the stud left other trotting winners in Defensive Guy and Defence Got Jumped.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink