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.

Victoria Cup winner

The most important race of the spring calendar, the $300,000 Victoria Cup, was won by the Rock N Roll Heaven gelding Rock N Roll Doo, who outstayed his rivals after sitting parked for the last 1200 metres.

It was his third successive win. At his previous start he disposed of Honolua Bay and others in the Kilmore Pacing Cup, and before that he downed a class field in the Caduceus Classic at Melton.

Rock N Roll Doo, who was bought for $14,000 at the NZB National Yearling Sale in 2019 at Christchurch, has not done a great deal of racing, having averaged 10 starts a season. In three seasons of racing Rock N Roll Doo has won 12 races and has been seven times placed from 29 starts for $395,150.

He is a four-year-old by the Rocknroll Hanover horse Rock N Roll Heaven from Long Live Lana, an In The Pocket mare, also the dam of the Tatlow Memorial winner Iolanta 1:53.1 ($171,775), the dual Oaks heat winner Delightful Lana 1:54.5 ($148,269), now being bred from, Son Of Lana (1:57.9) and the recent Albion Park juvenile winner Borella (1:57.5).

Long Live Lana, who won two races, was a half-sister to the good Albion Park victors Ruato Bay 1:53.8 ($128,688) and Nonno Stride 1:54.3 ($138,554), being out of Infante Elana, by Soky’s Atom from Entrancing, by Mark Lobell from the grand producer Coo Doo, by the U Scott horse Morano.

Rock N Roll Doo was bred by John McKenzie, of Kelvin Home Holdings, Christchurch

Derby winner bred to be good

Leap To Fame, who won the $200,000 Victoria Derby, one of four Group 1’s on Victoria Cup night at Melton, is a Bettor’s Delight colt from the same family as that which produced a top colt pacer in For A Reason, now a successful sire in NSW.

Leap To Fame, who earlier won the NSW and Queensland Derbies, has only been sparingly raced but is without question the cream of the crop, and it was a strong field he beat at Melton.

He became the fifth winner of the Victorian blue riband classic sired by Bettor’s Delight, joining Ohoka Punter (2013), Maxim (2014), Lazarus (2016) and Line Up (2020).

Leap To Fame ranks as a half-brother to the Group 2 winner Maximus Red 1:51.6 ($235,737), now racing successfully in America, and the Menangle and Albion Park winner Swayzee (1:53).

Their dam, Lettucereason (by Art Major), won 17 races and $180,073 in stakes and took a mile record of 1:55.9. She was out of Left For Me (1:59), by Fake Left from the NZ bred mare Our Lady Delwin, by Lordship.

Lettucereason was a sister to the Victoria Cup winner For A Reason 1:49.4 ($1.1 million), the Menangle winner Left Tennant 1:51.5 ($140,488) and Deadly Woman (1:55.6), who won four races and became the dam of the triple Crown 1 placegetter Hot Shot Woman 1:52.1 ($170,263) and a half-sister to the good Albion Park winner Straddie 1:53.6 ($105,769).

Left For Me was a sister to the exported Deputy Dan 1:54.4 ($125,666) and a half-sister to Delectable Dolly 1:56.7 ($136,788) and to the dams of the NSW Simpson Sprint winner Waldenburg (1:53.5), Riverboat Star (1;54.8), Border Song (Hawera Cup) and Montana Moonlite (1:53.4).

Jewel Melody, a four-time Group 1 winner and rated the greatest two-year-old filly in Australia today, is also member of this fine family.

Leap To Fame was bred by Wagga horseman Paul Kahlefeldt, of Redbank Lodge Standardbreds.

Victoria Oaks to Encipher

The $150,000 Victoria Oaks, one of the premier races for three-year-old fillies, was won by Encipher, and although Just Hope, winner of the NSW Oaks, was a late withdrawal, this fact could not detract from the merit of Encipher’s success.

She has now won eight of her 15 starts; Just Hope has won 10 of her 22 starts.

Bred by Kadina (SA) horseman Tyson Linke, who also owns her, Encipher is by the Somebeachsomewhere horse Captaintreacherous, a champion pacer himself and now a leading sire in both North America and Australia.

On her dam’s side, Encipher has something in her favour. Her dam Our Cavort (1:57.9), by Falcon Seelster, is a half-sister to the NSW Pink Bonnet winner Eliza Dushku 1:51.2 ($206,920), now racing successfully in America, the Menangle winner My Mei (1:53.6), Comeon Howzat (1:57.8), Bizzie Lou (1:59.1) and the Auckland three-year-old winner The Bizzness.

Their dam, Bizzie Girl, was a half-sister to cup class pacers in Im Percy The Punter 1:56.4 ($332,067) and All The Way 1:57.9 ($118,675) and to Tiz A Cullen, a Christian Cullen mare who left the Menangle winners Look And Listen (1:52.7) and Real Intentions (1:55.1).

Another half-sister in Run To Vegas ranks as the dam of the Menangle winners Shanlou (1:50.7) and Viva Las Vegas (1:52.4).

Plymouth Chubb top three-year-old trotter

There was never much doubt that Plymouth Chubb was the season’s top rating three-year-old trotter as he was the previous season at two years, and he duly confirmed her class by winning the Group 2 The Holmfield at Melton.

Actually he was a class above his rivals, and was not seriously tested in running out the 1720 metres in 2:08.9, a mile rate of 2:00.6.

His sire, Majestic Son, has now sired four Holmfield winners – One Over Da Moon (2014), Anywhere Hugo (2018) and Majestuoso (2019).

Plymouth Chubb is out of Pocket Fantasy, by In The Pocket from the Group winner Kim’s Fantasy, by Smooth Falcon (a Derby winner and a son of Smooth Fella) from Vila Court, by Gaviland, from Park Court, by Stormyway – a predominant pacing family.

Pocket Fantasy, the dam of six trotting winners including the Tatlow victor Dublin Chubb, was a half-sister to a useful trotter in Speedy Naomi, dam of the Vicbred champion Fancy and the metropolitan winning square-gaiters Greg The Great and Hammer’s Law.

Inter Dominion prospect

One of the stronger Inter Dominion candidates, particularly among the youthful brigade will be Magnificent Storm, who has proved himself in the top flight and has won his back to Cup class in Western Australia.

His latest winning run in the $50,000 Mount Eden Sprint over 1730 metres from the mobile was ultra-impressive. Having his first start for 10 weeks, the gelding led from the outset carving out sectionals of 29.3, 29.4, 28.1 and 27.3 to win decisively at a 1:53.2 mile rate.

A tough customer, Magnificent Storm is a five-year-old, being by American Ideal from Our Splendour, dam also of the multiple Gloucester Park winner Stamford (1:54.9). Our Splendour (1:56.2), a Group 3 winner, was gotten by champion sire Bettor’s Delight from Splendid Deal, by In The Pocket from the Dream Away mare Splendid Dreams, a half-sister to the outstanding racemare Adore Me, who, at one stage, held the Australasian mile record at 1:47.7.

Splendid Deal also left a smart pacer and Victoria Derby winner in Our Maxim 1:53.8 ($494,436), Next To Me (1:59.9), Hartofdixie (1:58.3), dam of Group 3 winner Ezana (1:57) and talented youngster Erupt Stride (1:55.7) and others.

Magnificent Storm was one of four winners on the night sired by American Ideal, the others being Finvarra, Soho Firestone and The Code Breaker, an impressive winner of the Group 3 Spring Feature and a stayer of some real potential.

Siring quinella

The Group 1 $75,000 Bill Collins Trotters Sprint, run at Melton, was a triumph for the French bred Orlando Vici as the sire of Just Believe (first) and Ollivici (second) – rather a notable siring feat.

Just Believe, who was bred by prominent Ballarat identity Pat Driscoll, is a member of the first crop of the Haras Des Trotteurs’ stallion. He has not been extensively represented in Australia, but has a good winning score, the 22 of his stock to race to date having been represented by 17 individual winners, including a top racemare in Adelle, who won at Group level earlier this year.

A graduate of the Australasian Premier Yearling Sale in 2017, the six-year-old is out of the American-bred mare Heavens Above, who earlier produced the cup class trotters Shared Interest 1:54.6 ($202,865) and Heavenly Sister 1:56.5 ($129,745).

School Captain is some youngster

School Captain broke two records when he led throughout in the $50,000 Vicbred Platinum Home Grown Classic Final at Melton.

His mile rate of 1:52.5 for the 1720 metres was a new race record and 1.2 seconds inside the previous track record held by Don’t Hold Back.

The win took his stake earnings to $26,800 from only two starts.

School Captain is certainly a splendid advertisement for the Somebeachsomewhere horse Captaintreacherous, whose frozen semen is available from Empire Stallions in Victoria.

On his dam’s side, School Captain belongs to a family which has distinguished itself by the number of top juveniles it has produced. He is out of Bettor’s Delight mare Yankee Showgirl (1:56.5), whose dam, Aston Villa USA, left a string of top youngsters including Poster Boy, Yankee Rockstar, Born To Rocknroll and Beach Villa.

Siblings win at Gloucester Park

Two of Western Australia’s most promising pacers at the moment, and both winners on the same night at Gloucester Park recently, are Western Arterra (Western Terror) and Farawayeyes (Somebeachsomewhere).

Both bred by prominent WA breeder Jim Currie are out of Cassidy Franco, a lightly raced Falcon Seelster mare.

A sister to the Listed winner Cruiser Franco (1:53.4), Cassidy Franco was out of Cherish A Franco (1:58.2), by Caprock from the grand producer Cherubic, by Tuapeka Knight and tracing eventually to the taproot Pride Of Lincoln.