Weekly spotlight on breeding

Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America brought to you by Yabby Dam Farms & Racing!

Yabby Dam Racing, principal Pat Driscoll’s dream to breed and race world class trotters was born after seeing a billboard on the Champs Elysees in Paris advertising the famous trotting race the Prix d’Amerique. Driscoll attended the Prix d’Amerique and immediately a love affair with the trotter was formed.

Driscoll spent the next five years visiting world class trotting establishments in Europe before embarking on his own venture here in Australia where he has lead the charge in the significant advancement of Southern Hemisphere trotting.

Along the way Driscoll formed friendships with many of Europe’s leading owners and breeder.

Diamond Classic winner

Ruby Lovera (Sweet Lou), the season’s latest two-year-old classic winner, in beating a handy field in the $100,000 Diamond Classic at Gloucester Park, gives the impression that she could develop into of next season’s top three-year-olds.

Sold for $70,000 at the 2023 Australian Pacing Gold sale in Perth, Ruby Lovera is a well put together black filly by Sweet Lou from Lovera NZ, the dam of an earlier Diamond Classic winner in Eagle Rox 1:55.2 ($225,656) and the WA Oaks winner Artemis Belle 1:56.1 ($359,559).

Their dam, Lovera, who was unraced, was a Badlands Hanover mare from Emerald Franco, by Holmes Hanover from Emily Franco, by Nero’s B B. 

Lovera was a sister to the Menangle winners Franco Emerger (1:56.8) and Franco Extreme (1:57).

A champion pacer in Akuta belongs to this family. He won two Derbies and an Auckland Cup and in all won seven Group 1’s and $1.1 million in stakes. The dual Derby winner Franco Enforce, Aroda (Redcliffe Cup), Franco Edward (WA Pearl and Golden Slipper) and Franco Emerate (NZ Messenger) are among many good winning members of Ruby Lovera’s family.

She was by leading Perth horsewoman Debra Lewis.

Smoken Ace is Derby material            

Smoken Ace, who defeated older, more experienced rivals at Melton last Saturday and is regarded as Victoria Derby material of the highest order, is a three-year-old colt by Sportswriter from the Elsu mare Smoken Su.

He is a member of an old-time NZ family, which was represented by the recent Albion Park trotting winner Majestic Harry.

Smoken Su was an Elsu mare from Rose Mathias, by Il Vicolo from Dynamic Lady (1:58.8), by Midshipman (son of Meadow Skipper) from Dynamic, by Mark Lobell from the U Scott mare Dinnaken and thus a member of the same tribe as the champion Victorian pacer and dual Miracle Mile winner Smoken Up.

Smoken Ace ranks as a half-brother to the 2020 Rotorua Cup winner Magilligan Point and the Melton winner Smoken Shazza (1:56.9).

Major Moth making his mark

Major Moth, a Victorian bred son of the American sire Art Major, has been one of the stars of Albion Park racing this month.

He won twice – both over 2138 metres – highlighted by a 1:52.8 career-best performance on August 3. A six-year-old, Major Moth has only been sparingly raced owing to injury but has proved himself a pacer of great ability.

Major Moth is closely related to an earlier top juvenile in Lively Moth, who won 16 races and $232,585 including the Vicbred 2YO Final and the Tatlow Memorial.

Major Moth is by Art Major from Macy Lila (1:58.6), by Presidential Ball from the Moonee Valley winner Majestic Moth, by Riverlea Jack from Mystic Moth, by Jerry Adios from the Kudos mare Moon Moth, who established a great winning line for Maryborough breeder Len Parker.

Other members of this family have been the Victoria Youthful Stakes winner Flying Moth, the Menangle winner Make Haste and Mighty Moth.

QBred Triad winning line

The QBred Triad two-year-old colts and geldings’ heat winner Thetorque Majority (by Art Major) is a son of the P B Bullville mare Torque In Motion, who won the Triad herself as a four-year-old in 2011.

Thetorque Majority’s win was his third success from four starts.

The gelding is out of the four-time Group winner Torque In Motion 1:52.5 ($380,203), who produced others in Torque Like Motion (1:55), Justalittletorque (1:51.6) and Torque Onetwothree (1:55.2), all Group or Listed winners.

Thetorque Majority was one of two QBred heat winners bred and raced by Brisbane identity Ian Corazzol, the other being the two-year-old filly The Torque Effect (by Captain Crunch). She is out of the Queensland Sweetheart winner Effective Torque (1:57), the dam of seven winners from eight foals.

Won Bathurst Sale Graduate

Sensationalize (Bettor’s Delight) is proving herself a smart two-year-old – she has won five of her 10 starts to date highlighted by the $50,000 Nutrien Gold Crown Sale Graduate at Bathurst – and could develop into one of the best her age this season.

A filly by champion sire Bettor’s Delight, Sensationalize is out of the Christian Cullen mare Localize, whose dam, Sabilize (by No Nukes), won the NSW Ladyship Mile twice and was the best racemare of her day.

Localize, who was only lightly raced, produced earlier winners in Our Golden Goddess 1:53.1 ($442,410), a Group 1 winner on both sides of the Tasman, and the brilliant but injured plagued Fides (1:51.6).

Localize was a half-sister to an outstanding juvenile in Sushi Sushi, who, at one stage won 16 races on end and was awarded the Australian 3YO Colt of the Year. In all, Sushi Ushi won 27 of his 47 starts and $1.1 million in stakes.

Well related three-year-old

Renewal (American Ideal), who won the NSW Pink Diamond Stakes at Menangle, showed ability as a two-year-old last season when she finished second to Lux Aeterna in the NSW Breeders Challenge.

She has opened her three-year-old season on a winning note and will be well in line for the major juvenile classics.

She is a filly by the Western Ideal horse American Ideal from Someone To Love, the best of whose several progeny has been Curly James (1:50.4).

Someone To Love ranks as a half-sister to a champion racemare and triple Breeders Crown winner in Ladies In Red and the Derby winner Our Little General (1:49.8), being by Somebeachsomewhere from the American-bred Kabbalah Karen B (1:52.8), by Western Terror from Mib Hanover, by Tyler B.

Fourth on end

Major Delight (Bettor’s Delight) won her fourth race on end and earned a new speed badge of 1:50.3 in the Norm’s Daughter Stakes, a Listed Classic for mares, at Menangle last weekend. She is by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight, the sire of earlier Norm’s Daughter winners in Betabcool (2015) and Braeview Kelly (2022).

Major Delight is out of the top racemare Lady Euthenia 1:53.3 ($461,285), by Art Major from Reggae Miss, also a smart racemare and by Maple Lane’s Strike from Girl Next Door, by What’s Next from Lady Ex, by Express Byrd.

Major Delight is a sister to the million dollar pacer and Victoria Cup winner Max Delight (1:50). 

She was bred and is raced by NSW identity Peter Lewis, who plans to keep racing her against her own sex in the next few months.

From Maori Miss family

Two of Victoria’s star trotters at present, and both winners at Melton last weekend and belonging to the same maternal family, are Aldebaran Miley and Im Bobby.

Aldebaran Miley, a winner of seven races and $129,840, is a four-year-old mare by Father Patrick from Mason Magic, by Kadabra from the Inter Dominion champion Sumthingaboutmaori, a Pine Chip mare tracing to the noted foundation mare Maori Miss. She was bred and is part-owned by Aldebaran Park principal Duncan McPherson.

Im Bobby, also a winner of seven, is a five-year-old Majestic Son gelding from the unraced Aldebaran Peggy, by Skyvalley from Maori Lindy, by Lindy Lane from the thrice Group winner Maori’s Glory, a granddaughter of Maori Miss

Im Bobby was bred and is raced and trained by Goulburn Valley horseman Eddie Tappe.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink