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.

New three-year-old trotting sensation

Terang trainer Marg Lee, who has a grand record in producing star juvenile pacers and trotters, produced a grand three-year-old trotting filly in the $100,000 Final of the Vicbred Super Series at Melton in Keayang Zahara (Volstead).

On a cold night and required to overcome a difficult barrier draw and being 30 metres from the leaders at one stage, she hoisted a fresh lifetime mark of 1:56.8 for 2240 metres with the final 800 in a blazing 57.4 seconds.

Her winning sequence of six three-year-old starts makes her the best of her age by a wide margin, and she looks to have the remaining classics at her mercy.

By Volstead, and one of the first crop of the Cantab Hall horse who has since returned to America and whose frozen semen is available to Australasian breeders, she is out of Keayang Yankee (1:55.4), a mare by Muscles Yankee from Dream Interest and thus a member of the Maori Miss family whose has produced a string of Vicbred champions and has been the most successful winning line of trotters in Australia.

Keayang Zahara is a half-sister to the Vicbred Platinum winner Keayang Xena.

Vicbred winning line

The Vicbred Super Series two-year-old winner Always Hot is a colt by Always B Miki from the family of Larrakeyah Lady, a Vicbred champion herself and who has been the ancestress of six winners of the Group 1 series.

Always Hot’s Vicbred win was his fourth success from as many starts and lifted his stake tally to $96,400. 

“He’s quite professional for an inexperienced horse. He’s definitely a horse of the future,” winning driver Greg Sugars said.

Always Hot is out of the Group 2 winner Our Celebrity 1:55.1 ($130,019), a Mach Three mare who also figures as the dam of last year’s Tasmanian Derby winner Celebrity Royal (1:53.1).

Our Celebrity, a winner of 12 races, was out of the grand producer Celebrity Ball, by Presidential Ball from Larrakeyah Lady.

Always Hot was the second leg of a winning double for Always B Miki, who also left the Vicbred three-year-old colts and geldings’ division in Miki To Success.

Showsomejoy bred to be good

Showsomejoy (Art Major), who won her sixth race on end in the $150,000 Vicbred Final at Melton, is a three-year-old filly expected to graduate far beyond her present rating.

Bred in NZ’s Southland district by Clark Barron, she has a good deal more in her favour on the score of blood than most. By Art Major, who has sired more than 70 Group 1 winners in Australia, Showsomejoy is out of the Somebeachsomewhere mare Somejoy (1:53.2), whose dam was a smart racemare in Jumpforjoy (1:55.8), the winner of seven races including the Southland Oaks and who left horses the calibre of Jumpingjackmac 1:55.2 ($898,443) and the Melton winner Jumpingjoy (1:54).

Jumpforjoy was out of a handy racemare in Joyfulbelle (1:56.3), the dam of Bettor Joy 1:50.2 ($613,164), a winner in good company in NZ and America, and the NZ Jewels and Sires Stakes champion Joyfuljoy 1:51.6 ($480,442).

Other members of this fine family have been the Vicbred champion Joyful, Rough And Ready (1:54.8), the exported Verge Of Greatness (1:52.8) and the WA Diamond Classic victor Majorpride.

Vicbred triumph for leading breeder

The Vicbred Super Series for trotters was a triumph for Ballarat breeder Pat Driscoll as he brought out four of the six $100,000 Grand Final winners.

The quartet were the two-year-old colt Commodus (by Father Patrick), the three-old gelding Derek The Jet (by Volstead), the four-year-old entire The Locomotive (by Muscle Mass) and the four-year-old mare Rapid Return (by Orlando Vici).

Commodus, a winner of two races, is a colt out of the American Jewel NZ, by Muscle Hill from Sunny Lane, by Lindy Lane and tracing to the imported American mare All Action Gal. The colt is the first live foal of his dam.

Derek The Jet, who is unbeaten in seven starts, is from the dual Group 3 winner Cyclone Jeter (1:58.4), a Majestic Son sister to the thrice Group 1 winner Glenferrie Typhoon 1:53.5 ($561,169) and a half-sister to the double Jewels winner Cyclone U Bolt 1:54.5 ($230,225), Cyclone Jake (1:55.6) and  Cyclone Dream (1:58).

The Locomotive, who won all three age divisions of Vicbred, and Rapid Return, who took out the four-year-old mares’ division, both belong to the same family. The former is out of the outstanding racemare La Coocaracha 1:58.5 ($428,911), a Vicbred champion herself and dam of the Vicbred winner Reina Danzante (1;57.10, a top flight racemare in Dance Craze 1:55.6 ($551,780), La Grange (1:54.2), Mataderos ($200,054) and others.

Meanwhile, Rapid Return is the first produce of the Vicbred Silver winner Nieta (1:58.1), by Muscle Mass from the CR Commando mare La Biscuit, a half-sister to The Locomotive.

Heza Punk Rocker’s maternal line

The Rock N Roll Heaven four-year-old gelding Heza Punk Rocker stamped himself one of the best his age in Australia today when he outgunned a top field in the $150,000 Vicbred Super Series Final at Melton.

It was his third success and his first on Australian soil. At his previous start he came from near last to finish fourth in the semi-final and before that he was beaten a half head in a heat.

Heza Punk Rocker has not done a great deal of racing, having averaged only three starts a season. In three seasons of racing Heza Punk Rocker has won three races and has been twice placed from eight starts for $96,005.

By the Rocknroll Hanover horse Rock N Roll Heaven, he is out of RR Sand Dollar (1:55.5), by Rob Roy Mattgregor (a son of Matt’s Scooter from the Miss Duvall family) from Ragazza Bromac, by Falcon Seelster from Red Delite, a daughter of Fame who was imported from America by the late Bob McArdle.

Red Delite, who was unraced, left the top American pacer SS Sand Dollar 1:49.6 ($632,406), Boston Legal (1:56.1) and Ragazza Bromac, dam of the 2022 Inter Dominion champion I Cast No Shadow 1:48.8 ($704,600) and the NZ Southern Supremacy winner Ragazzo Mach (1:54.7) and RR Sand Dollar, the dam of Heza Punk Rocker.

Heza Punk Rocker was bred by Methven breeder Emmet Daly.

Vicbred two-year-old winner

Ivseenheavenslight (Bettor’s Delight), the end-to-end winner of the $150,000 Final of the Vicbred Super Series for two-year-old fillies at Melton, gives the impression that she could develop into one of next season’s top three-year-olds.

Failing to reach the reserve when offered at the 2023 Nutrien Equine Melbourne yearling sales, Ivseenheavenslight is a well grown filly by Bettor’s Delight from Heavens Trend, a winner of 21 races and $385,683 in stakes and who put up an Australian two-year-old record of 1:52.1 and later won in 1:53.6.

Heavens Trend, a dual Group 1 winner, produced earlier winners in Captain Tom 1:51.6 (Temora Cup), Heavenly Sign (1:54.5) and Smokescreen (1:59.5).

Heavens Trend was a sister to Rockin The Trend (1:57), being by Rock N Roll Heaven from the dual QBred Triad winner Trend Setter 1:55.6 ($199,414), by Perfect Art from Trendy Brooke, by Present Laughter.

It is an interesting fact that there is a double strain of Artsplace blood in Heavens Trend (dam of Ivseenheavenslight), through both Rock N Roll Heaven and Perfect Art.

Iveseenheavenslight was bred Bruce and Vicki Edward, of Durham Park, near Ballarat.

Menangle winner bred by Brian Hancock

The two-year-old colt Fasting, an impressive winner on debut at Menangle in 1:53.9, was bred and is part-owned by ‘Mr Inter Dominion’ Brian Hancock.

By the Somebeachsomewhere horse Stay Hungry, and one of his first crop, he is out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Indi Rena, whose dam, Divine Rena, ranked as a half-sister to Bonavista Bay ($504,499), their dam, Our Lady Rena, being a half-sister to the thrice Inter Dominion champion Our Sir Vancelot.

Stay Hungry, the sire of Fasting, had a record of 1:47.6 and was a Breeders Crown champion in America. He is currently the third leading first season sire based on stakemoney and winners.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink