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.

Victoria Cup to Swayzee

Victoria’s Grand Circuit race, the $300,000 Victoria Cup, was won by Swayzee (Rock N Roll Heaven), and although his younger sibling Leap To Fame, rated the top pacer in Australasia today, was a shock scratching, nothing could be taken away from Swayzee’s success.

The Rock N Roll Heaven gelding started from the back row, looped the entire field in the middle stages and then staved off all challengers in the run home.Swayzee 

He has now won eight races at Group level and $1,213,243 in stakes.

A $30,000 buy at the 2019 Australian Pacing Gold sale in Sydney, Swayzee was a grand type of yearling and has developed into a beautiful six-year-old.

Bred by Wagga horseman Paul Kahlefeldt, Swayzee is out of the Art Major mare Lettucereason (1:55.9), a sister to the millionaire pacer For A Reason (1:49.4), who won the Victoria Cup in 2013, Left Tennant (1:51.5) and a half-sister to Straddie (1:53.6).

Swayzee was one of two Group 1 winners sired by Rock N Heaven on the night, the other being Rakero Rebel, winner of the $150,000 Queen of the Pacific.

Just Believe – the greatest

The Orlando Vici gelding Just Believe achieved yet another moment of glory in a brilliant career when he became the greatest stake winning trotter in a single season in Australia and New Zealand.

His superlative success in the $75,000 Bill Collins Trotters Sprint at Melton boosted his lifetime earnings to $1,680,653, of which $725,980 has been banked this year.

Just Believe won in the manner of a true champion, sitting parked throughout and the large crowd accorded the eight-year-old gelding a great reception on his return to scale.

Summing up after the race, his driver Greg Sugars said he was confident he would win despite being sternly challenged by runner-up Ollivici in the final stages.

“He always finds something. To win the way he did was very pleasing,” added Sugars.

Just Believe began racing as a three-year-old, winning one of his eight starts and placing in the NSW Trot Final.

As a four and five-year-old he won a further races, while at six the gelding numbered the Inter Dominion Final, Bill Collins Sprint, Kilmore Trotters Cup and Shepparton Trotters Cups among his seven successes.

One of his memorable wins as a seven-year-old was the Great Southern Star, and at the same age he won the Inter Dominion Final at Albion Park and the Breeders Crown and Cochran Cup at Melton.

He has won 13 of his 15 starts this season including the Grand Prix, Scotch Notch Memorial and Dullard Cup in Australia and The TAB Trot, Rowe Cup and National Trot in New Zealand.

The gelding was bred by Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms.

Victoria Derby winner

Best Deal, who won the $200,000 Victoria Derby, the blue riband race for three-year-olds at Melton, is an American Ideal colt from the same family as that which produced last year’s Derby winner Petracca.

Best Deal, who won his heat one week earlier, has only been lightly raced with eight wins in 10 starts, but he has shown up as a very smart youngster, and it was a strong field he beat at Melton.

Starburst Girl, the dam of Best Deal, took a record of 1:53.6 and banked $143,670 and was an Art Major mare from Celebrity Ball, by Presidential Ball from the prized matron Larrakeyah Lady.

The colt was bred by Peter Gleeson and Bruce and Craig Cameron.

Won James Brennan Memorial

The Always B Miki gelding Mister Smartee, who was bred in NZ by Robert Famularo’s Dancingonmoonlight Farm, effortlessly won the $100,000 James Brennan Memorial at Gloucester Park and earned a ticket for the WA Pacing Cup.

A thrice Group winner, Mister Smartee is undefeated in seven starts this season and will be one of the leading fancies for the $450,000 Grand Circuit event on November 8. Gary Hall Senior, who trains the gelding has the unusual distinction of having trained 13 Cup winners – Im Themightyquinn (3), The Falcon Strike (3), My Hard Copy (2), Diego, Wildwest, Chicago Bull, Hokonui Ben and Tealsby Karita.

Mister Smartee, one of the second crop sired by Always B Miki, is a four-year-old from the unraced Stonebridge Regal mare Luna Danza and is her first produce to win. Luna Danza is a half-sister to the Group 1 winner Whanau, and cup class pacers in Strauss, Future Assets and Toto, being out of a top flight racemare in Lento, a winner of eight Group races.

Victoria Oaks winner by Downbytheseaside

Coastal Babe (Downbytheseaside), who led in a NZ trifecta in the $150,000 Victoria Oaks – Kiss (by Always B Miki) and Showsomejoy (by Art Major) filled the placings behind her – is a member of one of NZ’s most successful families.

She is a grand stayer and the best Australasian bred racemare left by the Somebeachsomewhere horse Downbytheseaside, who sired classic winners in Aardiebytheseaside, Waverider, The Bettor Side, Atlantic Gem and others.

Coastal Babe is a three-year-old filly from the unraced Bettor’s Delight mare Jessie’s Girl whose dam, Jessie’s Cullen, was by Christian Cullen from the grand Vance Hanover mare Jessie Grace, whose family is widely and successfully spread today.

Jessie’s Cullen, who won nine races, was a half-sister to 10 winners including the WA Derby heat winner Pazam (1:55.4) and the exported Nad (1:53.2) and Chatham Grace (1:54.4) and to the In The Pocket mare Pacing Grace (1:57.7), dam of the Group 3 winner All U Need Is Faith 1:49.4 ($696,320) and the outstanding NZ juvenile Pacing Major (1:52) and the second dam of the Derby winners American Dealer (1:49) and Aladdin and Group winners in Virgil (1:51.8), Three Ways (1:52.2) and Make Way.

A sister to Pacing Grace in Linda Grace was responsible for the NZ Caduceus Club Classic winner Linda Lovegrace, the Cardigan Bay Stakes winner Smooth Deal (1:52.2) and the exported Gina Grace (1:51.8).

Rakero Rebel is top Victorian mare

When she won the $150,000 Queen of the Pacific at Melton last weekend, the Rock N Roll Heaven mare Rakero Rebel scored her fourth Group/Listed success, and she is entitled to be rated as Victoria’s top racemare.

Earlier in the season she took out the Robin Dundee Stakes at Menangle in 1:51.1. From 43 lifetime starts, she has won 12 and been 18 times placed for $326,485 in stakes.

Rakero Rebel ranks as a half-sister to a fine racemare in Plutonium Lady 1:54.2 ($212,464) and the exported Fire Bug 1:51.4 ($231,464), being a five-year-old by the Rocknroll Hanover mare Rock N Roll Heaven, from Timeless Perfection (1:56.9), by Christian Cullen from the American-bred mare Sirius Flight (1:54.4), by The Big Dog from the NZ Oaks winner Pacific Flight 1:51.2 ($562,345), who later raced successfully in North America.

Timeless Perfection, who won seven races in a brief career, was a half-sister to Malak Uswaad ($566,058), who took a mark of 1:49.4 in America, and to the dams of the Tatlow Memorial winner Blue Moon Rising (1:52.8), the Menangle victor Ranger Bomb (1:50.7) and Mr Sharkey (1:50.4).

Rakero Rebel was bred by Dancingonmoonlight Farm in NZ.

Sir Lincoln dies

The Yanko Lodge stud, of Yanco (NSW), had the bad luck to lose early last week the Mach Three horse Sir Lincoln (Lincoln Royal), who had to be put down after a paddock accident.

Sir Lincoln proved himself a successful sire in both NZ and Australia, leaving the winners of more than $7 million including $1 million this season.

The cup class pacers Bundoran, Cranbourne, Pull The Other Leg, Lochiel and Rupert Of Lincoln were sired in NZ by Sir Lincoln, whose Australian winners included Vivere Damore, Imajoyride, Tuppence, Cobbler Lane and Booker Bay.

An 18year-old horse by Mach Three, Sir Lincoln had been standing in Tasmania before transferring to the NSW Riverina at the outset of this season.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink