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.

Siring feat to Sweet Lou

Rather a notable siring feat was credited to the Yankee Cruiser horse Sweet Lou at Menangle last Saturday, when he sired three divisional winners of the NSW Breeders Challenge.

They were Sugar Pie Honey, who won the Group 1 $150,000 two-year-old fillies’ final, Air Express, who took out the Group 1 $150,000 three-year-old colts and geldings’ decider, and Eye Keep Smiling, winner of the Group 3 $50,000 4YO Mares’ Final. 

Eye Keep Smiling, who won the three-year-old series last season, is out of Oh Eye See (1:54.5), a Listed winner by Armbro Operative from the grand producer Grace Robinson, by Perfect Art from Jasmarilla (1:55.2), one of the best mares of the Moonee Valley era.

Eye Keep Smiling was bred and is owned by Jackie Gibson, of Success Stud, Young.

Sugar Pie Honey, who notched her fourth win from seven starts, is a filly from Im Justforyou (1:55.3), a NZ bred mare by Christian Cullen from Just An Angel, by Artiscape from Almost An Angel, by In The Pocket.

Im Justforyou, a winner of six races, left earlier winners in London To A Brick ($319,317), a dual Group 1 winner who set an Australasian three-year-old trotting mile record of 1:53.8, and a capable pacer in Sugar For My Honey (1:54.2).

Air Express, who notched his eighth success, is a gelding out of the Blissfull Hall mare Ark Elaine (1:57.7), dam also of Tom The Curious (1:55.2), Frontier and York Minster.

An Albion Park winner and Group placegetter, Ark Elaine was out of the dual Listed winner and Broodmare of the Year Ark Maree (1:58.7) from the Holly Sand mare Arklaine, a sister to the Tasmanian Easter Cup winner Ark Raider.

Air Express was bred by well known Parkes breeder Tony Dumesny.

Two-year-old mile record

A fresh Australasian mile record for a two-year-old colt was established by the Always B Miki colt Fate Awaits of 1:50 – bettering the previous record of 1:50.3 held by Bar Room Banta by 0.3 second – when he won the Group 1 $150,000 NSW Breeders Challenge Final at Menangle.

Fate Awaits, who has now won five of his nine starts including and a season’s high $394,832 in stakes, is a member of the same family as Under Cover Lover.

Fate Awaits is out of the Melton and Albion Park winner and Group 1 placegetter For All We Know (1:54.2) and is her first foal. She ranked as a half-sister to the QBred For Life winner Chamonix 1:53.8 ($205,585), being by Art Major from the Mach Three mare Tout Le Monde, whose dam Front Cover Lover was by What’s Next, a champion sire by Most Happy Fella from Vain Franco, by Holmes Hanover from Van Glory, by Van Dieman.

Tout Le Monde was a half-sister to the six-time Group 1 winner and millionairess Bettor Cover Lover (1:53.8).

Fate Awaits was bred by Phillip and Denise Thurston and was knocked down for a modest $24,000 at the Nutrien Equine Sydney sale in 2023.

Fate Awaits was the first of two NSW Breeders Challenge champions on the night for Always B Miki, who also left the runaway winner of the three-year-old fillies’ final, Golly Gee Fellas, a daughter of the Bettor’s Delight mare Well Hello Dolly (1:54.8).

Clean sweep to Captain’s Knock

The Captaintreacherous four-year-old Captain’s Knock completed a clean sweep of the NSW Breeders Challenge series when he won the Group 3 $50,000 final for four-year-olds at Menangle.

Captain’s Knock led from the outset and carved out sectionals in 27.1, 27.4, 26.9 and 27 on his way to an historic 1:48.4 mile.

Scarlett Finn, the dam of Captain’s Knock, took a record of 1:59.1 and was an In The Pocket mare from Went Motoring, a NZ bred mare by New York Motoring.

Won Tatlow Stakes

A bright future is being predicted for the American Ideal two-year-old filly Leavitt, who won the $25,000 Tatlow Stakes at Melton last Saturday.

It was Leavitt’s first start and her mile rate of 1:57.1 for 2240 metres was put up when she had nothing in her favour, settling last in a field of nine and being several lengths from the leaders at the bell. She is a very good youngster.

Soniq Boom, the unraced dam of Leavitt, was by Mach Three from Classic Cathy, by Classic Garry from the Victorian Broodmare of the Year Sans Pareil, dam of 11 individual winners including a brilliant colt in Part Of Glory, who won the Tatlow in 1990, and the top Tasmanian pacer Swishinon.

Soniq Boom was a sister-in-blood to the ‘Cups King’ Phoenix Prince and a sister to the Tontine victor Goonly.

The colts and geldings’ Tatlow fell to the Sportswriter colt Hesitate, who was snookered three back along the pylons most of the way, but gained racing room on the turn and finished resolutely.

It was his fourth success from 10 starts. 

Bred by Damien Burns, who trains and drives him, Hesitate is out of the Melton winner Village Tango (1:56.9), by Village Jasper from Unique Tango, by The Unicorn (a Vance Hanover horse form the Black Watch tribe) from the Muckalee Strike mare Patriot Lady and tracing eventually to Pride Of Lincoln.

From Maori Miss family

The Volstead filly Keayang Zahara, who won the Group 1$75,000 Haras Des Trotteurs Victoria Trotters Derby, one of the features of the Redwood carnival at Maryborough, is the sixth member of the Maori Miss tribe to win the classic.

She joins Pink Galahs (2020), Blitzthemcalder (2013), Danny Bouchea (2008), Noopy Kiosk (1996) and Maori Monarch (1974).

Bred and raced by the Lee family, who also train her, Keayang Zahara, who is undefeated in 11 starts, is from Keayang Yankee (1:55.4), by Muscles Yankee from Dream Interest, by Dream Vacation from Maorimoon, by Entrepreneur from the dual Vicbred winner Maori’s Glory, by Red Coach Glory from Maori Mia, by Kentucky from Maori Miss.

Keayang Zahara was one of four Redwood Day winners sired by Volstead, the others being  and three-year-old Ikigai and the two-year-olds Tenasea Whiskey and Vytis, the impressive winner of the Group 1 $75,000 Redwood Classic and a young trotter of some real potential.

Vytis, who was bred by the Brosnan family, who own and train him, is the first produce of Reine Sereine, a winning Orlando Vici mare tracing directly to Becalm Lobell, an American-bred mare by Speedy Crown.

Among others from the Becalm Lobell family have been top trotters the calibre of I Can Doosit, Sno’s Big Boy, Kyvalley Hotspur, Lovemeto and American Pride.

Interestingly, Orlando Vici, whose frozen semen is available from Haras Des Trotteurs Stud, figured as the sire of the commanding winner of the Maryborough Gold Trotters Cup in Just Believe and the damsire of the Redwood winner Vytis.

Ultimate Vinnie wins SA Pacing Cup

One of the most important races on the SA calendar, the $60,000 South Australian Pacing Cup at Globe Derby Park, was won by the Alta Christiano gelding Ultimate Vinnie, who downed Hector after a stirring stretch battle. Both won their qualifying Cup heats.

Ultimate Vinnie, who cost a paultry $700 as a yearling, has been a remarkably consistent consistent performer throughout his career, winning 14 races with 22 placings from 80 starts for $217,227 in stakes.

A six-year-old gelding, Ultimate Vinnie is out of Bella Enobrac, a lightly raced mare, by Modern Art, an Artsplace horse from the same family as the champion sire Wester Hanover. Bella Enobrac was out of Rustic Rainbow, by Classic Garry from Abbey Rainbow, by Thor Hanover from Adie Rainbow, by Overtrick.

The family, which traces to the King Harold mare Lady Criterion, produced a top flight racemare in Abbey Tiara, who won 27 races including four at Group level, and other good sorts in Only Torado and Will The Wizard (1:50.2).

SA Derby winner

The $30,000 SA Pacing Derby, the blue riband event for three-year-olds in South Australia and run at Globe Derby Park, was won easily by Meteor Moth, a colt by American Ideal from the smart racemare Flying Moth (Art Major), who took a mile record of 1:53.1.

Flying Moth was out of Moody Moth, by the colonial bred sire Classic Garry from Mystic Moth, by Jerry Adios from the Kudos mare Moon Moth, who established a great winning line for Maryborough breeders Len and Irene Parker.

She left a capable pacer in Mighty Moth (10 wins) and Mystic Moth, dam of the Moonee Valley winner Majestic Moth and Moody Moth, dam of the Vicbred champion Lively Moth 1:53.1 ($232,585) and the Youthful Stakes winner Flying Moth ($123,355), who, in turn, is the dam of Meteor Moth.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink