Weekly spotlight on breeding

Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents all the harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America every Friday brought to you by Garrard’s Horse & Hound.

Victoria Cup prospect

One of the stronger Victoria Cup candidates, particularly among the local brigade will be Triple Eight, who has proved himself in the top flight and has won his way back to an NR120 mark with two recent Melton successes.

His latest winning run in the Our Maestro Free-for-all over 2240 metres from the second line of the mobile barrier was a terrific performance. After racing midfield, the gelding zipped home in 55.2 seconds to win decisively.

A tough customer, Triple Eight is a six-year-old, being by American Ideal from Slangevar (2:01.6), dam also of the exported Prince Of Pops 1:51.6 ($177,086), the prolific Albion Park winner Cheers Kathy (1:54.7), First Home (1:56) and Down The Hatch (1:56.6).

Slangevar was sired by Cameleon (a son of Cam Fella who sired the Inter Dominion champion Yulestar) from Lucky Chip, by Transport Chip from the Lordship mare Luckyship.

It is a relatively short pedigree but a good one. Lucky Chip left a smart pacer in Mr Williams 1:56.7 ($118,223), the Menangle winner Piper Heidsieck (1:53.4), Chipover (dam of Waterhorse 1:55), Yachi Da (1:55) and others.

Alta Engen is Cups material

A double winner at Gloucester Park recently – he won the Group 2 $50,000 San Simeon – was the Alta Christiano gelding Alta Engen, who is expected to make Cup class.

Only a four-year-old, he showed up last season as a three-year-old above average when he won seven of his 10 starts.

Alta Engen is by the brilliant but ill-fated pacer Alta Christiano from Its Karma (1:59.3), by the Falcon Seelster horse Million To One from the grand producer Liberty Lombo (2:02.7), by Hilarion from the Smooth Fella mare Annie May.

Its Karma, who won six races, was a sister to the WA Oaks heat winner Dynamite Freedom (1:56.9) and a half-sister to the prolific Gloucester Park winner Baylan Jett 1:54.2 ($170,227) and the Bathurst Gold Bracelet winner Ezee Lombo.

This is the family that left the WA Sales Classic winner Lombo Quest 1:58.5 ($116,085), Looks Like Heaven 1:54.8 (Vic. Rising Stars Ch’ship), Roman Aviator 1:54.2 ($191,708) and a smart trotter in Kylie’s Life (1:55.5).

Alta Engen was bred and is part-owned by WA veterinary surgeon Trevor Lindsay.

A star from Venus Serena

A star three-year-old in Sydney so far this season is Arden’s Ace, who was bred by John and Judy Stiven, of Arden Lodge, West Otago, NZ.

A gelding by Art Major, he is out of a champion racemare in Venus Serena 1:52.1 ($796,397), the dam also of Laver 1:51.9 ($81,158). Venus Serena, who won seven Group 1 races and was the NZ 2YO and 3YO Filly of the Year, was a half-sister to the NZ Caduceus Club 2YO Classic winner Rona Lorraine 2:01.1 ($133,268) and Cracka Stride 1:52.4 ($119,405), being by Mach Three from Inspiring Dash (1:59), by Falcon Seelster from the Soky’s Atom mare Awesome Dream.

Arden’s Ace won twice at Menangle in the space of three days – clocking 1:52.8 and 1:54.3 – and looks a three-year-old with the potential one would expect of his breeding.

By Heston Blue Chip

Shesmybaby looks certain to uphold the fine record of Heston Blue Chip’s stock.

Trained by Ballarat hobby horseman Greg Murnane, she won the Group 3 $40,000 Alabar Vicbred Platinum Mares Sprint Championship Final at Melton. Shesmybaby has not raced a great deal. She did not race at two and from 17 starts as a two and three-year-old she has won and been once placed for $52,460 in stakes.

Shesmybaby, by Heston Blue Chip, is out of Maybebaby, who took a record of 1:57.4. Maybebaby was a Bettor’s Delight mare from Risque Rita, by Golden Greek from Raunchy Rita, by Hilarious Way from the Victoria Oaks winner Racy Rita, who established a great winning line for John and Christine Yeomans.

She left a smart pacer in Makeyourownluck 1:54 ($221,952), a winner of 39 races in Victoria and America, the Moonee Valley winner Whose Next and Raunchy Rita, the dam of Red Hot Rita (1:58.7) and Risque Rita (1:57.9), both of whom founded good winning families.

Red Hot Rita became the dam of the Vicbred champion and Tatlow Memorial winner Im Smouldering 1:55.3 ($327,967), the WA Western Crown winner Red Hot Major (1:55.1) and Just Live Life (1:53.1) and to Risque Rita, the Melton winner Maybebaby, Itsallaboutjack (1:55.6) and Shesmybaby (1:55.9) trace.

Siring feat to Captaintreacherous

The leading sire Captaintreacherous produced the winners of four of the five Stakes races for pacers at the Grand Circuit meeting held at The Meadowlands last weekend.

The haul was highlighted by Rockyroad Hanover, winner of the $276,150 Cane Pace for three-year-old colts in 1:48.2 and Lyons Sentinel, who won the $191,050 Lady Liberty for older mares in 1:48.2.

Catch The Fire and Allywag Hanover, both four-year-olds by Captaintreacherous, captured divisions of the Sam McKee Memorial Free-for-all in 1:47.4 and 1:48 respectively.

Grace Hill, a daughter of Always B Miki, won the other major Stakes event, the $97,550 Shady Daisy for three-year-old fillies in 1:49.

Lightfoot Laurels to Keayang Livana

Bought for $8,500 at the Australasian Premier Trotting Sale and now the winner of $166,390, Keayang Livana became the latest Group winning trotter, when she won the Lightfoot Laurels at Melton, rating 2:00.6 for the 2240 metres stand.

By the Angus Hall horse Imperial Count (now in NZ), Keayang Livana is out of Poignant, by the champion sire Sundon. Poignant left others in Angustine (2:04.6) and the dual Vicbred Homegrown finalist Jade Nien. Poignant was out of the Moonee Valley winner Be Positive NZ, by Game Pride from Hayley Patricia, a Tuft mare from the prolific Mavis Wood family.

Poignant was an unraced half-sister to the Victorian country cups winners Posimistic 2:01 ($136,043), Exuberant 2:06.4 ($108,205) and Got It Show It and to the Yankee Paco mare Positive Logic, dam of the Group 1 placegetter Yankee Redback.

Their dam, Be Positive, was a half-sister to the George Gath winner Thunder Thighs, who, in turn, left a cup class trotter in Gluteus Maximus 1:59.6 ($104,855) and Broadacrossthebeam (dam of Zarem 2:00.1 – $94,990).

The Mavis Wood family had a terrific influence on Australasian breeding through several branches.

Boxofchocolates impresses

Boxofchocolates, a runaway winner at Ballarat last Friday at only her second start this season, is a Union Guy mare from the same family as that which produced a top Victorian filly in Copper Satin.

Boxofchocolates, who won her first six starts and holds a mark of 1:51.5, has only been sparingly raced, but she has shown up as a very useful pacer, and it was a smart field she beat at Ballarat.

Bred by former leading Victorian studmaster John Campbell, who also races her with wife Kay, Boxofchocolates is out of Hellenback (2:00.8), by Albert Albert from Dijon, by French Chef from the Tarport Low mare Parraponto, whose dam, Copper Satin, won a string of classics in the late 1970’s including the NSW Pink Bonnet and SA Oaks.

Copper Satin figured as the grand-dam of the smart trotter Frosty Vee Bee ($110,830), a Country Cups winner.

The family was founded in Victoria in the 1890’s by a trotting mare named Spark, a daughter of the thoroughbred Notorious. It includes the Rowe Cup winner Surprise Voyage, Hedonist, a winner of 14 races at Wayville (SA), the SA Southern Cross winner Jonnyndry, the good Melbourne Showgrounds winner Turfmaster, Adworra ($135,797) and the Victoria Oaks heat winner Sonya Malai, a sister to Copper Satin.

Bettor’s Delight filly sparkles

Platinum Sparkle is proving herself a three-year-old of some worth in Victoria and over the winter period has won three races including a 1:543.7 effort at Melton.

A graduate of the 2019 APG Melbourne sale, Platinum Sparkle is a filly by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight from Bollinger Baby NZ (1:56), by Christian Cullen from Nivea Franco (2:00.6), a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Franco Nile (1:58.9), Nevermind Franco 1:51.4 ($146,981), Ee And Em Stride (1:53.2) and Niftey Franco, dam of the top Queensland pacer Glenferrie Hood 1:51.9 ($538,110), now competing successfully in America.

Bollinger Baby ranks as a sister to the Kilmore Cup winner Chancellor Cullen 1:52.8 ($411,821) and a half-sister to Major Stare 1:55.9 ($106,168), a winner of two at Gloucester Park.

Closely related to Blacks A Fake

Uroc Skinny Jeans, who has won seven races in quick time this season including a career-best 1:52.7 effort at Menangle, and has graduated to a NR78 mark, is regarded as one of best young female pacers in NSW.

She is a four-year-old by the Matt’s Scooter horse Mach Three from She Aint Fakin, the best of whose several progeny have been the NSW Simpson Sprint winner He Aint Fakin (1:51.3) and Mondo Sports (1:55.6).

She Aint Fakin ranks as a sister to a grand pacer and four-time Inter Dominion winner in Blacks A Fake, being by Fake Left from Colada Hanover, by Vanston Hanover from Pina Colada, by H T Luca.

Uroc Skinny Jeans was bred by octogenarian Young breeder Eric Basham.

Jujubee in 1:49.8

The three-year-old Jujubee has joined the growing list of trotters to enter the 1:50 list in America. He recorded 1:49.8 when he was successful in the $50,000 Muscle Hill at The Meadowlands recently.

By the Andover Hall horse Creatine – a champion trotter himself – Jujubee is from La Cantera (1:57.2), by Cantab Hall (a son of Self Possessed) from Shadowofyoursmile (1:58.6), by the Valley Victory horse Donerail, a multiple Stakes winner and one of the best young trotters of his era.

Jujubee carries a double strain of the blood of Donerail, Valley Victory and Garland Lobell.

By Peter Wharton for Harnesslink