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.

New Hobart Park Cup record

A fresh Hobart track record for the 2579 metres from the mobile barrier was established by the Auckland Reactor gelding Willie Go West of 3:08.3 (mile rate of 1:57.5) – bettering the previous record of Blacks A Fake and Flashing Red by 0.1 – when he won the Group 3 $40,000 Hobart Pacing Cup.

Willie Go West, who has now won nine of his 19 starts – including the Group 3 Maryborough Cup – is a member of the same family as Code Black.

Willie Go West ranks as a half-brother to the Addington and Alexandra Park winner Ghostwriter (1:57), being by Auckland Reactor from the Bettor’s Delight mare Bettor Go, whose dam Turkhana (1:57.1), a Queensland Oaks winner, was by Christian Cullen (son of In The Pocket) from Kisumu, by Nero’s B B from Kinshasha, by Armbro Del from Hindu Star.

Bettor Go was a half-sister to the North Island Breeders Stakes winner Folklore (1:55.1) and Dark Side 1:57.6 ($113,759) and to Christian Watch, dam of the Victorian country cups star Code Black 1:50.8 ($362,835), the Listed winners Lovin Miss Daisy 1:50.4 ($295,911) and Tiffany Rose 1:55.1 ($164,295).

This family was founded by the American bred mare Norice. From the Hindu Star branch of it and to which Willie G West belongs, the NZ Cup winners Iraklis and Monkey King, Karloo Mick ($1.4 million), the dual Derby winners Lavros Star (1:50) and Brad Adios, Maggies Son (Vicbred 4YO Final), 2YO Colt of the Year Black Line and The Warp Drive, winner of the 2004 Hobart Pacing Cup, also belong.

Noted family of trotters

Im Ready Jet, who won the $50,000 Aldebaran Park Maori Mile at Bendigo in a new lifetime mark of 1:55.4, is raced by his breeder Pat Driscoll, of Yabby Dam Farms and is a member of one of NZ’s most successful families of trotters.

By the Love You horse Quaker Jet, and one of his first crop, Im Ready Jet is out of Monarchy mare Im Ready Set (1:56.6), who won 10 races in NZ, Victoria and NSW. Im Ready Set, who was bred in the Canterbury district, was out of Diedre’s Best, by Meadow Roydon from Roydon Diedre, by Arndon from the American bred mare Diedre Hanover, who founded a noted branch of the Lizzie Witherspoon family.

There have been many good trotting winners all along the line from this family. Im Ready Jet ranks as a half-sister to the thrice Melton winner and Group 1 placegetter Imsettogo 1:59.5 ($119,135).

Diedre’s Best was a lightly raced half-sister to a cup class trotter in Diedre’s Pride (21 wins and $230,241), the NZ 4YO Trotting Mare of the Year Roydon Whiz and the exported Well Don (1:58.4).

Other trotters further back in this pedigree have been Monbet, Conon Bridge, Hurricane Flyer and Sunny Ruby, the 2017 Maori Mile winner. Aldebaran Dream was another member of this family to go to Victoria where she became the dam of the dual Vicbred champion Aldebaran Eve.

An Ideal Agent

A bright future is being predicted for the American Ideal five-year-old Ideal Agent, whose success in a heat of the Nights of Thunder at Gloucester Park was his fifth winning run in eight starts in WA.

He has a good deal in his favour on the score of blood than most. Apart from being by American Ideal, Ideal Agent is out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Lady Smack, a half-sister to a top flight racemare in The Orange Agent, being out of Lady Fingers, by Artiscape from Matter Of Fact, by Soky’s Atom from the Smooth Fella mare Smooth Paula, whose family today is one of the best in the NZ stud book.

It includes the Ballarat Cup and Inter Dominion heat winner Cincinnati Kid, Hot And Treacherous (NZ Winter Cup), Cheesy Fingers 1:50.3 (NSW Raith Memorial), Vettel (1:48.6) and Mister Veejay’s Fella (WA Pat Cranley Memorial).

B K Swy is well bred

B K Swy, winner of the Ladyship Pace at Menangle last Saturday – her third success at the Sydney headquarters track – continues to prove herself in the top bracket among the NSW mares.

She is a member of one of NZ’s most successful families, being a five-year-old Big Jim mare from the handy racemare Tact Aunty, a Christian Cullen mare who has produced others in the Harness Jewel winner B D Joe 1:54.6 ($195,902) and the Menangle winner Tact Ollie (1:51.8).

Tact Aunty was out of the Southland Oaks winner Flash Tactics (1:59.6), a good producer by Soky’s Atom from the Windshield Wiper mare Tac Wind (TT1:57.1) and tracing through mares by leading sires Garrison Hanover, Light Brigade and Grattan Loyal to the foundation mare First Water.

Flash Tactics produced two high class pacers in Some Kinda Tactics (41 wins and $273,313), holder of the SA mile record at 1:53.3, and the exported Scare Tactics 1:51.8 ($123,893). She was a half-sister to the Harold Park victor Cullen Tactics (1:57.7) and a close relative of the NZ 4&5YO Championship winner Hip Hop Anvil (1:55.6), Three Kisses (1:53.5) and Kissimmee (1:57.6).

Closely related to Cruz Bromac

Cheyella, a most impressive winner in intermediate grade at the Bendigo Cup meeting, is a Heston Blue Chip mare from the same family as that which the NZ Cup winner Cruz Bromac.

Cheyella, who qualified for the Vicbred Final recently and earlier won the String of Pearls at Albury, has been a model of consistency throughout her career, and it was a handy field she beat at Bendigo.

She is a four-year-old sired by the American Ideal horse Heston Blue Chip, sire of the multiple Group winner Eye Can Run. She is out of a useful racemare in Chiquita Bromac (1:58.7), a McArdle mare from Classic Blue Jeans, by Camluck from the American-bred mare Oh Please.

Chiquita Bromac, dam also of the Menangle winner Celerina (1:57.5), is a sister to the Manea Classic winner Crown Bromac 1:54.1 ($139,878) and a half-sister to the NZ Franklin Cup winner Attorney General (1:48.4), the Victoria Youthful winner Cullen Bromac 1:55.1 ($131,616) and to the Life Sign mare Crown Defender, dam of the millionaire pacer Cruz Bromac.

Cheyella was bred and is raced by Ballarat enthusiast Verna El-Khishin.

Bettor’s Delight top sire

Bettor’s Delight is Australia’s leading stakemoney sire for the 10^th consecutive season, equalling the feat of Thor Hanover. During the closing season his stock won 1,144 races and secured 2,157 placings for $13,180,147 in stakes.

Champion racemare Amazing Dream, the winner of three Group 1’s and $447,350, was the biggest contributor to his tally. The Victoria Cup winner Max Delight, Anntonia (NSW Oaks and Breeders Challenge), Tasty Delight (APG 3YO Final) and Stylish Memphis (NSW Ladyship Mile) were among his best winners last season.

Art Major and Mach Three, second and third respectively, have filled the placings behind Bettor’s Delight since the 2012/13 season.

Bettor’s Delight was also crowned the leading three-year-old sire with a record $3,018,193, while Captaintreacherous topped the two-year-old premiership with $1,075,952.

The first-year sire to make the most impression was Always B Miki, whose first crop as two-year-olds banked $710,474, followed by Betting Line ($547,447) and Bling It On ($260,865).

Majestic Son topped the trotting sires’ list for the sixth consecutive season with progeny earnings of a record $2,797,155, of which his two-year-olds earned a record high of $344,317, due mainly to the deeds of the mighty Plymouth Chubb ($223,930).

The French stallion Love You was the premier three-year-old trotting sire with $528,611, the Breeders Crown and Oaks winner Queen Elida NZ ($151,110) and the Vicbred champion Parisian Artiste ($98,650) being his main contributors.

The Australian sires’ list for the 2021 season is as follows:

Winners          Stakes $

Bettor’s Delight                    425                  13,180,147

Art Major                                353                  9,589,451

Mach Three                           208                  5,716,056

Rock N Roll Heaven             195                  5,649,388

Somebeachsomewhere      179                  5,506,766

American Ideal                    180                  4,926,125

Sportswriter                          201                  3,929,967

A Rocknroll Dance               148                  3,705,524

Majestic Son (tr)                   107                  2,797,155

Western Terror                     118                  2,692,040

Christian Cullen leading broodmare sire

Christian Cullen, Art Major and Bettor’s Delight outdistanced all others as broodmare sires for the past season. It was the fifth occasion that Christian Cullen had been Australia’s top broodmare sire.

Last season his mares left 265 individual winners of 763 races and $8,417,492 in stakes.

Amazing Dream, Boncel Benjamin, Anntonia, Catch A Wave, Bundoran and so on were out of Christian Cullen mares.

Arft Major, who has not topped the broodmare sire list, but has been in the leading group for some years, is again in second place with 281 winners of 720 races and $7,865,196. Wolf Stride, Max Delight, Bondi Lockdown, Tough Tilly, Maajida, Ignatius and Irish Black Label were from Art Major mares.

Bettor’s Delight, the leading broodmare sire of three-year-olds, was a clear third on the all aged list with 228 winners of 682 races and $6,644,983. Magnificent Storm, Mach Dan, Mighty Ronaldo, Jumpingjackmac and My Ultimate Byron were among those out of Bettor’s Delight mares.

Next on the broodmare list was Mach Three (172 winners of 447 races and $4,504,945), Live Or Die ($4,128,657), In The Pocket ($3,734,817), Falcon Seelster ($3,409,925) and Presidential Ball ($3,056,933).

Inter City Pace winner by Art Major

Chevron Art, who won the Inter City Pace at Maitland – Far Out Bro and Stylish Joe filled the placings behind him – has made smart progress through the classes.

He is a grand stayer and a son of the Artplace horse Art Major, who sired top pacers of the calibre of Our Princess Tiffany, Vincent, For A Reason and others. Chevron Art is a four-year-old gelding from Miss Chevron, by Rock N Roll Heaven from Waihemo Rainship (2:01.4), by Soky’s Atom from Rainship, by Lordship – a pedigree with some real background with a strong staying influence behind it.