Weekly spotlight on breeding

Cup treble to Spirit Of St Louis

Spirit Of St Louis, a son of the American sire Sweet Lou, who stands at Woodlands Stud, has been the star of the Victorian Country Cups circuit.

He won three of the major cups on the circuit – the Bendigo, Shepparton and Ballarat Cups – over 2650 metres and beyond. His winning run over 2690 metres at Shepparton in a 1:55.6 rate clipped 0.5 off the track record held jointly by Lochinvar Art and Im The Boss.

Spirit Of St Louis rated 1:55.6 over 2710 metres at Ballarat last Saturday, beating a star-studded field including Amazing Dream, Lochinvar Art and Expensive Ego.

Spirit Of St Louis is closely related to the superstar pacer Lazarus, the dual NZ Horse of the Year, Inter Dominion champion and the winner of a record $4.1 million in stakes. He also raced in North America.

A five-year-old gelding, Spirit Of St Louis is by Sweet Lou from Spirit Of Art, by the champion sire Art Major, an Artsplace horse and brother to the leading sire Perfect Art.

Spirit Of Art (1:56.5), who won six races in NZ, was out of Spirit Of Eros, a lightly raced mare and by In The Pocket out of Spirit Of Bethlehem, by Soky’s Atom from the Able Bye Bye mare Tabella Beth (1:55.6), the dam of the NZ Sires Stakes 3YO champion Spirit Of Zeus 1:57.8 ($243,472) and the Kindergarten Stakes winner Karmic Reward (1:58.6) and the grand-dam of the four-time derby winner Stars And Stripes, Light And Sound (NZ 2YO of the Year), Bright Diamond (1:49.8), Davy Maguire, Victory Spirit and the Inter Dominion heat winner Niobium.

Tabella Beth was also the third dam of Lazarus, the WA Golden Slipper winner Mitch Maguire, Our Crown Law (NSW Tatlow) and many others.

Spirit Of St Louis ranks as a half-brother to the NZ Leonard Memorial and WA Gold Bracelet winner Dracarys 1:51.2 ($208,840), the Gloucester Park victor El Chema (1:58.2) and recent Addington three-year-old winner Azor Ahai (1:56.2).

Krug in 1:49.9

The New Zealand bred four-year-old Krug has become the 99^th pacer to go inside 1:50 in Australasia. He recorded 1:49.9 when he was successful at Menangle last Saturday.

By the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight – the leading sire in four countries last season – Krug is from Champagne Princess (1:56.9), by Soky’s Atom from Champagne Royal (1:59.7), by Smooth Fella and tracing eventually to the American mare Estella Amos.

Krug’s dam, Champagne Princess, won 12 races including the NZ Southland Oaks and Leonard Memorial and $143,484 in stakes and at the stud left the smart pacers Prince McArdle (1:49.6), Lenola Stride 1:53.7 (dam of the Tasmanian Oaks winner Enchanted Stride) and Jay Dub (1:57.3) and a capable trotter in Champagne Prince ($108,438).

Krug was bred by Hall of Fame horseman the late Jack Smolenski.

Won Fremantle Cup

Minstrel, trained by two of his part-owners Greg and Skye Bond, won the $300,000 Fremantle Cup and will be among the leading fancies for the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup on February 4.

A Golden Nugget winner, Minstrel has not done a great deal of racing, having averaged 10 starts a season. In three seasons of racing Minstrel has won 15 races and has been 10 times placed from 29 starts for $495,523.

By the deceased Western Ideal horse Rocknroll Hanover, he is out of Ovaride, by Mach Three from Top Gear, by Falcon Seelster from Fill The Purse, by Holmes Hanover.

Minstrel is a brother-in-blood to the Dalvui Dominator winner Rollova (1:57.4) and a half-brother to the Gloucester Park winner The Achiever (1:57.6), now at the stud.

Adore Me’s daughter wins Raith

The $50,000 J. L. Raith Memorial, the first Australian classic for three-year-old fillies, and run at Menangle, was won comfortably by Just Remember Me, a filly by Captaintreacherous from the great racemare Adore Me (by Bettor’s Delight), who took a mile record of 1:47.7 at Menangle.

Just Remember Me, who won in 1:51.8, has won three of her eight starts to date and $78,685.

Just Remember Me’s dam, Adore Me ($1.6 million), produced earlier winners in Sweet On Me 1:55.2 ($246,960), winner of six of her seven starts including the NZ Sires Stakes 2YO Final and Harness Jewels, and Darling Me, who set a NZ mile race record of 1:51.4 at Ashburton last October.

Adore Me was a brother to the Auckland Cup, Miracle Mile and dual Derby winner Have Faith In Me ($1.8 million), who held the Australian mile record of 1:47.5 for several years, Stand By Me (1:51) and a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Imagine Me 1:56.9 ($241,972), Megabucks (1:49.6) and Splendid Dreams (1:59.3), dam of the champion pacer and Miracle Mile winner Christen Me 1:49.1 ($2.7 million), a top flight racemare in Dream About Me 1:50.1 ($1.3 million), Hands Christian 1:52.5 ($321,556) and others.

Just Remember Me, who is raced by the Estate of the late Charles Roberts and trained by Cran Dalgety, looks a top filly.

Private Eye looks good

One of the most capable young pacers racing in Victoria at present is Private Eye, who is making rapid progress through the grades. His Melton success was his fifth from only seven starts.

Private Eye has a background of blood to back up his claims to further promotion, being by Hes Watching from the Listed winner Oh Eye See 1:54.5 ($101,705), by Armbro Operative from Grace Robinson, who proved a great broodmare.

Grace Robinson, who was unraced, left nine winners – all inside 2:00 – from 12 foals including the Seymour Nursery winner Two Eye See 1:52.4 ($306,703), a brother to Oh Eye See, the NSW Breeders Challenge winners Eye See Diamonds 1:51.6 ($284,875) and Hardhitter 1:51.4 ($175,430) and Now Eye See (1:55.8).

An unraced daughter of Grace Robinson in Zoeyzoey (by Fake Left) became the dam of the exported Seeuinnashville 1:51.1 ($152,477), Eye See Double 1:58.4 (SA Kindergarten) and the Menangle winner Zoey’s Boy (1:54.6).

By Perfect Art, Grace Robinson was out of the glamour filly Jasmarilla, who once held the Australian two-year-old mile record at 1:57.7. She totted up 50 wins in Australia and America and finished up with a stake tally of $503,000.

Im Off N Gone is well bred

Im Off N Gone, who won her second race from four starts in Australia at the Ballarat Cup meeting, is a four-year-old mare expected to graduate far beyond her present rating.

A member of Dean Braun’s Lara team, she has a good deal in her favour on the score of blood than most. By Somebeachsomewhere, who sired the top pacers Our Waikiki Beach, Poster Boy and Maajida, Im Off N Gone is out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Kabet (1:56), whose dam Spring Thaw was a Falcon Seelster mare who left a string of winners including the Victoria Ladyship Cup winner Talaspring 1:53.4 ($194,145), the good Albion Park victor Spring Campaign 1:53.6 ($109,082) and the Menangle winner Hez The Artisan 1:57.7 ($135,919).

Spring Thaw was out of Tuapeka Frost, who ranked as a half-sister by Vance Hanover to a dual Derby winner in Brad Adios and a top racemare in Tuapeka Star, being out of Sakuntala, by Armbro Del from the Brahman mare Hindu Star. This was the family founded by the American-bred mare Norice.

From the Hindu Star branch of it and to which Im Off N Gone belongs, others in the NZ Cup winners Iraklis and Monkey King, Karloo Mick ($1.4 million), the dual Inter Dominion heat winner Galactic Star, the dual Derby winner Lavros Star, O Baby (NZ 3YO Filly of the Year), Black Line (APG 2YO Final), The Warp Drive (SA Pacing Cup) and Hail Christian (1:49) are also members.

Golden Guitar winner

Aqua Sancta, who won both a heat and the $40,800 Final of the Golden Guitar at Tamworth, promises to make rapid progress through the classes.

He is a member of one of NZ’s most successful families, being a five-year-old Bettor’s Delight gelding from the lightly raced Sossusvlei, an Art Major mare who is also the dam of the winner of last year’s $150,000 NZB Harness Million for two-year-old fillies, Cover Girl (1:57.4).

Sossusvlei was out of Corbie, a noted producer by Vance Hanover from the Scottish Command mare Black Watch, a multiple Group winner who established a strong branch of the Regina tribe.

Corbie, who won twice, became the dam of seven winners including the Wellington Cup winner Agios Nikolaos (1:52.2), Zingara (1:57.6), the Moonee Valley winner Vingt Coeur (1:59.6), Our Bagger Vance (1:59) and Black Maire (1:59.8), a Falcon Seelster mare who left the glamour racemare Laurella 1:55.9 ($649,946), a NZ country cups winner in Kruizr (1:57.3), the good Menangle winner The Pacman (1:54), Estilo (1:54.1) and The Muskeg Express.

Corbie was also the grand-dam of the Melton winner Laredo Torpedo (1:52.6), the Group 2 WA juvenile winner Youre So Fine, Meticulous (1:55.6), Someardensomewhere, the Listed winner Macy Supreme and Town Echo (NZ Leonard Memorial).

The Black Watch family has earned a place all of its own in producing racemares such as Laurella, Pacific Flight, Megaera – all Group 1 winners – and colts in the same class such as Arden Rooney, Rocknroll Lincoln, The Unicorn, Sovereign Hill, and others.

First winner

The Somebeachsomewhere horse Goodtime Sammy, a Victoria Youthful Stakes winner and now at the Goodtime Lodge stud in Victoria, was represented by his first winner when Goodtime Sometime was successful recently at Bendigo.

Goodtime Sometime had been placed at his previous start at Melton.

Bred and part-owned by Tracy Bradley, Goodtime Sometime is out of the Jereme’s Jet mare Lady Suffragette (1:59), whose dam, Hot Talk, was by Talkshow Lobell from the Vance Hanover mare Leone Way, who left several useful winners including the Menangle free-for-all winner Courageous Kiwi 1:52.4 ($226,736).