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.

They trace to the Mayflower family

Jeradas Delight, who won the $100,000 Garrard’s Golden Girl in a new lifetime mark of 1:52.5 for 1660 metres and has won her way back to a NR100 mark, and Western Sonador, a brilliant winner at Bendigo recently, are both members of the noted family founded by the Silvermark (thoroughbred) mare Mayflower.

Western Sonador is now a likely Inter Dominion proposition and Jeradas Delight could well train on to be one of the season’s two female pacers.

Jeradas Delight ranks as a half-sister by Bettor’s Delight to Bar Room Banta, winner of the NSW Breeders Challenge Final and who became Australia’s fastest ever two-year-old when he took a record of 1:50.3.

Jeradas Delight is out of a useful racemare in Jerada Ace (1:56.4), dam also of Jerada Gotta Major (1:55.2) and Ace Reporter (1:57.7). Jerada Ace, who won four races including two at Menangle, is a half-sister to the Kilmore Cup winner and dual Inter Dominion finalist San Carlo 1:54.6 ($574,300), being by Christian Cullen from the Moonee Valley winner Bridge Player (2:01.9), by Classic Garry from the Muckalee Strike mare Ailsa, the second dam of Western Sonador.

Ailsa’s dam, Nicamond (2:02.1), who won 14 races, was the richest daughter of a champion colt pacer and one-time Australian two-year-old mile record holder Nicotine Prince.

Staccato, a Breeders Crown champion and Vicbred Final winner, King Of Rocknroll (1:53.1), Blueberry Prince (a 2:00 sire), The Brazen Jasper (1:54.6) and others all belong to Nicamond’s branch of the family.

Star four-year-old by Sweet Lou

Spirit Of St Louis, who won his fourth race from five starts on Australian soil in the Group 4 Queensland 4YO Championship at Albion Park, is a four-year-old gelding expected to graduate far beyond his present rating.

One of the first crop sired by Sweet Lou (a 1:47 son of Yankee Cruiser), Spirit Of St Louis has a wealth of breeding on his dam’s side, being out of the Art Major mare out Spirit Of Art (1:56.5), a member of the prolific Mona R family.

Spirit Of Art, who won six races, is also the dam of a fine racemare in Dracarys 1:51.2 ($206,790), a Group winner in both NZ and WA, and the Gloucester Park juvenile winner El Chema (1:58.2). She was a half-sister to a smart pacer in Our Bettor Spirits 1:50.2 ($344,825), the NSW Tatlow winner Our Crown Law 1:51.4 ($208,885), Spirit And Desire 1:55.9 (NZ North Island Breeders Stakes), the NZ 3YO Sales Graduate winner Double Rocket and Spirit Of Delight (1:55.2).

Their dam, Spirit Of Eros, was by In The Pocket from Spirit Of Bethlehem, by Soky’s Atom from the noted producer Tabella Beth (1:55.6), by Able Bye Bye. This has been one of NZ’s most successful families over a long period.

Daughters of Spirit Of Eros bred on with distinction and her family included the speed merchant God’s Spirit (1:50.2), a winner of 10 races in NSW and America, Spirited Belle (1:53.6) and Spirit Of Love (1:57.7).

Among others from the Mona R tribe have been pacers of the calibre of the NZ Cup winners Lazarus and Self Assured, Star Galleria (Casey Classic), Caviar Star (Fremantle Cup), Star Of Memphis (Vic. The Gammalite) and Mitch Maguire (WA Golden Slipper).

WA Chandon winner

A bright future is being predicted for the Shadow Play five-year-old Gambit, whose success in the Garrard’s Horse & Hound The Chandon at Gloucester Park was his second winning run from three starts in Australia.

He has a good deal in his favour on the score of blood. Apart from being by Shadow Play, Gambit is out of the Sands A Flyin mare Whata Breeze (1:58.4), a sister to the Melton Cup and Tontine winner Immortal Quest 1:50 ($449,590) and a half-sister to the Listed Menangle winner Far Too Rusty 1:54.1 ($129,721), the NZ Wairarapa Cup victor Suu Kyi and to Rule The Atom, dam of the Albion Park winner Bullimore (1:55.8).

Their dam, Reign In New York (by New York Motoring), was a half-sister to five winners, being out of the American-bred mare Breeze’s Shower (TT1:57.8), by Warm Breeze and tracing to the Tar Heel mare Tarport Cheer, whose family today is one of the best in the American stud book.

It includes 1:50 winners LH Stryker (1:48.8), Hen Party (1:49.2), Devil Child (1:49.2), Kenneth J (1:49.6) and Call For Rain (1:49.6), the dual Inter Dominion heat winner Winforu, the champion racemare Tarport Hap, Tyler B (1:50 sire), the Breeders Crown champions Percy Bluechip and Cheery Hello and many others.

Always Fast – bred to be top pacer

Always Fast, who won the Preux Chevalier Free-for-all at Geelong, after leading from the outset, has now won 10 races and is rated Grand Circuit material of the highest order. He ranks as a five-year-old half-brother by Always A Virgin to a brilliant but unsound pacer in Ride High (1:49), who is slated to stand stud at Alabar Bloodstock this year.

Ride High, an Art Major horse, won 11 races on end at one stage, and had he been 100 per cent sound there is no saying the form he may have produced later. He is expected to return to the racetrack after the breeding season.

All The Magic, the dam of Always Fast and Ride High, is a Live Or Die mare from Celebrity Ball, by Presidential Ball from Larrakeyah Lady, has proved a most successful broodmare. She is also the dam of the Breeders Crown champion and Vicbred Final winner Rocknroll Magic 1:54.5 ($466,183) and All A Breeze (1:55.2).

All The Magic was only lightly raced but she was a half-sister to the Listed winner Starburst Girl 1:53.6 ($143,670), Our Celebrity 1:55.1 ($130,019), Runaway Celebrity (1:53.5), Celebrity Guest 1:55.2 (dam of Go Dancing 1:56.2), My Celebrity (1:56.1) and Celebrity Lass (1:57.6), who became the dam of the SA Botra 2YO Pace winner Celebrity Chef.

This has been one of the most successful branches of the Hot Foot family, Celebrity Ball being a half-sister to a Hunter Cup winner in Safe And Sound 1:57 ($995,606), Gold Rocket (1:51), Massarau (1:55.8), the Tatlow winner The Good Times (1:54.4) and to Lifeline, an unraced mare who has produced an outstanding family of winners, including the Derby winner Major Secret (1:55.1), the Breeders Crown champions Beauty Secret and Lovelist, Out To Play (Vicbred 3YO Final)) and The Allwood winner Treachery.

Inter Dominion trotting prospect

One of the stronger 2021 Inter Dominion candidates, particularly among the youthful brigade will be Pink Galahs, who has proved herself in the top flight and has won her way back to an NR120 mark with her clean sweep of the Darrell Alexander Trotting Championships at Albion Park.

Her latest winning run over 2647 metres from a 20 metre handicap was a terrific performance. She spotted the leaders a conservative 40 metres at one stage, but finally won decisively at a 2:00.7 mile rate.

A pint-sized mare, Pink Galahs is a four-year-old, being by Skyvalley from Sweetasay (2:00.8), a dual Vicbred finalist. Sweetasay was sired by Tennotrump (a Victorian bred son of A Go Go Lauxmont and who sired several capable trotters including Deltasun 1:51.8 and Magicool) from Maoridona NZ, by Sundon from the Group winning Red Coach Glory mare Maori’s Glory 2:02.9 ($109,366), a grand-daughter of the celebrated Maori Miss.

Maori’s Glory was the dam of a useful trotter in Regal Equation (2:00.7) and the successful sire Wind Cries Maori and the second dam of the Vicbred champions Vincennes (1:56.3) and Master Maori.

Pink Galahs was bred and is jointly owned by Laura Lewis.

Hat-trick to Fifty Five Reborn

Fifty Five Reborn, a daughter of the Art Major horse Renaissance Man, now at the stud in NSW, has been one of the stars of the winter racing at Gloucester Park.

She won at the last three Friday night meetings – all in free-for-all company over 2130 metres. Her winning rate of 1:56.5 last weekend shaved 0.6 off her lifetime mark.

Fifty Five Reborn is closely related to an earlier top racemare in Arma Xpress, who won seven of her eight starts as a two-year-old including five Group races.

Fifty Five Reborn is by Renaissance Man from Arma Fifty Five, by Bettor’s Delight, a Cam’s Card Shark horse and brother to the highly successful sire Roll With Joe and a half-brother to a top colt in No Pan Intended.

Arma Fifty Five, who was unraced, was out of Arma Xceptional (1:57.9), winner of three races and by Live Or Die from Arma Antoinette, a New Zealand bred mare by Holmes Hanover from the Talk About Class mare Arma Class, a half-sister to the NZ Cup and Auckland Cup heroine Armalight.

Arma Exceptional was a sister to Arma Xcellent, dam of the Ashburton Winter Cup winner Sans Le Sou (1:56), and a half-sister to Arma Xpress 1:56.5 ($279,890), who became the dam of American Arma (1:56.7), who won five races as a juvenile, and to Arma Rich Girl (1:58.2), Armarockin (1:59.1) and Trigg Beach (dam of Arma O’Rourke (1:56.7).

Fifty Five Reborn is a sister to the recent Westsired 3YO Classic winner Arma Einstein (1:56.9).

Well related three-year-old filly

Sporty Dancer, who won the $30,600 Changeover South East Oaks at Albion Park, showed ability as a two-year-old last season when she finished third to Rogue Wave and Tough Tilly in a heat of the Vicbred Homegrown Classic.

She has opened her three-year-old season on a winning note – she has won four of her last six starts – and will be well in line for the major classics.

She is a filly by the Artsplace horse Sportswriter from Dancing In Roma NZ (1:59.7), the best of whose several progeny has been Dancing In America (1:57.2).

Dancing In Roma ranks as a half-sister to a handy mare in My Little Twister 2:00.3 (9 wins), being by Mach Three from the American-bred mare Lust For Life (1:55.4), by Life Sign from the Stakes winner Go Lightly (1:53.8), by Troublemaker and tracing to the noted taproot Minnehaha.

Twelfth winner from broodmare

When the Always B Miki two-year-old Going Great Guns won at the midweek Albion Park meeting, he credited his dam Girl In A Million with her 12th individual winner.

Going Great Guns, one of the first crop by Always B Miki, had shown good placed form in the Brisbane area. Others from Girl In A Million to win have been Guy’s Bettor Bet 1:53.8 ($138,919), Girls Rule (1:54.8), Gina Mach (1:55.6), Geared For Action (1:55.8), Get Happy (1:56.4), Major Luna (1:56.5), Guy From The West (1:56.8), Guy In A Hurry (1:58.1), Guy Looks Good (1:58.3), Gatsby The Great (1:59), Go Gretel and now Going Great Guns.

Girl In A Million (1:58.5), a dual Listed winner, was a Vanston Hanover mare from the Oaks winner Goldrush Girl (TT1:55.3), by Transport Chip from Call Girl. This was the family founded by the NZ bred mare Lady Antrim.

From the Goldrush branch of it and to which Going Great Guns belongs, other pacers the calibre of the NSW Ladyship Mile winner Good Lookin Girl (1:53.7), Leo’s Best (QBred Triad 2YO and 4YO), Fame Assured (QLD Fleur De Lil), the QBred Triad winners Get In The Groove and Girl From Ipanema and the Paleface Adios Classic victor Guitarzan also belong.

By Peter Wharton for Harnesslink