Weekly spotlight on breeding

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

Tricky Miki leading WA three-year-old

Tricky Miki, a good looking Always B Miki gelding, is rated the top three-year-old in WA this season, particularly after his win in the $200,000 WA Derby, the season’s richest classic for three-year-olds.

It was Tricky Miki’s sixth success for the season and his mile rate of 1:58.8 for 2536 metres was put up when he had nothing in his favour, drawing wide on the front row and sitting parked most of the way. He is a very good youngster.

Tricky Miki belongs to one of WA’s most successful families, being by Always B Miki from the useful racemare Harriet Elisabeth 1:57.4 ($114,348), by Modern Art from Jane Elouise (2:00.6), by Beach Towel from the Atashy mare Shy Amazon, who established a great winning line for prominent Perth breeder Steve Johnson.

Besides Jane Elouise, Shy Amazon, a classics winner in Tasmania, left a string of winners including the Tasmanian Sweepstakes and Youthful Stakes winner Robway Magic, Robway Bay (1:58.8) a winner of 30 races and $143,790, and the Gloucester Park winner The Tin Shed (1:57.8).

Jane Elouise became the dam of the exported Soho Jackman 1:50.6 ($368,278), the Melton Mares Championship victor Nikki Louise (1:53.2), the good Gloucester Park winner Liam Neil 1:57.2 ($153,657), Karen Elisabeth (1:55.8) and Harriet Elisabeth, the dam of Tricky Miki.

It is an interesting fact that there is a double strain of Artsplace blood in Tricky Miki through his sire Always B Miki and Modern Art his damsire and a strain of Western Hanover blood through Western Ideal, the grandsire of Always B Miki. It was the Western Hanover line that gave NZ and Australia one of its greatest sires in recent years in American Ideal.

Hector is well bred

Hector, who won his third race from as many starts in Victoria in the $30,000 Benstud Standardbreds Rising Stars Final at Melton, is a four-year-old gelding expected to graduate far beyond his present rating.

A member of Emma Stewart’s Ballarat team, he has a good deal more in his favour on the score of blood than most. By Bettor’s Delight, Hector is out of Christian Cullen mare Kamwood Blue Chip, whose dam, Kamwood Cameo, was a Cam’s Trickster half-sister to the Group 2 winner Bold Kamwood 1:58.1 ($133,431), the exported Winforus 1:54.6 ($118,237) and Kamwood Jasper (1:54.8) and to Sheza Kamwood, grand-dam of the Harness Jewels and Franklin Cup winner Lancewood Lizzie 1:52.7 ($258,477).

Their dam, Kamwood Byrd, was an Alba Byrd mare from Kamwood Princess, by Able Bye Bye from Bonny Roto and tracing through mares by U Scott, Light Brigade, Grattan Loyal and Rey De Oro to the imported mare Bonilene, one of Australasia’s greatest foundation mares.

Up and coming youngsters

Three outstanding fillies to win on the opening day of the Breeders Crown series at Maryborough were Tempting Tigress, Major Delight and Perfect In Pink, all from the Emma Stewart stable.

Tempting Tigress, who is unbeaten in three attempts, set a fresh two-year-old track record of 1:53.4 for 2190 metres, a record broken by Major Delight in the following race. She is a two-year-old by Bettor’s Delight out of the Christian Cullen mare Reklaw’s Gem, a half-sister to the top Tasmanian pacer Motu Crusader 1:52.9 ($361,343), the dual Derby heat winner Motu Meteor 1:55.4 ($252,295) and the prolific Perth winner Motu Treasure 1:55.9 ($191,566) and to Motu Pocket O’Jewels, dam of the cups winner Motu Premier 1:53 ($424,308) and the Group placegetter Caitlyn Clarke 1:53.7 ($108,222).

Major Delight, who is rated by experienced judges as the top two-year-old filly in the country, is raced by her breeder Peter Lewis. Another of the progeny of Bettor’s Delight, Major Delight, who is undefeated in seven outings, is from the NSW Oaks and Breeders Challenge winner Lady Euthenia (1:53.3 ($461,285), dam also of the Victoria Cup and NSW Derby hero Max Delight 1:50 ($787,140).

Perfect In Pink, a winner of three of her six starts, was bred and is raced by Lauriston Bloodstock’s Anne and Bill Anderson. Boasting an all-American pedigree, she is a two-year-old filly by American Ideal out of the Western Terror mare Kabbalah Karen B 1:52.8 ($285,098), dam of the champion racemare Ladies In Red 1:51.9 ($868,020) and the Victoria Derby and dual Breeders Crown winner Our Little General 1:49.8 ($765,566).

By Tiger Tara

The Bettor’s Delight horse Tiger Tara, who stood a season in the Riverina and is now based at Medowie Lodge, Newcastle, is leaving some smart three-year-olds from his first small crop.

King Tiger, a very impressive winner at Menangle, is a colt by Tiger Tara from the Elsu mare Truly Sue.

Tiger Tara, a son of Bettor’s Delight, has left the two and three-year-old winner Tigerliciopus and the trotter Tiger Tee (1:57.2), a thrice winner at Menangle, from only three foals.

King Tiger’s dam, Truly Sue, belongs to a noted family. She was by Elsu from Truly Goldie, by Holmes Hanover from Titaness, by Lordship from Ellen’s Glory, by Scottish Hanover and tracing to the taproot Mavis Wood.

Mavis Wood established one of New Zealand’s foremost pacing families. It includes the Victoria Cup winner Rock N Roll Doo, Heavens Trend (Breeders Crown 4YO), Lilac Flash, Shoobee Doo (NSW Tatlow), She’s No Lady (NZ 2YO Filly of the Year), Watch Pulp Fiction, Schinzig Buller (WA Golden Nugget) and many others.

Redwood winning line

The Redwood winner Cognati is a daughter of the CR Commando mare Elusive Charm, who won the Redwood herself in 2009 and left a Redwood placegetter and Vicbred champion in Is That A Bid. She is the third Redwood winner sired by the Angus Hall horse Majestic Son.

Bred by Cranbourne identity David Scott, Cognati was a $26,000 purchase at the Australasian Premier Trotting Sale in 2021. She has now earned $53,305 from four wins and three placings in nine starts.

Cognati’s dam, Elusive Charm, won 10 races and left five winners. She was a half-sister to a fine trotter in Invasive 1:57.4 ($141,084), being out of the NZ bred Sunny Folly (7 wins), by Sundon from Filly Folly, by Roydon Boy from a top flight NZ racemare in Game Folly (13 wins and $100,937).

Other members of this family, which was founded in America by the thoroughbred mare Jane Hunt, have been Mexican Invasion ($150,264), NZ 3YO Trotting Filly of the Year Arnee’s Frolic, Glamour Boy (Vic. Derby heat), the Group 3 winner Unknown Son and Folly Gee (Wangaratta Trotters Cup).

Promising sire’s absence a loss

The win of Speed Dating in the Group 2 $52,000 Peak of the Creek Final at Albion Park further demonstrated the loss of the US import All Speed Hanover to breeders.

With only one racing crop, he has sired 15 winners from 22 starters including the SA Sale Graduate Pace winner Shardonant, the Menangle winners Make Haste (1:53.9), Hellofalass (1:54.3) and Speedometer (1:54.5) and What A Pleasure.

A son of Cam’s Card Shark, All Speed Hanover won 15 races including the Breeders Crown and Bluegrass Stakes and took a record of 1:49.8.

Speed Dating, a six-year-old Victorian bred mare, is out of the Chill Factor mare Chick At The Bar (1:57.6), who left a capable pacer and Vicbred Silver 2YO winner in Pick Up Line 1:53.7 ($140,720), now at the stud.

Well related two-year-old

He’s All Torque, who won the Alabar SA Botra Golden Nursery, one of the feature races of the two-year-old season at Globe Derby Park, is a Pet Rock colt from the same family as that which produced a top Queensland racemare in Torque In Motion.

Bred and raced by Ian Corazzol, He’s All Torque has only been lightly raced but he has shown up as a very useful pacer, and it was a smart field be beat at Globe Derby.

He’s All Torque is the first produce of Torque Lively, a P B Bullville mare who took a record of 1:52 at Menangle and had a bankroll of $90,681. She was out of Leica Torque, an Albert Albert mare from Thelma Palms (9 wins), dam of the exported Turbo Torque 1:54 ($369,914) and the grand-dam of the NSW Ladyship Mile and QBred Triad winner Torque In Motion (1:52.5), who won 19 races and $380,203 in stakes and was one of the best racemares of her day.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink