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.

A Crowning achievement

Melbourne breeder-owners Anne and Bill Anderson, of Lauriston Bloodstock, enjoyed a red-letter day at the Breeders Crown meeting at Melton with a winning double with record-breaking three-year-old filly Ladies In Red and star four-year-old Honolua Bay.

Both overcame a difficult draw and a wide passage in the last lap to score decisive victories.

Ladies In Red, who was the season’s top filly, won nine of her 10 starts at two years and five of her seven starts at three years. The Mach Three filly is rated one of the best juvenile pacers produced in Australia in years.

She is out of the American-bred Kabbalah Karen B (1:52.8), a Western Terror mare who produced a dual Breeders Crown champion in Our Little General 1:49.8 ($759,935), a brother to Ladies In Red and now competing successfully in North America. Kabbalah Karen B ranks as a half-sister to the millionaire American pacer and sire Cammibest (1:50), being out of Mib Hanover (1:55.6), by Tyler B from Mighty Impressive (TT1:56.6), by Harold J from the Meadow Skipper mare Lyndenette.

Kabbalah Karen B is the first mare ever to produce two Breeders Crown champions at two and three.

Honolua Bay, the winner of 11 of his 18 starts, is a Somebeachsomewhere gelding from National Gallery (1:54.4), by Artsplace from Lil’s Dream, a Smooth Fella mare from the noted Ar Miss family, one of NZ’s leading classic sources.

Honolua Bay boasts two close strains of Abercrombie blood through his sire Somebeachsomewhere, whose sire Mach Three is from an Abercrombie mare, and his damsire Artsplace, a son of Abercrombie.

Act Now top three-year-old

When he won the $200,000 Breeders Crown at Melton last Saturday, Act Now scored his second Group 1 success, and he is entitled to be rated this season’s top three-year-old colt.

Earlier in the season he won the $114,000 Victoria Derby at Bendigo. From 14 starts this season he has won seven times and been four times placed for $342,755 in stakes.

His sire, Somebeachsomewhere, has now sired six Breeders Crown champions – Whereibylong (2013), Our Waikiki Beach (2015), Petacular (2017), Maajida (2019 and 2021) and Honolua Bay (2021).

Act Now is out of the unraced Molly’s Ideal, by American Ideal from the American mare Molly’s Lucky Star (1:54.4), by Bettor’s Delight from the Artsplace mare Pacific Destiny, a half-sister to the millionaire racehorse and successful sire Pacific Fella (1:48.4).

Molly’s Lucy Star, the winner of 15 races and $96,700, became the dam of five sub 2:00 winners including the WA Diamond Classic winner Askmeilltellya 1:54.8 ($140,006) and Pin Stripes (1:53.7).

Act Now was bred and is owned by Bruce and Vicki Edward, of Durham Park Standardbreds, near Ballarat.

Breeders Crown to Encipher

Encipher, the season’s latest Group 1 two-year-old winner, in beating a smart field in the $300,000 Breeders Crown, gives the impression that she could develop into one of next season’s top three-year-olds.

Bred and raced by Kadina (SA) horseman Tyson Linke, Encipher is a well developed filly by Captaintreacherous from Our Cavort (1:57.9), a winner of 15 races including nine at Globe Derby Park. Encipher is her first foal.

Our Cavort, the dam of Encipher, was a half-sister by Falcon Seelster to the NSW Pink Bonnet winner Eliza Dushku 1:51.2 ($204,320) and My Mei (1:53.6), being out of Bizzie Girl, by In The Pocket from True Lies, by Holmes Hanover from Laudit, by Lordship from the NZ Oaks winner In Or Out.

It is an interesting fact that there is a double strain of Direct Scooter blood in Encipher, through both Captaintreacherous and In The Pocket (sire of the grand-dam of Encipher) and a strain of Abercrombie blood through Captaintreacherous’s damsire Artsplace. It was the Abercrombie line that gave Australia one of its greatest sires in recent years in Art Major.

Top two-year-old by Captaintreacherous

The Captaintreacherous gelding Catch A Wave firmly established himself as the top Victorian two-year-old pacer of the season when he won the $300,000 Breeders Crown at Melton.

Bought for $82,000 at the Australian Pacing Gold in 2020 in Melbourne, Catch A Wave has earned $199,990 from six wins in seven starts including two Group successes. He was bred by Benstud Standardbreds and Sydney breeders Peter and Zilla O’Shea.

Catch A Wave is by the Somebeachsomewhere horse Captaintreacherous (sire of Tough Tilly, etc.), from the NZ bred Coppagoodone, who took a record of 1:57. She produced earlier winners in Bettor Copagoodone (1:54.5) and Yambukian (1:55.4), who finished runner-up in the Breeders Crown three-year-old.

An American Ideal filly from Coppagoodone sold for $30,000 at this year’s Nutrien Equine Yearling Sale.

Coppagoodone is by the NZ bred sire Christian Cullen from the dual Oaks winner Copper Beach 1:58.6 ($179,794), by Beach Towel from Lez Paysen Star, a half-sister by Payson’s Brother to an Inter Dominion winner in Elsu and to others in Revonez (1:56.1), Falcor (1:53) and Lughnasadh, a successful broodmare in Australia.

This is a long-established NZ family and an earlier top juvenile belonging to it was De Lovely, a half-sister to Coppagoodone who won six Group 1 races including the Breeders Crown in 2010.

Three-year-old trotters track record

A fresh track record for a three-year-old trotter over 2240 metres at Melton was established by the Muscle Hill colt Aldebaran Zeus of 1:58.7 – bettering the previous record of 1:58.8 held by Cruisin Around by 0.1 – when he won the $80,000 Breeders Crown final.

Aldebaran Zeus, who has now won eight of his 22 starts – he finished second to Kyvalley Hotspur in the Victoria Derby – is a member of the same family as the Hambletonian winner Speedy Somolli.

Zoia Boko, the Swedish born dam of Aldebaran Zeus, ranked as a sister by Viking Kronos to the dual Swedish Breeders Crown champion Yield Boko 1:54.9 ($814,031), the sire of Australasia’s fastest ever two-year-old trotter Aldebaran Ursula (1:55.7).

Their dam, Ouzo Boko, was a half-sister to the world champion Cash Hall 1:51.2 ($554,298), being by Victory Dream from Chatty Hanover, by Super Bowl from the Speedy Crown mare Chickasaw, a sister to Speedy Somolli.

This branch of the Minnehaha tribe has produced such horses as Royal Troubador (USA Breeders Crown 2YO), the dual Prix d’Amerique winner Offshore Dream, Marseille 1:51.8 ($516,791), Capetown Hall 1:56.2 ($369,518), Global Badman (Swedish Breeders Crown 3YO) and the Melton winner Cardigan Boko, all trotters of some worth.

Aldebaran Zeus was bred by Duncan McPherson, principal of Aldebaran Park, Nagambie.

Group 2 winner by A Rocknroll Dance

Tango Tara, who won the Group 2 $60,000 Breeders Crown Graduate Free-for-all – Supreme Dominator, General Dodge and Bulletproof Boy filled the placings behind him – has made smart progress through the classes.

He is a grand stayer and one of the best progeny by the Rocknroll Hanover horse A Rocknroll Dance, who sired top pacers of the calibre of No Win No Feed, Its Rock And Roll, Bar Room Banta and others.

Tango Tara is a five-year-old gelding from Tara Delight, by Bettor’s Delight from Atomic Gold, by Soky’s Atom from Vita Gold, by Knowing Bret from Petronella, by Whipster – a pedigree with some real background with a string staying influence behind it.

Tara Delight, the unraced dam of Tango Tara, was a half-sister to two high class pacers in Power Of Tara 1:50.6 ($846,608), a winner of 31 races including the Ballarat Cup and NZ Easter Cup, and the Fremantle Cup winner A G’s White Socks 1:52.7 ($527,444), and to Tara Gold, dam of the pacing standout and Inter Dominion champion Tiger Tara 1:49.8 ($2.3 million), now siring winners in NSW with his first crop.

Group success for Sundon’s Courage

The Group 2 Breeders Crown Graduate Trotters Free-for-all at Melton, one of the features of the carnival, was won by the Sundon stallion Sundon’s Courage, who has been mixing racing with stud duties.

Sundon’s Courage was back in the field on the rails in the early running but sprinted sharply once clear to win decisively from Wobelee, The Penny Drops and Majestuoso.

Bred by Muckleford horseman Brad Angove, who also races him, he is an eight-year-old entire by Sundon, an Arndon horse who was the top sire of trotters in both Australia and NZ for many years.

Truscott Photo, the dam of Sundon’s Courage, was by S J’s Photo, who also distinguished himself as a sire of trotters, from Lacey Truscott, a fine racemare who left the multiple Melton trotting winner Sunset Truscott and a handy pacer in Truscott Cam.

Lacey Truscott, who won 21 races including The Redwood, was by Red Coach Glory from the noted producer Eternal Pride, by Armbro Demon from the Game Pride mare Queen’s Pride.

This has been a most successful family, as Lady Clare, a half-sister to Lacey Truscott, was the dam of the Melton winner Canadian Dream, while Spontaneous Lee, a half-brother to Eternal Pride, won several country cups in Victoria.

Bandbox winning line

One of the major three-year-old classics of the season in Tasmania, the Bandbox, was won by Barooga Rock, a filly by Pet Rock from Barooga Minnie, who won the Bandbox herself in 2015.

Barooga Rock belongs to one of Tasmania’s top families, being out of Barooga Minnie, by Mister Big from the Armbro Operative mare Barooga Nellie and tracing back to the Meadow Vance mare Morning Cloud, who established a great winning line for Waterhouse breeder Ian Abraham.

She left six winners and two producing daughters in Insane Obsession, the dam of the Westbury Cup winner Barooga Bomber and Barooga Mist, dam of three winners including the McKillop 4YO Classic winner Barooga Raider.

Magnum Mist, a half-sister to Barooga Raider, threw three winners including the Moonee Valley victor Barooga Geoffrey 1:58.8 ($107,537). There are some notable winners in almost every remove of this family. Barado, another daughter of Barooga Mist, became the dam of a smart pacer in Barooga Bullet 1:53.4 ($224,314), a winner of 51 races in Tasmania, NSW and America, and the Killarney Stud Bouquet winner Barooga Brandy.

By Peter Wharton for Harnesslink