Weekly spotlight on breeding

WA Oaks winner

Western Australia’s premier race for three-year-old fillies, the $150,000 WA Oaks, run at Gloucester Park, was won by Taking The Miki, and although Wonderful To Fly, rated the top three-year-old of her year, failed to get into a place, this fact could not detract from the merit of Taking The Miki’s success.

She has now won six races including two at Group level and $198,180 in stakes.

Taking The Miki was knocked down for $26,000 at the 2020 Australian Pacing Gold sale in Perth by John and Trish Coffey’s Patrician Park. She was a grand type of yearling and has developed into a beautiful three-year-old.

Her sire, Always B Miki, is the fastest horse ever to come to Australia, being by Always A Virgin, a grandson of Western Hanover. Always B Miki had a record of 1:46 and was one of America’s greatest free-for-all pacers. His oldest stock in Australasia are three-year-olds and include Tricky Miki, The Miki Taker, Aardie’s Express, Rich Beauty and others, and in America he sired the winners of $17 million including Perfect Sting (1:48.2).

All American Dream, the dam of Taking The Miki, was a Bettor’s Delight mare from River Valley Dream, by Artsplace from Maheer Queen (1:57.6), by Holmes Hanover from New York, by New York Motoring.

All American Dream, who won four races and took a record of 1:58.7, was a half-sister to the winners Dreamy Castafiore (1:57.5) and Trois Fontaine.

This is the family of the Group 3 winner Shez Sugarsweet 1:52.2 ($217,715), the exported The Rising 1:50.8 ($336,790), Poppy Maguire (NZ Sales Graduette), Murphy Maguire 1:54.8 ($111,331) and My Mate Stride (1:53.7).

Two-year-old mile record reduced

A fresh Australasian mile record for a two-year-old filly from the mobile barrier was established by the Bettor’s Delight filly Major Delight of 1:50.5 – bettering the previous record of 1:51.8 held by Soho Almasi by 1.3 s3econds – when she won the NSW Breeders Challenge semi-final at Menangle.

Major Delight, who is unbeaten in five starts including the APG Gold Bullion, is a member of the same family as San Domino (1:49.2).

Major Delight ranks as a sister to the Victoria Cup and dual Derby winner Max Delight 1:50 ($772,140) and a half-sister to Breeders Crown finalist Sunset Zeus (1:53.4), being by Bettor’s Delight from the Art Major mare Lady Euthenia 1:53.3 ($461,285), whose dam Reggae Miss 2:00.3 ($123,087) was by Maple Lane’s Strike, a top colt by Strike Out from Girl Next Door, by What’s Next from Lady Ex, by Express Byrd.

Lady Euthenia and Reggae Miss were both NSW Breeders Challenge champions and both left five 2:00 winners.

Besides Lady Euthenia, who won 21 races, Reggae Miss was also the dam of the exported San Domino 1:49.2 ($583,844), the NSW Sapling Stakes winner Reggae Cowboy (1:59.4), Regal Reggae (1:56.9) and the second dam of the Bathurst Gold Crown winner Castalong Shadow 1:54.6 ($180,907) and the NSW Breeders Challenge Regional winner Gracie Taljuice 1:53 ($143,188), Mymatethomo (Whyalla Cup) and Fifteen Aces (1:53.8).

Major Delight was bred and is raced by NSW enthusiast Peter Lewis.

Trotters Oaks to Aldebaran Keepa

The $60,000 Victoria Trotters Oaks, one of the feature races on the calendar for three-year-old fillies at Melton, was won by Aldebaran Keepa, a NZ bred filly by Kadabra from Another Love. She was bred and is part-owned by Melbourne trotting stalwart Duncan McPherson.

Kadabra, a Star’s Pride line sire, was one of North America’s leading sires of trotters for many years, and has sired several useful trotters in Australia from relatively small numbers.

He has sired such winners as the Breeders Crown champion Val Gardena, Amelia Darling (SA Oaks), Kyvalley Rap, the Listed winner Illawong Magic and Fortheloveofmoney (Vic. Derby heat).

Another Love, the dam of Aldebaran Keepa, was by Love You, who also distinguished himself as a leading sire of trotters, from Another Starlet, by Sundon from Lilly The Pink, a mare of all-American blood who left a very smart trotter in Jazz Legend, one of the stars of the Moonee Valley era.

This has been a most successful family, as Another Love, was a sister to the top NZ trotter Enghien and a half-sister to the Gramel Series winner Gammel Dansk, Millburn Michael and others.

The latest Victoria Trotters Oaks winner, Aldebaran Keepa, has certainly a wealth of successful trotting blood on both sides of her pedigree.

Tay Tay is top mare

Tay Tay, a heat winner of the NSW Breeders Challenge and recently runner-up in the Carousel, is one of the best four-year-old mares in NSW at present.

She has earned $116,800, a worthwhile return for the $12,000 paid for her as a yearling.

Tay Tay is a well developed Rock N Roll Heaven mare and is trained by Jason Grimson, who prepared the 2021 Inter Dominion champion Boncel Benjamin. Tay Tay is out of the Jereme’s Jet mare Jet’s Girl, a moderate performer herself but who is proving a successful broodmare having left others in Struve 1:53.5 ($121,602), Flying Scribe (1:54.5), Te Quiro (1:54.7) and Tassini (1:55.4), all good winners.

Jet’s Girl was a half-sister to the Group winners Fame Assured 1:50.8 ($318,537) and Frankie Rocks 1:52.2 ($264,648), being out of Faith Prevails (1:58.1), a Fake Left mare from the dual Group winner Girl From Ipanema (1:57.6) by Vanston Hanover from the Queensland Oaks winner Goldrush Girl (TT1:55.3).

The family traces back to the Tempest Hanover mare Call Girl, who established a great winning line for prominent Brisbane breeder-owners Kevin and Kay Seymour. It includes Group 1 winners in Colt Thirty One, Girl In A Million, Cherry Cheer, Rhapsody In Red, Rani Major and many others.

NSW Breeders Challenge hopeful

Saveeon is proving herself a smart juvenile in NSW this season – she has won five and has been four times placings from 12 starts – and is rated as one of the leading fancies for the $150,000 NSW Breeders Challenge Final.

She is a two-year-old by Warrawee Needy, sire of a top colt pacer in Uncle Shank, out of the Breeders Crown placegetter Zibibbo 1:52.9 ($115,188), and the first of her produce to race.

Zibibbp, who won 11 races, was a half-sister to the good Albion Park winner Saucy Dreams 1:51.4 ($150,413), being by Shadow Play from Karamea Dreamin (1:59.3), by Dream Away from Karamea Minnie, by New York Motoring from the cup class mare Karamea Minna, one of the leading daughters of champion sire and broodmare sire Thor Hanover.

Karamea Minna became the dam of five winners including Wooffer Karamea (Galaxy Grand Slam 2YO) and the grand-dam of the Stawell Cup winner Henchman, but failed to leave anything in her own class.

By Aldebaran Eagle

The Muscle Hill horse Aldebaran Eagle, who died 18 months ago when at the height of his stud career, is leaving smart two-year-olds from his first crop, the oldest of which are now three years.

Rockinwithattitude, who won the Group 2 Tatlow Stakes for two-year-old trotters at Melton and earlier the Abrahams Classic at Shepparton, is a filly by Aldebaran Eagle from the Rock N Roll Heaven mare Rockin Shiraz.

Aldebaran Eagle, a son of Muscle Hill, sired a brace of winners with his first crop last season in the Group 3 Vicbred Silver winner Aldebaran Boyd and the Parker Classic (SA) victor Aldebaran Dexta. The Albion Park winner Panda Fooey and the Group 2 placegetter Dichotomy have been other winners from his second crop.

Rockinwithattitude’s dam, Rockin Shiraz, belongs to a noted family. She was by Rock N Roll Heaven from Elite Shiraz, by Grinfromeartoear from Cindy Shiraz, by Safely Kept from Sinba, by Torado Hanover and tracing to the taproot Humphrey’s General Lincoln mare.

The General Lincoln mare established one of NZ’s foremost pacing families. It includes such winners as Kohara (NZ Cup), Bundoran (Inter Dominion heat), Black Silhouette (NSW Breeders Challenge 4YO), Monifieth (NSW Golden Mile), the Derby winners Tanabi Bromac and Lanercost, Life Inthefastlane (Queen of the Pacific), Stroma (2YO of the Year) and the Oaks winners Charlotte Brew, Indigenous and Nek Time.

Yonkers International winner’s ‘Down Under’ links

The Norwegian trotter Cokstile, winner of the $1million Yonkers International, has close breeding ties to Australasia.

His sire, the Andover Hall horse Quite Easy, left the Breeders Crown champion Quite A Moment 1:55.3 ($405,850, the Maryborough Trotters Cup winner Everybody Knows ($199,910) and the smart Easy Pickings from restricted stud chances in NZ.

On his dam’s side, Cokstile is out of a mare by the Elitlopp and Prix d’Amerique winner Coktail Jet, the sire of the great Love You, a champion sire in both hemispheres.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink