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.

Breeding feat by Victorian couple

Rather a notable breeding feat was credited to the Victorian breeders Bill and Anne Anderson, of Lauriston Bloodstock, who bred the winners of the inaugural Group 1 $175,000 Nutrien Equine Sales Classics for two-year-olds at Menangle in First Responder (Art Major) and Somethin Bout Eily (Somebeachsomewhere).

First Responder, a $60,000 purchase, is a colt with an all-American breeding background, being by Art Major from Smyrna Duruisseau (1:56), by Cam’s Card Shark from Secret Date (1:58.8), by Abercrombie from the top broodmare Dateable.

Smyrna Duruisseau, who raced in both America and Victoria, has proved a very successful broodmare. Besides First Responder, a winner of two of his four starts, she is also the dam of former NZ and Australian 2YO Colt of the Year Follow The Stars 1:53.8 ($707,237), now standing at Medowie Lodge in NSW, the Group 1 placegetter Stefsbest 1:54.7 ($150,117), Be My Baby (1:56.1), Moon Ovr Manhattan (1:57.1) and the Art Major mare Art De Triomphe (1:58.8), dam of the Listed winner Petillante 1:54.1 ($107,060) and the Melton winner Goodtime Grace (1:54.6).

Other members of this family, which was founded by the thoroughbred Lida, have been the Woodrow Wilson winner Dontgetinmyway ($1.4 million), Historic (1:53), Canadian 2YO of the Year Diogger Almahurst and Tyler’s Mark (1:51.6).

Somethin Bout Eily, who cost $60,000 and has earned $93,500, is a member of the noted Lady Antrim family in New Zealand. By Somebeachsomewhere, she ranks as a sister to the emerging star Honolua Bay 1:51.9 ($253,510) and a half-sister to the Listed winner Rocknroll Icon 1:52.2 ($210,648), the exported Mach Up 1:53 ($113,878) and the Group 1 placegetter Looking Fabulous (1:54.7).

Their dam, National Gallery NZ (1:54.4), a Group 3 winner, was by Artsplace from Lil’s Dream (TT1:55.7), by Smooth Fella from Miss Denover, by Boyden Hanover from Ar Miss.

National Gallery was a half-sister to Outta Sight (1:59), Lil’s Nightmare (1:56.6) and the Christian Cullen mare Limerick Star (1:59.2), who, in turn, became the dam of None Bettor 1:48.8 ($776,095), a winner in top company in America, the Victoria Sapling winner Abouttime (1:52.9) and Rosie O’Reilly 1:56.5 (dam of the Group 1 winner Irish Black Label).

Spankem (1:47.7), winner of the Miracle Mile and NZ Free-for-all, Thumpem, Bruzem and Lenny Bromac are other members of this fine family.

Victoria Derby prospect

Winner of the Victoria Youthful Stakes as a two-year-old last season, Interest Free downed the top three-year-olds in the $40,000 Victoria Sires Classic at Melton, including a top ranking three-year-old in Khafaji, who finished second.

Interest Free only started racing 15 months ago, but has proved himself a young pacer of great ability. He will be well in line for the major juvenile classics later in the year.

By Art Major, Interest Free is out of the Christian Cullen mare Picobello (1:52.3) and the first of her produce to race. Picobello, a winner at Melton and Menangle, was out of a useful racemare in Lynne Falcon (1:59.4), by Falcon Seelster from the Group 1 placegetter Electrofying Franco (1:59.8), by Holmes Hanover and tracing back to the noted foundation mare Rawene.

Picobello was a sister to the good Melton winner Millwood Nebraska (1:56.6) and a half-sister to the Menangle victor My Patronus (1:54.1), the thrice NZ winner Tombelina and promising three-year-old Benji (1:56.1), a winner of four of his six starts in WA to date.

Interest Free was bred and is raced by Eric and Heather Anderson, of Bendigo.

WA Pearl winning line

Western Australia’s premier race for two-year-old colts and geldings, the $100,000 Pearl Classic, run at Gloucester Park, was won by Never Ending, and although Valedictorian, rated the top two-year-old of his year, finished a game second after enduring a torrid passage, this fact could not detract from the merit of Never Ending’s success.

He has now won at his only four starts; Valedictorian has won four of his seven starts.

Never Ending was knocked down for $75,000 at the 2021 Australian Pacing Gold sale in Perth by prominent breeder Steve Johnson. He was a grand type of yearling and has developed into a beautiful two-year-old.

His sire, Sweet Lou, was one of the best performed sires to come ‘down under’, being by Yankee Cruiser, a grandson of Artsplace. Sweet Lou had a record of 1:47 and was one of America’s greatest free-for-all pacers. His oldest stock in Australasia are five-year-olds and include Spirit Of St Louis, Double Expresso, Aladdin and Virgil, and in America he sired 26 in 1:50 and the winners of over $33 million.

Endless Journey, the dam of Never Ending, was a Die Laughing mare from Hold Tight, by Embrace Me from the crack racemare Stormy Port, by Tarport King from Mehitable, by Stormyway.

Endless Journey, who was only lightly raced, left earlier winners in Mandy Joan 1:54.9 ($168,564), Dibaba 1:54.1 ($112,846) and a top juvenile pacer in Isaiah Artois (by Modern Art), who took a record of 1:58.3 and was the winner of the Pearl in 2014.

Another daughter of Endless Journey in Janet Gai (by Art Major) became the dam of Otis (1:55), a winner of nine races to date and a placegetter in last year’s 3YO Pearl.

Endless Journey was a half-sister to the WA 2YO Sales Classic winner Fake Embrace 1:53.4 ($240,249), the Moonee Valley winner Go By Jet (1:58.3) and to Like A Dame, the dam of millionaire pacer David Hercules (1:52.7), the Group 3 winner Hugh Victor 1:54.9 ($144,034) and the exported Kerrin Joseph 1:52 ($169,216), Gaetana Nicol (dam of Major Martini 1:54.8 – $322,483), Heather Mary (dam of Group 3 winner Know When To Run) and Hotniten Georgia, who left the WA 2YO Sires Stakes champion Supreme Royalty.

A Star from La Coocaracha

A star two-year-old trotter in Australia this season is The Locomotive, who was bred by Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms and part-owned and trained by Wayne Potter.

A colt by Muscle Mass, he is out of a champion racemare in La Coocaracha and the 10^th of her produce to win. He won the $50,000 Nutrien Equine Sales Final at Menangle and earlier in the season the Vicbred Homegrown Classic at Melton and looks a two-year-old with the potential one would expect of his breeding.

American Arma bred to be good

American Arma, winner of the Free-for-all at Gloucester Park last Friday, continues to prove herself in the top bracket among the mares in WA. She has now won nine races and $106,641 in stakes.

She is a member of one of New Zealand’s foremost pacing families, being a four-year-old American Ideal mare from a fine racemare in Arma Xpress 1:56.5 ($279,890), an Artiscape mare who has produced others in Arma Veyron (1:57.8) and Arma Xfactor (1:58.1), both Gloucester Park winners.

Arma Xpress, a dual Group 1 winner at two, was out of Arma Antoinette, a good producer by Holmes Hanover from Arma Class, by Talk About Class from the NZ Oaks winner Ar Miss.

Besides Arma Xpress, Arma Antoinette left the Group placed Arma Xceptional (1:57.9) and Arma Rich Girl (1:58.2), who are both being bred from. Arma Xceptional figures as the dam of Arma Rockstar (1:59.7) and the second dam of the prolific Perth winners Fifty Five Reborn 1:56.5 ($209,045) and Arma Einstein 1:54.9 ($156,451).

Another daughter of Arma Antoinette to breed on was the Live Or Die mare Arma Xcellent, dam of the NZ Ashburton Winter Cup winner Sans Le Sou (1:56).

Ar Miss established the most successful branch of the Lady Antrim tribe. It includes recent winners in Honolua Bay, Colt Thirty One, Magical Maya and Somethin Bout Eily, winner of the inaugural Nutrien Sales Classic.

UK Breeders Crown winners

The Australasian sires Sweet Lou (Woodlands Stud) and Foreclosure (KTC Bloodstock) provided half the winners of the UK Breeders Crown series held in North Wales recently.

Sweet Lou sired the two-year-old filly and three-year-old filly champions in Maidsweet and Louisiana respectively, while Foreclosure (a son of Rocknroll Hanover) left the winner of the four-year-old entires and geldings’ Crown in Churchview Frankel.

See And Ski, a half-brother to Well Said, sired the winners of the two-year-old colts and geldings (Rhyd’s Dude) and the three-year-old colts and geldings (Rhyd’s Scoundrel).

The Artsplace horse Art’s Conquest sired the winner of the four-year-old mares’ Breeders Crown in Indiana’s Quest.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink