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.

Ballarat Oaks winner

Ladies In Red, who won the Prendergast Memorial Oaks at Ballarat, after racing wide throughout, has now won 10 of her 11 starts and is rated one of the best three-year-old fillies in the country. She ranks as a sister by Mach Three to the Victoria Derby and dual Breeders Crown winner Our Little General, a winner of 29 races and $736,431 in stakes.

Our Little General, who is still competing successfully in North America, holds a mark of 1:49.8.

Kabbalah Karen B Ca, the American-bred dam of Ladies In Red and Our Little General, is a Western Terror mare from Mib Hanover (1:55.6) by Tyler B from Mighty Impressive, has proved a most successful broodmare. She is also the dam of the good Melton winner Kasbah Kid 1:53.1 ($185,520) and the Breeders Crown semi-finalist Beautiful Woman (1:56.4).

Kabbalah Karen B Ca 1:52.8 ($285,098), an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final place getter who later won races in Melton, is a half-sister to the top American pacer Cammibest (1:50), now siring winners in Queensland, and to the Stakes winners It’s That Time (1:49.4), Tommy Terror (1:50.4), Only The Best (1:50.8) and Marietta Hall (1:51.2).

This has been one of the most successful branches of the Venus (by American Star) family, Mib Hanover being a sister to Myhalia Hanover, dam of the Canadian Pacing Derby winner Noble Ability 1:49.2 ($1.7 million) and the grand-dam of the Victoria Oaks heat winner Fast Flyer (1:57.8) and Mitzi Said (1:54).

Ladies In Red was bred and is raced by Bill and Anne Anderson, of Lauriston Bloodstock.

Brantley bred to be good

Brantley advanced strong claims to being the best pacer in South Australia today when he downed a smart field at the Geelong metropolitan meeting last weekend.

It was his 10th success for the season and the seventh from his past eight starts. Brantley, a five-year-old, has only been sparingly raced, having averaged 13 starts a season. In four seasons of racing Brantley has won 16 races and has been 10 times placed from 53 starts for $88,927.

By the Artsplace horse Art Major, he is out of Asabella, by In The Pocket from Mio Bellisimo, by Smooth Fella from Krina Bella, by Lordship from the NZ Derby winner Bellajily, by Van Dieman.

Brantley is a half-brother to the multiple Group winner Ohoka’s Bondy 1:53.6 ($388,148), the former top NZ racemare Dancing Diamonds 1:57.8 ($343,276), the Gloucester Park winner Code Red 1:55.1 ($132,639), the Menangle victor Elderberry Stride (1:51.7) and promising three-year-old Hands On (1:55.5), a winner at Invercargill recently.

The grand-dam Mio Bellisimo was only lightly raced but she left nine winners including the Queensland Derby winner Torbello (1:56.1), Alert Falcon 1:54.4 ($297,895), The Gammalite winner The Cavalier 1:56.8 ($248,434) and the NZ Group 2 winner Black Flash.

A daughter of Mio Bellisimo in Christisimo 1:57.2 (by Christian Cullen) figures as the dam of the high class WA pacers Miss Sangrial 1:55.5 ($244,748) and Sangue Reale 1:53.6 ($181,640).

Brothers win in WA

Two of WA’s star pacers at present, and both recent winners who promise to be a force in the coming feature races, are Magnificent Storm and Stamford.

Both trained by Ray Williams are by American Ideal from Our Splendour (1:56.2), a capable racemare herself, and are her first two offspring.

Our Splendour was by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight from Splendid Deal, by In The Pocket from the Dream Away mare Splendid Dreams (1:59.3), a half-sister to the outstanding NZ pacers Have Faith In Me 1:47.5 ($1.8 million) and Adore Me 1:47.7 ($1.6 million) and to the Group 3 winner Imagine Me 1:56.9 ($241,972).

Splendid Dreams was the dam of a top ranking pacer and Miracle Mile winner in Christen Me 1:49.1 ($2.6 million) and the champion NZ racemare Dream About Me 1:50.1 ($1.3 million).

Our Splendour, a Gold Coast Oaks winner, ranks as a sister to the Victoria Derby and NZ Sires Stakes 2YO Championship winner Our Maxim 1:53.8 ($494,436).

By Auckland Reactor

Damysus, a most impressive winner at Globe Derby Park last weekend, and who is undefeated in three starts to date, is one of the best four-year-olds in SA at present.

A late bloomer, the gelding broke down before he ever raced and has been a difficult horse to produce at his peak but proved himself a young pacer of good ability.

By the Mach Three horse Auckland Reactor, he is out of the Western Terror mare Ninkasi (1:58.8), dam also of the Melton winner and Southern Cross finalist Sumarian Artist (1:57.2). Ninkasi, who won 12 races, was a half-sister to the Melton winner Omniscient (1:54.5), being out of Golden Angel, by Golden Greek from Heather Rainbow, by Afella Rainbow from the Thurber Frost mare Heather Frost.

Damysus is the best winner from this family in recent years but in an earlier decade it produced a champion pacer in Preux Chevalier, who won eight Group 1 races including the Inter Dominion and Miracle Mile.

Sixth win on end

Double Up, who has won seven races in quick time this season including his last six in a row, is regarded as one of the best young stayers in WA.

Double Up is a four-year-old gelding by the Western Ideal horse American Ideal, who is now standing at Llowalong Farms in Victoria. He is out of a capable racemare in Vegas Delight (1:59.9), a Bettor’s Delight mare from the same family as the champion NZ pacer Johnny Globe.

Vegas Delight, who won five races, left an earlier winner In Troubador (1:57.1), a winner of eight races in NZ and Victoria. She was a half-sister to the NSW Winter Cup winner The Lightning Ridge 1:54.2 ($286,552) and the Gloucester Park victor Three Kings 1:55.5 ($183,255), being out of the dual Group 2 winner Pocket Queen (1:59), by In The Pocket from Flight Queen, by Vance Hanover from the Lordship mare Jetsetter and tracing to the taproot Laura Logan.

Other members of this family have been Delilaah (NSW Star Trek), Welcome Frost ($165,909), Advance Phee (Manawatu Cup), There And Back (NZ Orari Challenge) and the Albion Park free-for-aller Syndicate ($128,153).

Group 3 winner at Geelong

The most important race at the Geelong metropolitan meeting, the Group 3 Alabar Vicbred Platinum, was won by the Dawn Ofa New Day mare Mornings, who downed a handy field after being involved in an early scrimmage.

Mornings, who was bred by Goulburn Valley studmaster the late Ken Wills, has been a consistent performer throughout her career and her Geelong success tipped her over the $100,000 mark. She has notched 14 wins and has won her way back to a NR77 mark.

Mornings, one of the last commercial crops sired by Dawn Ofa New Day, is a five-year-old from the Village Jasper mare Fran’s Jewel (2:01.6), a Moonee Valley winner who also left Gems (1:57.8), the winner of 10 races.

Fran’s Jewels dam, Frans Beauty (2:00), also a winner at Moonee Valley, was by Echelon from the Spare Hand mare Spare Copper, a half-sister to the Stawell and Warragul Cups winner Copper Leopard and to Maradona, dam of Am I Next (winner of 70 races and $456,536) and equalled the world record for a 14-year-old at 1:54.8.

Eighth winner from broodmare

When the Warrawee Needy two-year-old Bully Bourne won on debut at Wagga last Friday, he credited his dam, the 2005 NZ Cup winner Mainland Banner, with her eighth winner.

Bully Bourne, one of the second crop by Warrawee Needy, had shown good trials form in the Riverina area. Others from Mainland Banner to win have been the Harness Jewwels and Victoria Ladyship Cup winner Rocker Band 1:51.8 ($360,354), Return To Sender 1:51.6 ($218,849), Island Banner 1:51.4 ($138,663), Peruvian Banner (1:52.4), Glenferrie Classic (1:55.9), Stunin Banner 1:56.2 ($128,134), Bustling Barney (1:58.4) and now Bully Bourne.

Mainland Banner, who is now in her 20^th year, has since produced a yearling colt and a weanling colt by Warrawee Needy and is carrying a positive test to Tintin In America.

Mainland Banner is a Christian Cullen mare from Corporate Banner, by Soky’s Atom from Graceful Poplar, by Lumber Dream. This has been one of the most successful branches of the Dusky Morn family, Graceful Poplar being a sister to Very Happy Poplar, the ancestress of horses the calibre of the triple Inter Dominion champion Im Themightyquinn, the Auckland Cup winner Happy Asset, Mighty Khan (NZ Yearling Sales Series 2YO), Our New Life (NSW Breeders Plate), Aye Tee Em (Vic. Sapling) and others.

Up-and-coming trotter

One of the most promising trotters racing in Sydney is Funky Monkey, trained by KerryAnn Morris. A four-year-old, Funky Monkey is in her second season of racing, but from 15 starts she has won eight – including her last seven on end – and has been twice placed.

Funky Monkey has a background of trotting blood second-to-none. Her sire, Monkey Bones, has left the Group winner Idle Bones, and other smart NZ trotters in Overzealous, Doctor Bones, Monrika, Bonechip and Scallywag Sam.

Her dam, Yukon Quest, is by Sundon, the leading sire of trotters for many years. She ranks a sister to a top trotter in Irish Whisper, a Group 1 winner in NZ and later a country cups winner in Victoria.

The family, which traces to the NZ mare Leita, produced a brilliant trotter in Lord Alias, who won 36 races, including the Menangle and Bendigo Trotting Cups, and other good trotters in Rolleston Lad (Scotch Notch Memorial), King Whiz (Bulli Trotters Cup) and Prince Whiz.

Breeders Crown double for Foreclosure

The Rocknroll Hanover stallion Foreclosure, who was bred in NZ, raced in North America and is standing stud in Ireland, was represented by a winning double at the UK Breeders Crown meeting at Tir Prince, North Wales recently.

Foreclosure sired the winners of the three-year-old colts and geldings and four-year-old mares’ Finals in Churchview Frankel and She Be Stunning respectively. Both are out of daughters of the American sire Dragon Again.

The frozen semen for Foreclosure is available to Australian breeders at Kody Charles’ KTC Bloodstock in Perth.

By Peter Wharton for Harnesslink