American Muscle adds to family legacy with Northern Breeders triumph

The dream harness racing run of Janet and Peter Argus and their extraordinary broodmare, Liberty City (The Pres), was further embellished last night at Alexandra Park with success in the G3 Northern Breeders Trotting Stakes.

Most trotting enthusiasts are familiar with the deeds of the full sisters, Empire & Atlantic City, with the former being 2YO Trotting Filly of the Year and a G1 winner, while the latter showed she was a chip off the old block by coming out and winning the G3 Sires’ Stakes 2yo Fillies Classique one year removed from her older sister last season.

Despite being a six figure earner in her own right, the pair’s eldest sister and first foal from the mare, American Muscle (Muscle Mass), is somewhat of an afterthought in the extraordinary tale for the Argus’. However, last night she cemented herself in the annals of Group race success with a cinderella story of her own. Vindication one might argue for a career to date that has been a model of consistency.

“We weren’t overly confident going into the race, but we knew she would be competitive,” said Janet Argus in the aftermath of victory this morning.

“We were on track last night to watch and we knew she would need a bit of luck, and she got that along with a beautiful drive from Tony. We were just hoping for a placing, and for her to get a Group placing would have been fantastic.

“It was extra special and it was a real thrill that she got the win. Quite often, that’s when she puts her head down and gets the job done—when she’s at good odds. I think last night was her 10th win,” said Argus.

Argus is correct in her assessment, 10 wins and 19 placings along with $188,000 in race stakes is a wonderful achievement in today’s trotting landscape, and lastnight’s victory put the trio of trotting sisters in rarified air as all having achieved Group Race wins in New Zealand. Better yet, they are also the first three foals from the mare which is surely something that hasn’t been achieved all that often on these shores.

Some possibilities sprung to mind with the likes of Niamey (Pocaro, Daenerys Targaryen), Janetta’s Pride (Jo Anne, Shirley Temple), Ten To One (Habibti, Habibti Ivy), Another Love (Aldebaran Floss, Aldebaran Keepa), High Gait (High Energy, High Step) and Paramount Star (Paramount Princess, Paramount Queen). But while some of their daughters have added to their legacy and likewise, some of their sons have also achieved Group Race success, none of them have three Group Race winning daughters, let alone sequentially!

2020 NZ Trotting Broodmare of the Year, Una Bromac is one who has three Group race winning daughters in Escapee, Galway Girl and Needle, but the latter won her G3 in Australia, not that it detracts from her legacy, especially when you throw in the likes of the brutish Winterfell to her broodmare resume.

Admittedly there haven’t been the opportunities there are now for trotting fillies and mares, but the fact remains, it is a distinctive achievement for the Argus owned brood.

As alluded too earlier, the Michelle Wallis and Bernie Hackett trained six-year-old mare was given a peach of a steer from Tony Cameron.

Allowed to settle four back in the running line, Cameron hooked his charge out to sit in the death seat as they rounded the Showgrounds bend for the second occasion. With Luk Chin and last years winner, Jasinova, allowed to dictate terms in front, it looked like American Muscle would be tasked with doing it the hard way for the remainder of the 2700m journey.

When the trailing It Aint Me Babe lost the back of the leader, Cameron was able to slide down to the pegs and enjoy a helmet to follow until the HR Fisken passing lane presented itself, allowing the bonny daughter of Muscle Mass to showcase her speed up the inside and outmuscle last seasons G3 winning stablemate, Faith In Manchester, in a fight to the finish.

AMERICAN MUSCLE REPLAY

“We still can’t believe how lucky we are. We’re enjoying every minute of it and still in disbelief, to be honest. She seems a lot stronger now. You know, she’s six years old and has continued to build strength even this year. It’s really exciting to get that Group race with her because she never had many opportunities to compete at that level,” said Argus.

“We’ve had a lot more opportunities for quality racing down south, particularly with Empire City and Atlantic City. The advantage is that the races are in your backyard, making it much easier. Up here, a horse has to show a lot of ability before you’d even consider traveling south. 

“A lot of people mentioned after the race that she might be the third one, and that’s pretty amazing. Many people dream of having a mare like her. With Empire City and Atlantic City coming through as well, it’s just incredible. We’ve always called her “Miami,” and she really deserved that Group win. She’s such a consistent mare—she’s had so many placings, along with her 10 wins. She absolutely deserved it,” she said.

TONY CAMERON | TRACK CHAT INTERVIEW

When asked whether they had given any thought to what the future might hold for American Muscle and whether there could be a prospect which see’s her compete against her younger half-sister, Empire City for the first time on race night, Argus indicated there is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet.

“I wouldn’t have a clue about what’s next, but it would be lovely. I’ll leave that up to Michelle—she’ll decide what’s best. I think she’ll see what’s around in the open-class ranks. She’s got a couple of races lined up over the next couple of weeks, but I’m not sure exactly what they are. Michelle will make a decision based on the field and whether she’s competitive enough to be there,” she said.

“Empire City and Atlantic City have been back in work with Phil (Williamson) for about four weeks now. We’re expecting to hear in the next couple of weeks how they’re coming along. We’re also hopeful for the two-year-old by What The Hill, as he’s in work as well and showing some ability.”

The Argus’ had a crack at producing another Volstead from Liberty City this breeding season but resorted to Plan B when some rare bad luck with the mare struck.

“We had one crack with Volstead, but she lost it after getting a 14 day positive test. We decided we needed to change to a fresh semen option and at this stage she is positive to King Of The North. We’re still waiting for the 42-day scan, so we’re hopeful. It looked like a lovely, big, healthy embryo, and we’d love for it to take obviously, so fingers crossed,” said Argus.

At this rate it appears Liberty City would have no problem producing a capable trotter with semen from a bull, so a dual Breeders Crown champion such as King Of The North will likely be a highly sought after commodity, particularly if it’s a colt.

“We have a view to keeping the fillies at this stage, and now we have three that are Group Race winners, it’s quite unbelievable really,” said Argus.

Quite unbelievable indeed.

For complete Alexandra Park results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink