High praise for high class Oaks hopeful

Some folks get a little bit of re-entry shock upon returning to New Zealand after a cracking time spent overseas. But for two of New Zealand’s biggest investors in the harness racing industry, it was made all that bit easier by the glittering return of last season’s champion juvenile trotting filly.

Ken and Karen Breckon arrived safely back on New Zealand soil having spent a few weeks touring around Great Britain where they enjoyed the rich history on offer and even took the time to visit the world’s greatest thoroughbred operation, Coolmore Stud.

With Ken admitting to having learned a thing or two on that particular visit that could be of use at his own operation at Breckon Farms, arriving home in time to see High Energy (Father Patrick) resume with a win in the Sires Stakes Prelude taught him little that he didn’t know already. This filly is clearly a wee bit special.

“We had a great two-year-old season, but she has come back a better horse we think,” said Breckon.

“We are very lucky with her though because she doesn’t require a lot of work and from what Mark is telling me, she may be the best trotting filly he has ever sat behind. From the master himself, I’d say that bodes pretty well for the Oaks tomorrow and the season ahead,” he said.

That is some high praise from a man who has sat behind some incredible female trotting fillies when you consider names such as Pocaro, Escapee, Kylie Ree, Missandei and even Pride Of Petite whom he drove in one of her two three-year-old starts.

Tomorrow night (4 Apr.) High Energy makes her North Island debut in the G3 $27,000 What The Hill Northern Trotting Oaks with a view towards tackling the boys later in the month with the Sires Stakes 3YO Final and Northern Derby both on the radar.

The daughter of former NZ and Australian 2YO Filly of the Year in High Gait is unbeaten in six starts and despite being drawn the outside of the mobile barrier against seven quality female trotting sophomores, will start a warm favourite to make it a perfect seven wins on end.

Breckon was on hand recently to see his blue-blooded superstar in the making going through her gears in a private workout at Pukekohe in preparation for tomorrow night’s assignment.

“I saw her working at Pukekohe and while she hasn’t grown any taller, she has strengthened up a lot and filled out. She had a fantastic hit out and came home extremely quickly and while she probably struggled around the last bend, Mark said it was just a little shoeing issue,” he said.

Most horses face a steep learning curve when copping Alexandra Park for the first time under lights, however a couple of tomorrow night’s opposition have acquainted themselves with ease, such as the filly who got the closest to High Energy in the G1 Ace of Hearts late last year in The Ivy League.

She too is a blue blood daughter of Father Patrick being out of the G1 winner Habibti Ivy, and will offer a stern test for the Mark and Nathan Purdon runner.

Kiss And Run (What The Hill) did little wrong in running second in her first look right-handed in the NZB 3YO Trotters final last week, and the Tom Bagrie trained Walkinonsunshine (Creatine) should relish getting back to a mobile having showed she is capable of mixing it with the best in her sex when a luckless fourth in last season’s G1 finale.

All will be giving their best shot to fill place bearing dividends with G3 status for the Northern Trotting Oaks providing valuable black type for the future broodmares of the sport.

High Energy’s page is already chocka block with black print with her dam having won four G1’s herself and hailing from the vaunted Regal Volo family. It wasn’t a tough decision for Breckon to retain the first foal from High Energy despite the fact he and wife Karen sell upwards of 40 yearlings at Karaka each season.

“We always try and retain the first filly out of a new broodmare and for High Gait that was High On Love who was a nice wee trotter by a proven sire in Love You.

“High Energy was from one of the first couple of crops of Father Patrick and not that I ever doubted him, but I think there was a bit of doubt out there by the trainers about how Father Patrick was going in this part of the world. I have never held those concerns and always felt he was a superb cross for a lot of our trotting broodmare band and we have had some great early success with him.

“Other trainers and breeders are getting similar results now, but you do have a few concerns when you see new stallions coming down here and you’re trying to breed commercially, I’ve learnt over a number of years that sometimes you can be a bit early with them and get burnt and other times your timing can be perfect, and you get rewarded,” he said.

Also being rewarded are the Breckon Farms Super Six Syndicate with many of the members whether new to the sport or seasoned owners being newbies to racing a square gaiter.

“Guys like Phil Kennard have never been too brave buying trotters, I’ve managed to get him into a couple now but he’s very excited about this filly and so is everyone else in the ownership. We’ve bought quite a lot of new people into our syndicates now and I try and make sure that they have at least two trotters and two pacers.

“The lack of fillies and mares’ opportunities up until now is something that has probably discouraged people breeding and buying trotters fillies. I did smile because the NSW Trotting Oaks is $75,000 and while I know we have a G1 later in the year, I can’t help but feel we should have been holding these races a number of years ago. There are a lot of the fillies in the past who never raced or just found it too hard early on and the trainers just threw their hands up in the air. We have to start recognising them and it’s up to HRNZ to continue down this path,” he said.

Adding to the excitement of tomorrow night’s trotting feature is the race day debut of High Energy’s full sister in High Step who will contest the second heat of the inaugural Young Guns 2YO Trotting Series.

She is raced by the Breckon Farms Seven Hills Syndicate who are off to a flyer having already won the G2 Delightful Lady Classic with Treacherous Love back in March.

They have the added bonus of having two of their three trotting juveniles contest the second heat of the series with the aforementioned High Step in the All-Stars silks and Lovemeagain who is prepared by Tony Herlihy.

“I watched High Step work at Pukekohe last weekend, and she is a lot taller than her sister and trotted like a stag. She meets a good field first up, Nicky Chilcott has her very nice filly and we have another in the race called Lovemeagain who is probably six to 12 months away.

“I think High Step is the real deal and can give the race a real shake. She appears to be bullet proof but under the lights first up, who knows, but she seems to be a sensible filly. The wraps we are getting from the stable is that she is as good as High Energy. I don’t know about that, and time will tell but it’s very exciting for the syndicate,” he said.

With the High Gait production line churning out three well above average fillies, it was no surprise to see a Father Patrick colt out of the mare selling for $120,000 to the Purdon/Phelan barn at this year’s NZB sales.

Having missed last breeding season, Breckon was delighted to report that High Gait is in foal to the highest earning French bred entire of all time.

“High Gait is in foal to Bold Eagle and we have been fortunate enough to get four or five of our broodmare band in foal to him and we have one at foot now out of Luby Lou. It’s great to be getting access to these sorts of stallions and we are just trying to raise the bar all the time because you have to be doing it with your stock.

“It’s great to see What The Hill starting to do a job also. I think people may have felt his two-year-olds last year were a little disappointing and possibly they just needed a bit of time, but definitely this year they have come out of the blocks, and I hope Woodlands get a bit of success and payback because they have invested heavily to have a sire like him stand in the flesh,” Breckon said of tomorrow night’s Oak’s sponsor.

For complete Alexandra Park race fields, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink