Millwood Nike in foal

Champion harness racing mare Millwood Nike (Captaintreacherous) is safely in foal to Art Major.

Breckon Farms Manager Nigel Fahy said the mare which has been on farm for five weeks, arrived from trainer Mark Purdon’s in great order and got in foal at her first attempt.

“There was a bit of chopping and changing between Ken, Karen (Breckon) and I and it got down to Art Major or Sweet Lou. In the end we kept coming back to Art Major who is doing such a great job at the moment with horses like Merlin but he’s getting older and may not be available for much longer while Sweet Lou will be around for a while,” he said.

What also swayed their decision was Art Major fillies are a valued breeding commodity and if Millwood Nike left a filly, that would suit the long term plan of the farm as they like to retain some of their fillies to preserve valuable bloodlines.

Fahy said Millwood Nike has been a ‘darling’ to deal with, getting in season when she was due and ovulating when she should have and making the whole process easy.

“Sometimes mares can be a bit highly strung. But when Ken and Karen go out to her paddock she drops her head and has a lovely personality.”

Bred by Katie Carville, Millwood Nike was purchased by All Stars Racing Stable at the 2021 NZB Standardbred Sales in Christchurch for $75,000.

She was raced by Frank Endacott, Steve Byrne, Steve Thompson, Bruce Irvine and Shane Endacott and won all seventeen of her starts – eight for Mark Purdon and Hayden Cullen and nine for Mark and Nathan Purdon. Six of her wins were Group Ones and her total stakes earnings were $690,932.

The four-year-old pacing mare was retired after the tendon tear that had sidelined her last December, reappeared.

Meanwhile at the end of November, Breckon Farms will start preparing a record 38 yearlings for the upcoming NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales in Auckland, set down for February.

This year the yearlings will be housed in the farm’s brand new 48 box state of the art stabling area.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink