Tiger Tara to stand at Medowie Lodge, NSW

Tiger Tara, the 2019 Horse of the Year and Grand Circuit champion and one of the greatest pacers ever raced in this country, will stand his first public season at the Medowie Lodge stud, of Darren Reay, near Newcastle.

His service fee is $3,500 including GST with chilled semen in Australia and frozen to NZ.

He served a few of his owner’s mares between racetrack campaigns and his first small crop of yearlings have been broken in and have shown up as natural, bold pacers.

In a career spanning eight seasons, Tiger Tara amassed $2,375,065 from 37 wins and 40 placings in 112 starts and took a mile mark of 1:49.8 – the fastest time ever recorded by an Inter Dominion champion.

He notched seven wins at Group 1 level and won a staggering 22 Group races overall and earned $100,000 or more in six consecutive seasons.

Tiger Tara, a top flight pacer and a real iron horse, won over all distances from 1609 to 2760 metres and emerged successful in three States in Australia and both islands of New Zealand.

Tiger Tara set the harness racing world abuzz from October 2018 to February 2019 winning seven races – six at Group level – highlighted by an unprecedented treble in Grand Circuit events – the Inter Dominion Final, A. G. Hunter Cup (smashing his own track record) and the Victoria Cup – by a combined margin of 41 metres.

Perhaps one of his greatest performances came in defeat however, when, after being required to overcome a difficult barrier draw and a torrid passage, he finished a nose second in the 2018 NZ Cup.

From 19 starts for this term he netted nine wins and seven placings for a season’s high $865,500 and was voted Australian Horse of the Year, NSW Horse of the Year and Grand Circuit champion.

                                                                                                    –Ashlea Brennan photo

Tiger Tara began his career as a two-year-old in NZ, placing in six of his nine starts including the Group 2 Welcome Stakes at Addington.

As a three-year-old Tiger Tara won seven of his 12 outings and $298,461 and was the highest stake earning colt of his year. At one stage he won six races on end including the Group 1 $222,000 Great Northern Derby at Auckland and the Group 1 $165,000 NZ Sires’ Stakes Championship at Addington and finished runner-up in the Jewels.

Tiger Tara won a further six races during his four and five-year-old campaigns highlighted by victories in the $240,000 NZ Free-for-all, Hannon Memorial, Canterbury Classic and Cheviot Cup.

Bought by the Pizzuto family in January 2017, Tiger Tara cut a swathe through cup and free-for-all ranks throughout the country for the next two years, winning such classics as the $100,000 Canadian Club Sprint, NSW Golden Mile, Renshaw Cup, Sydney Cup, Brian Hancock Cup and the Goulburn Gold Cup.

Contesting the Inter Dominion Championship for the first time, he won a 2100 metre heat in track record time at Bunbury defeating Lazarus, ran second in two other heats and was a close third to Lazarus and Chicago Bull in the $1.1 million Grand Final at Gloucester Park.

As a measure of his durability and soundness, Tiger Tara contested the NZ Cup on a record five occasions, finishing second twice, third and twice unplaced.

He is a classic combination of quality and power as could only be expected of a horse of his breeding.

By the great Bettor’s Delight, Tiger Tara, who was foaled in NZ’s Canterbury district in 2010, is from the great maternal family that has produced the Ballarat Cup and dual Inter Dominion heat winner A G’s White Socks, the Fremantle Cup winner Power Of Tara, Robyn’s Treasure (NZ Oaks), Salty Robyn (1:49.4), Sammy Maguire and among many others, including the NZ Easter Cup winner Matthew Lee.

Tara Gold, the dam of Tiger Tara, had a 100 percent record at stud with six winners from six foals of racing age, three of whom took records of better than 2:00.  She was by Dream Away from Atomic Gold, dam of three in 2:00, by Soky’s Atom from Vita Gold (dam of six winners), by Knowing Bret from Petronella, and tracing to the noted foundation mare Dolly (by Young Irvington).

Tiger Tara is a Cam Fella line horse – that which produced Fake Left – from a top maternal family, and boasts four strong crosses of the blood of Albatross. He should prove an ideal outcross to mares boasting Artsplace, Direct Scooter and Western Hanover blood, and others.

He is eligible for the $500 Colonial Stallion Rebate, NSW Breeders Challenge, NSW Blue Series, Breeders Crown, Bathurst Gold Crown and rich bonuses from Harness Racing NSW.

Bookings and further information from Richard Camilleri of Alphastud on phone 1300 078 237

by Peter Wharton