Weekly spotlight on breeding

Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents all the harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America every week brought to you by Garrard’s Horse & Hound.

Bulletproof Boy star sprinter

Bulletproof Boy (Art Official) advanced strong claims to being one of the best sprint pacers in Australia today when he scored a convincing win in the $50,000 Smoken Up Sprint at Melton.

It was his fourth success at Group level. Last year he captured the Shire Of Melton Sprint and one year earlier he won the Smoken Up Sprint at Bendigo.

Bulletproof Boy has been a most consistent campaigner since he began racing as a two-year-old. In five seasons of racing Bulletproof Boy has won 36 races and has been 39 times placed from 164 starts for $479,375.

By the Art Major horse Art Official, he is out of Riviera Girl, by Red River Hanover (a brother in blood to Rocknroll Hanover), from Dance Trix, by Holmes Hanover from Woodpecker, by Lordship.

Dance Trix, the grand-dam of Bulletproof Boy, was a sister to a fine racemare in Dancingonmoonlight 1:53.2 ($375,674), who, in turn, was the dam of a brilliant sprinter in Moonrock 1:52.3 ($220,422) and the Breeders Crown champion Miss Moonlite 1:54.7 ($184,249).

WA Oaks winner

When she won the $150,000 WA Oaks at Gloucester Park, August Moon (Captaintreacherous) scored her fourth Group/Listed success, and she is entitled to be rated as this season’s top three-year-old filly in WA.

Earlier in the season August Moon won the $100,000 Westbred Classic, the $50,000 WA Sales Classic and the Dainty’s Daughter.

From 11 starts she has won nine times and been once placed for $252,660 in stakes.

By the leading sire Captaintreacherous, August Moon is out of a fine racemare in My Samantha Jane 1:57.4 ($166,426) and the first of her produce to race. 

My Samantha Jane, who won 15 races, was by Extreme Three (brother to Mach Three) from Shadelands Shadow, a half-sister to the Redcliffe Derby winner Shady Falcon and the Wellington Cup winner Jet Black Shadow, being by Badlands Hanover from the smart racemare Homin The Shade (1:58.3), by Holmes Hanover.

The family descends through mares by the top sires and broodmare sires Smooth Fella, Armbro Del, U Scott and Wrack to the noted foundation mare Verity (by Vancleve). Jamcaro, the 1988 WA Oaks winner is also a member of this family.

A product of the APG yearling sale in Perth in 2021, August Moon was bred by the late Harry Capararo.

Classic winning line

Shes Ruby Roo (Creatine), the upset winner of the $50,000 Need For Speed Princess at Melton, is a close relative of previous Need For Speed winners Eljaykay Phoenix (2015) and Justa Phoenix (2011).

Bred by Benstud Standardbreds, Shes Ruby Roo was gotten by the Andover Hall horse Creatine, and one of his second Australian crop, from Princessa Ruth, by Down Under Muscles from the Wagon Apollo mare Dodo Rocket, who founded a great winning line for Ash Haynes, Chris Shaw and Ted and Brian Payne.

She left the dual Group 1 winner Princess Phoenix, the Melton winner Veruckte Phoenix, the Vicbred and Breeders Crown finalist Hadrian’s Phoenix and the unraced Maple Eve Phoenix, dam of the 2YO Trotter of the Year and four-time Group 1 winner Eljaykay Phoenix and the multiple Group placegetter Peregrine Phoenix.

Another of Dodo Rocket’s dam in Fortunate Phoenix figures as the dam of the Inter Dominion heat winner and Vicbred 3YO Final runner-up Ofortuna.

Won Frith Stakes

Braeview Kelly (Bettor’s Delight), the brilliant winner of the Frith Stakes at Menangle, continues to prove herself in the top bracket among the pacing females in NSW.

She is a member of one of New Zealand’s most successful families, being a five-year-old Bettor’s Delight mare from Idolise, an American Ideal mare who has produced others in the undefeated Southern Supremacy Stakes winner Ohoka Connor (1:55.6) and the Perth victor Cut N Run (1:56.1).

Idolise was out of Imprint (1:58.4), a noted producer by Life Sign from Impish (1:54.9), by Falcon Seelster from the El Patron mare Smarty Pants, dam of NZ’s first sub 1:50 pacer Smart Son (1:49.6).

Imprint produced two high class pacers in Dibaba 1:51.6 ($282,754), winner of the NZ Premier Mares Championship and Southland Oaks, and Opulent 1:54.9 ($269,515), whose 18 successes included the NZ Caduceus Club Classic. Others from Imprint were the WA The Warwick winner Idealindiamonds (1:56.2), Carbon Zero (1:55.8) and Imola (1:58.8).

Imprint was a half-sister to six winners including the NZ Listed winner The Fascinator 1:53.9 ($155,162), Simon (1:55.9), Crackabella (1:56.7) and to the lightly raced Giveitawhirlgirl, dam of the NZ Great Northern Oaks winner Twist And Twirl 1:56 ($283,258), the dual Listed winner Bettor Give It and Feels Like Magic 1:51 ($261,728). 

But the second generation of Imprint’s family has bred on with the same distinction as she did. She figures as the grand-dam of the champion pacer King Of Swing 1:47.9 ($3.3million), the dual Inter Dominion heat winner Mach Dan 1:50.3 ($839,585), the dual Oaks winner Bettor Twist 1:52.1 ($605,437), and others.

The Locomotive top three-year-old trotter

There was never much doubt that The Locomotive (Muscle Mass) was the season’s top rating three-year-old trotter as he was the previous season at two years, and he duly confirmed his class by winning the $50,000 Need For Speed Prince Final at Melton.

Actually he was a class above his rivals, and was not seriously tested in running out the 1720 metres in 2:05.8, a mile rate of 1:57.7.

His sire, Muscle Mass (by Muscles Yankee) has sired the Redwood winners Illawong Byron and Mexicana, the Derby winner Custodian, the Oaks winners Aldebaran Floss and Chevron Express and other top trotters in Massive Metro, Credit Master, Carnera and Miracle Rising.

The Locomotive is out of the champion racemare La Coocaracha, by Safely Kept from Poetry, by Kentucky from Morley Doll, by Royal Dollar from the Oaks winner Sheffield Morley, by Sheffield Globe.

La Coocaracha, the dam of 10 winners, was a half-sister to a smart pacer in Blake Castle, who took a record of 1:53.2 in America, and to Meredith Castle, dam of the cup class trotters Iona Grinner and Garland Greene.

Other members of this family have been Dance Craze (Aust. Trotting Grand Pix and Great Southern Star), the Breeders Crown champion Reina Danzante, Paula Morley and Cocosfella (1:50.8).

First Dance is well bred

First Dance (A Rocknroll Dance), who won a heat of the Victoria Oaks at Melton, has now won six races and is rated one of leading chances for tomorrow night’s $150,000 Final. She ranks as a three-year-old half-sister by A Rocknroll Dance to the free-for-all pacer Triple Eight, who ran second in the Smoken Up Sprint on the same night.

Slangevar, the dam of First Dance and Triple Eight, is a Cameleon mare from Lucky Chip, by Transport Chip from the Lordship mare Luckyship and has proved a most successful broodmare. She is the dam of the Australian metropolitan winners Cheers Kathy (1:54.7) and Little Suzie (1:55.2) and the NZ winners Prince Of Pops 1:51.6 ($177,086), First Home (1:56.3) and Down The Hatch (1:56.6).

Slangevar was not of much account herself but she was a half-sister to Mr Williams 1:56.7 ($118,223), the Menangle winner Piper Heidsieck (1:53.4) and the exported Yachi Da (1:55).

This has been one of the most successful branches of the Entice family, Lucky Chip being a half-sister to the Wyndham Cup winner Jour de Chance and to the unraced Innluck, dam of the NSW Tatlow winner Just Okay and the exported Less Than Ordinary (1:55.4).

Noted family of trotters

Keayang Chucky (Love You), the winner of the Tornado Valley Trot series and before that runner-up in the Vicbred Final, is one of the best four-year-old trotters in Australia at present.

He has won $83,100 in stakes, a worthwhile return for the $52,500 paid for him as a yearling at the APTS trotting sale in Melbourne in 2020. By the French stallion Love You (a leading sire in Europe, Australia and NZ), he is out of Sun Goddess, by the champion Sundon from Elgin Princess, by Paul Evander (son of Great Evander) from Elgin Lady, by Tuft from the Dominion Handicap winner Tronso.

Keayang Chucky is the best winner from this family in recent years but in earlier decade it produced a top young trotter in The Bohemian, who won 10 races including the Victorian and NSW Derbies. 

The Breeders Crown champion War Spirit, Dieu De L’Amour ($171,415), the country cups winner Bellingham and Over The Love were other smart trotters from this tribe.

Keayang Chucky was the first of two feature race winners bred on the night by Pat Driscoll, who also bred the winner of the Need For Speed Prince Final, The Locomotive.

Brother and sister

Two of Australia’s star trotters at present, and both winners last weekend who promise to be a force in the trotting features later in the season, are Queen Elida and Toro Stride.

Both bred by Southland breeder Gordon McKenzie are by Love You from Queen Kenny, a smart trotter herself, and who ranks as a sister to the Menangle winner Princess Kenny (1:55.3) and a half-sister to others in Here Comes Kyvalley (9 wins), Our Golden Kenny and Royal Kenny.

Queen Kenny was by the Balanced Image horse Monarchy from Nice One Kenny, by Sundon from the grand producer Frances Jay Bee, by Pointer Hanover. 

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink