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.

Draw A Dream unbeaten two-year-old

Draw A Dream (He’s Watching), who is the 10th foal of her dam, stretched her unbeaten winning sequence to three when she annexed a semi-final of the Vicbred Super Series for two-year-old fillies at Melton with a good deal to spare.

The He’s Watching filly will be one of the leading fancies for the Group 1 $150,000 final at Melton on Saturday night.

A strongly built youngster, possessing both speed and stamina, Draw A Dream is a particularly ‘easy going’ juvenile and is prepared by the record-breaking Ballarat horsewoman Emma Stewart.

Draw A Dream’s dam, Illustrator, was only a moderate, being by Artiscape from Millburn Robyn (1:59.2), a Moonee Valley winner, and by the imported Holmes Hanover, who topped the NZ sires’ list on four occasions.

Millburn Robyn was out of Millburn Carolyn, by Farm Timer (son of Race Time) from Fancy Robyn, by the Adios horse Truant Hanover, an influential sire on both sides of the Tasman.

Draw A Dream ranks as a half-sister to the metropolitan winners Yankee Strutter (1:54), In A Rose Tattoo (1:56) and Graphics and to Image Of Starzzz, a winner at Kilmore on the following night as Draw A Dream won.

Breeding feat to Bruce Edward

Rather a notable breeding feat was credited to Ballarat breeders Bruce and Vicki Edward when they produced three semi-final winners of the Vicbred Super Series at Melton.

They were the two-year-old colt Stormryder (Captaintreacherous), the unbeaten two-year-old filly Draw A Dream (He’s Watching) and the four-year-old mare Talk Time (Captaintreacherous).

The couple also race Draw A Dream and Talk Time as well as Sweet Bella (by Sweet Lou), who captured a semi-final of the three-year-old fillies’ series.

Another of their stock, Paradise Valley, ran third in the first semi for three-year-old fillies.

Blue blooded youngster

Renewal (American Ideal) is proving herself a smart two-year-old filly – she has won three of her four starts to date including the Vicbred Super Series semi-final – and could develop into one of the best her age this season.

A filly by American Ideal (son of Western Ideal), she is out of the unraced Someone To Love, who ranks as a sister-in-blood to the champion racemare Ladies In Red and the Derby winner Our Little General and a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Our Little Jet and Perfect In Pink.

Raced by her breeder John McGeechan, Renewal is a half-sister to the Cobram Cup and Melton winner Curly James and the Albion Park winner and Group placegetter Amami.

Six wins on end

A bright future is being predicted for the Sunshine Beach four-year-old Eyethink, whose success in the Vicbred Super Series semi-final at Melton was his sixth in a row and the 10th for the season.

He has a good deal in favour on the score of blood. Apart from being by Sunshine Beach, and one of his largest Australian crop, Eyethink is out of the Western Ideal mare Sassy Rose, a half-sister to a fine racemare in Let’s Thank Heaven 1:52.8 ($324,930), being out of Our Run Gigi, by Vance Hanover from the Gammalite mare Gigi Boone and descending to the taproot Accident.

The family includes the Inter Dominion champion Baltic Eagle, the Derby winners Khan’s Thunder, Blueagle and Newsbreaker, the Oaks winners Arania, Hurrania and Swing Out Sister, the Australian 2YO Filly of the Year Ananz and others.

Eyethink was bred by Lyndon Turner and is the second foal of his unraced dam.

Came from last – and won!

The highlight of the Gloucester Park meeting was turned on by brilliant three-year-old Never Ending (Sweet Lou), who came from last and 10 lengths off the leaders to establish a new race record in the Group 2 $100,000 Allwood Stud Westbred Classic.

The Sweet Lou gelding circled the entire field in the space of a furlong approaching the bell and waltzed away from his rivals at the end to win untouched by 10 metres. 

NEVER ENDING REPLAY

Never Ending’s performance was an amazing one in every respect and prompted driver Gary Hall Jnr to make comparisons with Im Themightyquinn.

He is a son of the Yankee Cruiser horse Sweet Lou, a top pacer himself and now a leading sire in both hemispheres. Endless Journey, the dam of Never Ending, was a Die Laughing mare from the good producer Hold Tight, by Embrace Me (son of Albatross) from the Tarport King mare Stormy Port, champion two-year-old of her day, who won five classics.

Bred by Steve Johnson, Never Ending has won 10 of his 11 starts and $379,566 in stakes.

Siblings win on same weekend

Two of Australia’s star pacers at present, and both winners last weekend who promise to be a force in the upcoming feature races, are Rubin’s Plight and Kimble.

Rubin’s Plight, a four-year-old gelding, came from near last to win a semi-final of the Vicbred Super Series at Melton, while the five-year-old Kimble, a Vicbred champion himself, led throughout at Gloucester Park.

Both bred by the O’Connor family of Terang, are by Western Terror from Wrongly Accused (1:58.5), a Victoria Oaks heat winner, and who has also left Pardon Me (1:55.7), who won at her only two appearances.

Wrongly Accused was by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight from a useful racemare in Gross Misconduct (1:59.4), by Mach Three from Godet, by Payson’s Brother.

Won Norm’s Daughter

Little Bliss (Art Major), who won the Norm’s Daughter Stakes at Menangle in a new lifetime mark of 1:51.2, has now won 15 races and $207,406 and is rated one of the top racemares in NSW. She ranks as a six-year-old half-sister by Art Major to the brilliant pacer My Ultimate Ronnie (1:50.4), a winner of 16 races including two at Group level and $329,035.

Their dam, Gifted Bliss (1:54.5), a Menangle winner herself, was a Blissfull Hall mare from the good Harold Park and Menangle winner Lotus Lobell, by Jeremy Lobell.

Gifted Bliss, who won 10 races, was a half-sister to the Hondo Grattan Sprint winner Better Than Max 1:51.5 ($178,217), Major Statement 1:54.9 ($112,318) and the Menangle victor Jenelle’s Tristar (1:53).

A star from Frith

A star two-year-old in NSW so far this season is Dashing (Art Major), who was bred and is raced by Wagga identities Bernie and Dianne Kelly.

A colt by Art Major, he is out of a champion racemare in Frith 1:50.1 ($1.1million) and the second of her produce to race. Her first foal, Peaceful (1:51.7), is a NSW Listed winner and dual Group 1 placegetter.

Dashing has won three and been three times placed from seven starts and looks a two-year-old with the potential one would expect of his breeding.

August Moon is Oaks material

August Moon (Captaintreacherous), who won the $100,000 Westbred Classic at Gloucester Park and is regarded as WA Oaks material of the highest order, is a three-year-old filly by Captaintreacherous from My Samantha Jane, a smart racemare who took a record of 1:57.4.

She is a member of an old-time NZ family, which was represented by a 1:49.6 winner at Scioto Downs, Ohio in Mason’s Delight on the same day as August Moon won.

My Samantha Jane was an Extreme Three mare from Shadelands Shadow, by Badlands Hanover from Homin The Shade (1:58.3), by Holmes Hanover from the Smooth Fella mare Shadow Talk. 

Shadelands Shadow was a half-sister to the Redcliffe Derby winner Shady Falcon 1:57.6 ($109,619), the Wellington Cup winner Jet Black Shadow (1:56.5) and the Globe Derby Park victor Shady Su (1:57.2).

Tasmanian Sweepstakes winners

Hazewillrev (Art Major) and Swiatek Leis (Vincent) annexed the finals of the Tasmanian Sweepstakes for two-year-olds at Hobart.

A $45,000 purchase at the APG sale in Melbourne in 2022, Hazewillrev is unbeaten in four attempts to date and has banked $42,975.

Bred in Victoria by Bruce and Vicki Edward, the gelding has an all-American breeding background and one that has been very successful. He is out of the Stakes-winning mare Rockaround Sue 1:51 ($626,181), by the great Rocknroll Hanover from Promysquous Lady (1:53), by Pro Bono Best (son of Cambest) from Artful Mystique, by Artsplace and tracing eventually to a noted foundation mare in Minnehaha.

Swiatek Leis, who was bred and is raced by Trevor and Marjorie Leis, is from a useful racemare in Azarenka Leis, by Armbro Operative from Romanova Leis, by Torado Hanover from the outstanding racemare Valencia Bay, a winner of 23 races including the Tasmanian Pacing Championship and several Free-for-alls at the Melbourne Showgrounds.

Valencia Bay was a sister to the top Tasmanian pacer Joseph Scott, who, at one stage won 13 races in succession including the Derby, Pacing Championship and Metropolitan Cup.

Azarenka Leis, who won eight races, ranks as the dam of Volkova Leis, who was placed in the Sweepstakes, and the dual Tasbred finalist Szabolski Leis (1:56.7).

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink