Weekly spotlight on breeding

Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America brought to you by Yabby Dam Farms & Racing!

Yabby Dam Racing, principal Pat Driscoll’s dream to breed and race world class trotters was born after seeing a billboard on the Champs Elysees in Paris advertising the famous trotting race the Prix d’Amerique. Driscoll attended the Prix d’Amerique and immediately a love affair with the trotter was formed.

Driscoll spent the next five years visiting world class trotting establishments in Europe before embarking on his own venture here in Australia where he has lead the charge in the significant advancement of Southern Hemisphere trotting.

Along the way Driscoll formed friendships with many of Europe’s leading owners and breeder.

Siring feat to Sweet Lou

Rather a notable siring feat was credited to the Yankee Cruiser horse Sweet Lou at Gloucester Park last Friday, when he sired the winners of both $100,000 Westbred 4YO Classics in Never Ending and Zephyra.

Never Ending, a good type of gelding, is out of the Die Laughing mare Endless Journey, who produced earlier winners in the WA Pearl winner Isaiah Artois, Mandy Joan and Dibaba, all $100,000 winners.

Never Ending, who was bred by Steve Johnson, has won 14 races including seven at Group level and $528,065 in stakes.

Zephyra, a four-year-old mare, is from the former top racemare Tricky Styx 1:54.1 ($460,548) and is her first foal. Tricky Styx, who won five races in Group company, was a half-sister by Jereme’s Jet to the Pearl winner Go West U Terror 1:54.8 ($273,367), being out of Pocket Rain, by In The Pocket from Cosmic Rain, by Soky’s Atom from the Group 1 winner Rain Girl.

The winner of 10 races and $310,835, Zephyra was bred and is raced by Jesse Moore and his wife Maree.

The $1.25million The Nullarbor field

Half the field for the Group 1 $1,250,000 The Nullarbor, to be run at Gloucester Park on Friday night, were bred in New Zealand.

The quintet are Spirit Of St Louis, Hot And Treacherous, Jumpingjackmac, Blitzembye and Minstrel. Four were bred in WA namely Mighty Ronaldo, Swingband, Lavra Joe and Never Ending, while Catch A Wave was bred in Victoria.

Sweet Lou (Spirit Of St Louis and Never Ending), Captaintreacherous (Catch A Wave and Hot And Treacherous) and Alta Christiano (Mighty Ronaldo and Swingband) are dually represented.

Bettor’s Delight figures as the sire of Blitzembye and the damsire of Hot And Treacherous, Jumpingjackmac, Swingband and Mighty Ronaldo.

NSW Oaks candidate

Our Ultimate Ebony, a big Sweet Lou filly bred off Woodlands Stud in NZ, is the latest qualifier for the $200,000 NSW Oaks after winning the $30,600 South West and Riverina Oaks at Young in cavalier fashion.

A week earlier she ran third in the Golden Easter Egg at Menangle and from six lifetime starts she has won four times and has been twice placed.

She ranks as a sister to the NZ Sapling Stakes winner My Ultimate Chevron 1:52.5 ($132,197), being from the Bettor’s Delight mare Bet I Can, a sister to the exported American Delight 1:52.6 ($208,363) and a half-sister to the good Gloucester Park winner My Sweet Deal 1:55.7 ($104,239) and Opawa Louie (1:55.2).

Their dam, American Sweetheart, was an American Ideal mare from Sweet Vicky, by the dual NZ Cup winner Il Vicolo from the grand producer Soky’s Sweetheart, dam of a top flight NZ juvenile in Sweet Talking Man, the Breeders Crown champion Wartime Sweetheart and the dual NZ Group 2 winner Stylish Sweetheart.

The TAB Trot triumph

The result of the inaugural $600,000 The TAB Trot, run at Cambridge Raceway, proved a bonanza for newly crowned Victorian Breeder of the Year Pat Driscoll.

TAB TROT REPLAY

He bred and owns the sensational winner Just Believe and owns the runner-up Callmethebreeze, who he imported from France last year. 

Driscoll’s Haras Des Trotteurs’s stud is also the semen base for Orlando Vici, the sire of Just Believe, and the champion Love You, the sire of the third placegetter Queen Elida.

APG Gold Bullion winner

Soap Opera (Warrawee Needy), the convincing winner of the $50,000 Australian Pacing Gold Gold Bullion Final for three-year-old fillies at Albion Park, showed ability as a two-year-old last season when she finished second to More Sass in the APG Final.

She has opened her three-year-old season on a winning note and will be well in line for the major fillies’ classics.

She is a filly by the E Dee’s Cam horse Warrawee Needy (1:46.8) from the handy racemare Boldandbeautiful (1:59.2), the best of whose several progeny have been the NSW Breeders Challenge winner Its Only Rocknroll 1:50.8 ($551,013) and the Victorian Listed winner Morgan Abby 1:55.7 ($118,050).

Boldandbeautiful ranks as a half-sister to a smart pacer and NSW Carousel winner in Gold King, being by Albert Albert from Serene Queen, by Gammalite from the grand producer Taurus Lady, by Overtrick.

Boldandbeautiful was 20 when she left Soap Opera.

Don Lou in 1:49.9

Don Lou (Sweet Lou) has joined the growing list of pacers to enter the 1:50 list in Australia. He recorded 1:49.9 when he was successful at Menangle last Saturday.

Bred by Melbourne breeder Harvey Kaplan, Don Lou is a five-year-old by the Yankee Cruiser horse Sweet Lou – a champion pacer himself – from Flair For Life, by Life Sign from French Flair, by Preux Chevalier, an Inter Dominion and Miracle Mile winner and one of finest pacers bred in NZ.

Don Lou ranks as a half-brother to the Melton winner American Zest, who took a mile mark of 1:51.2 in America.

Gold for Chicago Bart 

Chicago Bart (Sweet Lou) is proving himself a smart three-year-old – he has won three of his seven starts to date including the $50,000 APG Gold Bullion Final at Albion Park in 1:52.9 – could develop into one of the best his age this season.

A colt by Sweet Lou, he is out of a Group 1 winner in New York Fashion 1:56.1 ($173,861), who ranked as a half-sister to Virage 1:53.7 ($158,079) and Arterial Way (1:55.8), dam of the triple Vicbred champion Maajida 1:50.3 ($684,518), the Bathurst Gold Chalice winner Lifeonthebeach 1:50.2 ($256,103) and We Salute You 1:51.3 ($233,044).

New York Fashion, who won 15 races, produced earlier winners in Artie’s Dime (1:56.4), Ruby Delight (1:56.8) and Lettucesomewhere (1:56.8), dam of last year’s NSW Breeders Challenge winner Nathan Street 1:50.5 ($152,745).

Bred by Dean Baring, Chicago Bart was a $50,000 buy at the APG Gold Coast sale in 2022.

Jillibyjacksparrow is well bred

One of the most capable young pacers racing in Victoria at present is Jillibyjacksparrow (Captaintreacherous), who is making rapid progress through the grades. The five-year-old won his eighth race when he led throughout at Melton recently.

Jillibyjacksparrow has a background of blood to back up his claims to further promotion, being by Captaintreacherous from Aqui A Mi Lado, by Rocknroll Hanover from Our Art Lover (TT1:57.6), by Artsplsace from the champion racemare Under Cover Lover.

Aqui A Mi Lado, who was unraced, left others in Joonior Brown (1:55.2) and Miss Lemon (1:58.1). She was a half-sister to a fine racemare in Our Classical Art 1:52.4 ($141,058) and Lost In Bangkok (1:55.6).

Jillibyjacksparrow was bred by well known Goulburn enthusiast Matt Day. 

Mickey Oh star sprinter

Mickey Oh (Racing Hill) advanced strong claims to being the best sprint pacer in Tasmania today when he scored a brave, fighting win in a career-best 1:55.4 in the Cavalor Equicare Elite at Hobart last Sunday.

It was his third win for the season. At his previous start he disposed of Windy Hanover and others in the Kevin Gillies Memorial at Launceston and before that he ran a close third in the $150,000 Tasmania Cup.

Mickey Oh has not done a great deal of racing, having averaged eight starts a season. In four seasons of racing Mickey Oh has won 15 races and has been nine times placed from 31 starts for $228,560.

By the Roll With Joe horse Racing Hill (the sire of 16 winners from 27 foals in a single Australian crop), he is out of Ark Breeze, by Stonebridge Regal (an Artsplace horse from the Esther family) from Ark Drifter, by the free-legged horse Golden Greek from Triumphal Ark, by Title Holder.

Mickey Oh was bred by Lilydale breeder and is the first foal of the Granny Smith winner Ark Breeze, a half-sister to the Tasmanian classic winners Drifting West and Frankie Falzoni.

Cup winner by Changeover

The most important race of the Port Pirie calendar, the $25,000 Port Pirie Pacing Cup, was won by the Changeover gelding Lord Zarias, who downed the hot favourite Artillery in a tight finish.

Lord Zarias, who was bred by the legendary NZ horseman the late John Butcher, has been a widely travelled pacer. The gelding began his career in NZ, later shipped to Queensland where he won three at Albion Park and was then sent to South Australia, winning a further three races so far.

A six-year-old gelding, Lord Zarias is out of Desidi, a moderate racemare, by Live Or Die, a Die Laughing horse who topped the NZ sires’ list for winners on three occasions. 

Desidi was out of Desifalcon, by Falcon Seelster from Desero, by Nero’s B B from the Adover Rainbow mare Desette. This is the family of the outstanding NZ racemare and dual Auckland Cup winner Delightful Lady.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink