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.

The Nullarbor to Catch A Wave 

Catch A Wave (Captaintreacherous) achieved yet another moment of glory in a brilliant career when he won an unheralded second one million dollar race in the $1,250,000 The Nullarbor at Gloucester Park.

One year earlier the Captaintreacherous gelding captured the $1million Miracle Mile at Menangle.

Catch Wave won The Nullarbor in the manner of a true champion, and the large crowd accorded the five-year-old a great reception on his return to scale.

Summing up after the race, his driver Kate Gath said that he a got lovely three-wide trail in the bell lap.

“When I said go, he just put them away,” Gath said.

Catch A Wave began racing as a two-year-old when he included among his six wins the Breeders Crown and the APG Gold Sovereign. As a three-year-old he took the Vicbred Final, Australian Pacing Gold and APG Gold Bullion.

One of his memorable wins as a four-year-old was the Miracle Mile, and at the same age he won the Chariots of Fire and Breeders Crown.

Bought for $82,000 as a yearling, Catch A Wave has banked $1,799,588 from 21 wins and seven placings in 37 starts.

Bred by Benstud Standardbreds and Peter and Zilla O’Shea, the gelding is the third foal of the Menangle winner Coppagoodone (1:57), who left earlier winners in Yambukian 1:55.1 ($171,430) and Bettor Copagoodone 1:54.5 ($103,651), who is now at the stud in WA.

Coppagoodone, who won twice, was a Christian Cullen mare from the NZ and Victoria Oaks winner Copper Beach, by Beach Towel from Les Payzen Star, by Payson’s Brother from the New York Motoring mare Interchange.

This is the family that has produced top horses the calibre of Elsu, De Lovely, Zadaka, Revonez and many others.

The Highlight Reel unbeaten two-year-old

The Poster Boy colt The Highland Reel, who won the $250,000 Nutrien Equine Classic at Melton, is proving himself a star juvenile in Victoria this season.

His winning sequence of three two-year-old starts makes him the best of his age and sex by a wide margin, and he looks certain to be a force in the remaining juvenile classics.

An unusually well developed youngster, possessing both speed and stamina, The Highland Reel is a particularly easy going youngster and was the second leg of a double for Clayton Tonkin, who alos brought out the winner of the Nutrien Classic for two-year-old fillies in Miss Australiana. The Highlight Reel’s earnings are $141,400.

The Highlight Reel’s dam, Rockin Diva, was unraced, being by Rocknroll Hanover from Atworthy Maid, who was only lightly raced, and by the great American colt pacer Presidential Ball, a leading sire of two-year-olds in Australia and NZ.

Atworthy Maid was a half-sister to the Australian Pacing Gold and Tatlow winner Croesus and a smart trotter in Velvet’s Bee Gee, being out of Crown Velvet, by Thor Hanover from Purple Para, a top racemare of the Melbourne Showgrounds era.

The Highland Reel was bred by the Estate of the late Les Johnson, a prominent breeder in the NSW Riverina.

Miss Australiana is well bred

Miss Australiana (Captaintreacherous), the very impressive winner of the $250,000 Nutrien Equine Classic Final at Melton and is undefeated in two appearances, is a two-year-old filly who can claim some worthwhile blood.

By Captaintreacherous, she is out of the smart Bettor’s Delight mare Bettor Downunder 1:53.2 ($134,067), whose dam, Trebla Trebla, ranked as a sister to a useful pacer in Dash Of Class 1:55.8 ($175,997).

Bettor Downunder, who won twice at Listed level, left others in last season’s juvenile winner Topsies Bling (1:57.5) and Bettorsweetvictory. She is a half-sister to the exported Ideal Lifestyle 1:50.3 ($320,318), the Victoria Graduate winner Khafaji 1:53.9 ($164,496) and to Helens In Paradise, dam of the Melton victor Common Courtesy 1:53 ($102,220).

Miss Australiana was bred by Ballarat horseman Wayne Ronan and his son Connor, who have bred from this family extensively over three generations.

A half-brother by Stay Hungry to Miss Australiana was knocked down for $30,000 at the recent Nutrien Equine Melbourne yearling sale.

Siring feat to Volstead

Rather a notable siring feat was credited to the Cantab Hall horse Volstead at Melton last Saturday, when he left the winners of three of the four Haras Des Trotteurs Nutrien Equine Classics.

They were the two-year-old filly Prohibited Grace, the three-year-old gelding Derek The Jet and the three-year-old filly Maori’s Mac.

Volstead’s oldest stock are three-year-olds and they include the Vicbred champions Val Thorens and Violet Stanford, the Breeders Crown winner Nordic Reign, We Can Have It All (NZ Young Guns), Pinnie and Third Eye.

Volstead was the first son of Cantab Hall imported to Australia and his early crops have been most impressive. A second son of Cantab Hall in Pastor Stephen has received strong patronage at Llowalong Farms in Victoria, who will stand Volstead in the coming season.

Volstead, a Group 1 winner in Sweden, is closely related to the top Canadian trotter Perfetto.

Bay Of Biscay is top three-year-old

Winner of the Shakamaker Classic and runner-up in the Nutrien Classic as a two-year-old last season, the Somebeachsomewhere colt Bay Of Biscay downed some smart three-year-olds in the $150,000 Nutrien Equine Classic at Melton.

Bay Of Biscay has not done a great deal of racing, but has proved himself a young pacer of great ability. From nine starts he has won five and has been three times placed for $173,480 in stakes.

Bred by Alabar Bloodstock, Bay Of Biscay is the first foal of the outstanding racemare Nike Franco (1:48), a winner of seven races at Group level in three countries and $913,870 in stakes.

Nike Franco was a McArdle mare from a top flight NZ racemare in Nearea Franco 1:54.4 ($440,875), a Badlands Hanover mare who won 11 races including the Harness Jewels, Queen Of Hearts and Kaikoura Cup and became the dam of six winners.

Nearea Franco’s dam, the American bred No Paba, was a half-sister by Abercrombie to the champion North American colt pacer and sire Beach Towel.

Nutrien Classic winners from the same family

The Majestic Son two-year-old colt Rainbow Jester and the Volstead three-year-old filly Maori’s Mac, who won their respective Haras Des Trotteurs Nutrien Equine Classic Finals at Melton, both belong to the same family.

Rainbow Jester, who is undefeated in three attempts, was bred in NSW by John Markham and is out of Miss Maori Rainbow, by Sundon from Maori Australis, by Walton Hanover from Maori Trump, by Overtrick from the prized matron Maori Miss.

Rainbow Jester is the eighth foal of his unraced dam. 

Maori’s Mac, who was bred by Ballarat enthusiast Gary Toulmin, is from Maori Daunou, by Buvetier D’Aunou (grandson of Speedy Crown) from the Inter Dominion champion Sumthingaboutmaori, by Pine Chip from Maori Princess, a half-sister by Entrepreneur to Maori Australis, the grand-dam of Rainbow Jester.

Maori’s Mac is the seventh foal of the unraced Maori Daunou, who left earlier trotting winners in Maorisfavouritesun 1:55.1 ($214,574) and Maori Amour.

The Maori Miss family has earned a place all of its own in producing racemares such as Maori Time, Sumthingaboutmaori, Spidergirl – all Group 1 winners – and colts in the same class such as Maori’s Idol, Noopy Kiosk, Danny Bouchea, and others.

Classic trifecta for breeder

The $150,000 Haras Des Trotteurs Nutrien Equine Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings was a triumph for Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms as he bred six runners in the 11-horse field.

Three of his stock, Derek The Jet, a good type of gelding, Locksley Cavalier and Valtino finished first second and third respectively, while Val Thorens, Military Merit and Prohibited Love were among the unplaced brigade.

Derek The Jet, who is unbeaten in four starts, is out of the dual Group winner Cyclone Jeter (1:58.4) and is her first produce to race. Cyclone Jeter (by Majestic Son), who won 10 races, was a sister to the Great Southern Star winner Glenferrie Typhoon 1:53.5 ($561,169) and Cyclone Lucky Seven (1:56.3) and a half-sister to the former NZ mile record holder Cyclone U Bolt 1:54.5 ($230,225) and the cup class trotters Cyclone Jake 1:55.6 ($175,552) and Cyclone Dream 1:58 ($124,134).

Aardiebytheseaside’s WA Empress win

Aardiebytheseaside (Downbytheseaside), who won the Group 2 $75,000 Empress Stakes at Gloucester Park at her Australian debut, is a four-year-old mare by Downbytheseaside from Divine, an unraced mare by Christian Cullen.

She is a member of an old-time NZ family which has been represented by the current day stars Self Assured, Spirit Of St Louis and Betterzippit.

Divine was a Christian Cullen mare from the grand producer Soky’s Sunday, by Soky’s Atom from the Able Bye Bye mare Tabella Beth, the dam of the NZ Sires Stakes champion Spirit Of Zeus.

Spirit Of Beth, a sister of Spirit Of Zeus, became the dam of the NZ country cups winner Victory Spirit (1:53) and the Gawler Derby winner United We Stand and the grand-dam of the megastar Lazarus.

Bred by Woodlands Stud, Aardiebytheseaside ranks as half-sister to the Timaru Winter Cup winner Easy Rider, the recent WA provincial winner Kingseat and to Rock And Roll, dam of the NZ country cups victor Airpark Flyer.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink