Weekly Spotlight on Breeding

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

Lavra Joe leading WA three-year-old

When he won the $50,000 Western Gateway Pace last Friday Lavra Joe proved himself the top three-year-old in WA for the current season.

It was his second Group success on end, and he soundly trounced the best three-year-olds in WA in the Western Gateway after being required to overcome a difficult barrier draw.

In 27 starts Lavra Joe has now won 15 and been seven times placed for $202,846 in stakes for cattle farmer Ray Jones, who part-owns the colt.

Lavra Joe      —Daryl Hallows, Paceway Photos

Bred by Kevin and Annette Charles, Lavra Joe is by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Roll With Joe out of the Gloucester Park winner Lavra Florence (1:57.5), by Live Or Die from the In The Pocket mare Florentine Star (TT2:00.3), a half-sister to the Bendigo Cup and Inter Dominion heat winner Anvil’s Star 1:54.8 ($470,115).

Lavra Joe is the first foal of his dam.

Classic winners from same family

Two of Victoria’s star young trotters at present, and both winners of the $50,000 Vicbred Platinum Home Grown Classic at Melton, are Central Otago and Perfect Polly, both lightly raced and with very little between them.

Both trace to the Grand Monarch mare Maori Miss, a top racemare in her own right and who founded the leading trotting family in Australia today.

Bred by Pat Driscoll, Central Otago is a three-year-old colt by the French sire Love You out of the Inter Dominion Trotting champion Sumthingaboutmaori 2:00.9 ($461,499), by Pine Chip from Maori Princess, a Group 1 winner by Entrepreneur from Maori Trump, by Overtrick from Maori Miss.

Perfect Polly, who was bred and is raced by Richard Matthews, is a filly by Muscle Hill from the unraced Dream Vacation mare Dream Interest, who produced others in Keayang Yankee (1:55.4) and Keayang Majestic.

Dream Interest ranks as a half-sister to the Vicbred trotting champion Master Maori and to the dams of the multiple Group 1 winners Spidergirl, Illawong Armstrong, Kinvara Sue and Pretty Majestic.

The next dam, Maorimoon, was by Entrepreneur from Maori’s Glory, a triple Group 1 winner and by Red Coach Glory from the Kentucky mare Maori Mia, a half-sister to Maori Trump, the third dam of Central Otago.

Central Otago and Perfect Polly promise to be a force in the major trotting classics later in the year.

Group success for Techy’s Angel

Techy’s Angel, the convincing winner of the Group 3 Jodie’s Babe at Melton, continues to prove herself in the top bracket among the female pacers. She has eight of her 18 starts and $66,070 in stakes.

Techy’s Angel is a member of one of NZ’s most successful winning families, being a four-year-old Alta Christiano mare from a handy racemare in Venus Williams (1:55.3), a Washington VC mare who left an earlier winner in My Porsche (1:59.3).

Venus Williams was out of Mighty Dear, a noted producer by Surmo Hanover from Donna Dear, by Sly Yankee from the Young Charles mare Donna Charles, the dam of eight winners.

Mighty Dear produced two smart performers in Giddyupandgobaby (1:56), a winner of 11 races including the WA Golden Girls Mile, and the Gloucester Park winner Lavros Cam (1:56.7), who won 12.

Other members of this family, which was founded in NZ by the Prince Imperial mare Red Diamond, were cup class pacers in Don Domingo (1:51.8) and Ok Ado, The Phantom (Vic. 4YO Bonanza), As Happy As Larry (WA Easter Cup) and Country Ways (Geelong Cup).

Techy’s Angel was bred and is part-owned by Goulburn Valley breeder Mario Cirillo.

Top filly by Fly Like An Eagle

A top two-year-old filly in WA this year – she has won twice with a second in four starts – is Extraordinary Mary, a close relative of the former top WA stayer Buck The Odds.

Extraordinary Mary     —Daryl Hallows, Paceway Photos

Extraordinary Mary is a filly by Fly Like An Eagle (a Mach Three horse out of the Falcon Seelster mare Three Eagles) from Has The Looks, by Major In Art from the Die Laughing mare Marilyn’s Might, who proved a successful broodmare. Others from Marilyn’s Might were the Melton and Gloucester Park winner Might Be Luck 1:55 ($150,674), Marilyn Said (1:57.3) and the Perth winner Mister Mach (1:59.4).

Marilyn’s Might was a half-sister to the Inter Dominion heat winner Buck The Odds 1:55.6 ($307,547) and the WA Sales Classic winner Ultimate Consumer (1:57), being by Die Laughing from Marilyn Ann, by Hilarion from Desann, a half-sister by the dual-gaited Gerry Mir to the NZ Messenger winner Josias 1:58.2 ($153,650) and the cup class pacers Elias and Mathias.

Extraordinary Mary ranks as a half-sister to the Pearl placegetter Bettor Look and last season’s two-year-old winner Kissed By A Rose.

Kanena Provlima’s breeding background

Kanena Provlima, who posted his first success in Victoria since being shipped from NSW at Melton, has now won 13 races and is rated one of the brightest prospects in his class. He ranks as five-year-old half-brother by A Rocknroll Dance to a capable pacer in Aphorism 1:52.6 ($108,456).

Aphorism has already won twice at Menangle this year.

Mes Ti Tsepi, the dam of Kanena Provlima and Aphorism, was an In The Pocket mare from Kalypso (2:00.8), by Safely Kept from Willing Greek, has proved a successful broodmare. She is also the dam of So Ami I (1:59.2) and last year’s juvenile winner Delightful Me.

Mes Ti Tespi was not of much account herself but she was a half-sister to the Victoria and SA Pacing Cup winner Caribbean Blaster 1:52.6 ($1.1 million), now a successful sire), Protikori 1:59 ($212,109), the Caduceus Club 3YO Cup winner War Dan 1:50 ($195,673) and the Tasmanian Easter Cup victor Kalypson Kid 1:56.4 ($125,351).

This has been one of the most successful branches of the Coon family, Kalypso being a half-sister to the NSW Breeders Challenge winners Grand Stride 1:52.4 ($324,658) and Sapphire Stride 1:52.2 ($134,115), the Tatlow Memorial winner Katasopos and the Moonee Valley winner and Group placegetter Arivee (1:59.3).

Leading sire dominates Bathurst

Racing at the Bathurst Gold Crown carnival further emphasized the dominance of Captaintreacherous on this season’s two-year-old racing.

The son of Somebeachsomewhere sired five winners on the first two nights including three heat winners of the Gold Crown in Nineteenth Man, Lightning Dan and Master Stride. The ‘Captain’ also produced the Gold Tiara heat winners Eye Can Fly and Captains Queen.

Other Tiara heat winners were Martini Stride (by Somebeachsomewhere), Just Hope (by Bettor’s Delight) and Silk Cloud (by Shadow Play).

Take Out (by Well Said), Im In Trouble (by Art Major) and Mister Rea (by Pet Rock) won the other Gold Crown divisions.

SA Sapling Stakes winner

The Sapling Stakes, the first South Australian classic for two-year-olds and run at Globe Derby Park, was won easily by the debutant Major Lincoln.

Major Lincoln was a SA Yearling Sale purchase in 2020, and is a gelding by the Artsplace horse Art Major from the capable racemare Lincoln Beach Girl (1:54.1), by Jenna’s Beach Boy from the Falcon Seelster mare Tell A Franco (1:59.4), dam of Tellmetoattack, who won the Bridgetown Cup the day after Major Lincoln won.

Tell A Franco, who won five races in Victoria, was out of the El Patron mare Tango Franco, a half-sister to the champion pacer and Miracle Mile winner Franco Tiger TT1:53.9 ($991,387).

Major Lincoln was bred by former Harness Breeders Victoria president Shannon Nixon and his wife Meaghan.

Blue blooded filly

Beach Memories, a stunning debut winner at Kilmore recently, is a filly who can claim some worthwhile blood.

By Somebeachsomewhere, she is out of a fine racemare in Distant Memory 1:55.1 ($173,155), who won six races as a two-year-old including the Vicbred Final and Bathurst Gold Tiara and became the dam of the Group winning mare Hows The Memory 1:50.1 ($154,424) and Delightful Angel (1:55.5).

Distant Memory was one of the many grand producing daughters of a champion sire in Troublemaker, being out of a noted producer in Macrandra, by Classic Garry from Melanie (2:00.5), a Listed winner by Nero’s B B.

Macrandra was the dam of 13 individual winners, seven of whom took records of 2:00 or better including a smart racemare in Sahara Miss (1:54.4), who, in turn, proved a top broodmare being the dam of the Group winners Sahara Sirocco (1:53.8) and Starofsahara (1:56.2).

Beach Memories was bred by Denis and Jo Howe, of Wagga.

First winner by Kvintet Avenger

The Love You horse Kvintet Avenger, who was bred in Finland and won several cups in Australia and who is now at the stud in Victoria, was represented by his first winner when the two-year-old filly Stingofawasp was successful recently at Maryborough.

Stingofawasp had been placed at one of his two previous starts.

Raced and trained by his breeder, Brad Angove, who also trained Sundon’s Courage, Stingofawasp is out of the Pegasus Spur mare Just Spur Me On, whose dam, Seren Kate (by Chiola Hanover), was a sister or half-sister to the dams of the top flight NZ trotters Romper Stomper and Romper’s Monarchy.

by Peter Wharton