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.

Don Hugo’s family background

Don Hugo (Art Major), who won the $1.97 million TAB Eureka at Menangle, is a Queensland bred four-year-old with an interesting and successful family background.

Bred by Adam Cahill, of Brisbane he was got by Art Major from Cinco Amigos NZ, a North Island bred mare by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight. Don Hugo, who took a record of 1:49.6 in March, has run up a tidy score of 11 wins and 16 placings from 37 starts for $1,244,174 in stakes.

Don Hugo’s dam, Cinco Amigos, was an unraced mare by Bettor’s Delight, and is her first foal. Cinco Amigos was out of a handy racemare in Eyre To The Throne, who took a mark of 1:58.9, won three of her five starts and became the dam of winners in Cyclone Kate 1:50.3 ($341,723), a Breeders Crown champion and five-time Group winner, the Cardigan Bay Stakes winner Cyclone Prince (1:57.1), the Menangle victor Artemis (1:51.3), Senora Rapido (1:53.7) and Cyclone Milly (1:53.9).

Eyre To The Throne was a Presidential Ball mare from Erin Brockovich, by In The Pocket from a fine racemare in Advance Debra, by Vance Hanover. Besides Eyre To The Throne, Erin Brockovich, who was only lightly raced, left a capable pacer in Passion Stride (1:53.4), who won 16 races, Julia R (4 wins), the dam of the Listed winner Chattanoogachoochoo (1:54.5) and Chittybangbang (1:53.5) and also Snug Harbor, a Bettor’s Delight mare who became the dam of the NSW Group 3 winner Redbank Addi 1:51.4 ($222,414), the exported Three Of The Best 1:50.2 ($268,759) and the recent Melton winner Thesunandthemoon (1:57.5).

Erin Brockovich was a sister to the outstanding pacer and five-time Derby winner Courage Under Fire ($1.4 million), later a successful sire in NZ and Australia, and Advance Attack, a top flight NZ juvenile who is now siring winners in WA.

Vicbred semi winners from one family

One of the most interesting features of the Vicbred Super Series for pacers at Melton was the fact that four of the semi-final winners in Always Hot, Go Miki (both by Always B Miki), Best Deal (by American Ideal) and Let Her Roll (by Sweet Lou) all belong to the one family.

All four trace back to the Windshield Wiper mare Larrakeyah Lady, a Vicbred champion herself and who has had a terrific influence on light harness breeding in Australia. Few individual families have played a greater part.

Always Hot, who is unbeaten in three starts, and Go Miki are both Always B Miki two-year-old colts out of full sisters, the former being from the Mach Three mare Our Celebrity (1:55.1), a Group 2 winner of $130,019, and the latter from Celebrity Guest (1:55.2).

Best Deal, a winner of six of his seven starts, is a three-year-old American Ideal colt from the dual Listed winner Starburst Girl 1:53.6 ($143,670), an Art Major half-sister to Our Celebrity and Celebrity Guest.

Let Her Roll, who has won five out of six, is a two-year-old filly by Sweet Lou from a fine racemare and Vicbred Final winner in Rocknroll Magic 1:54.5 ($466,183), by Rock N Roll Heaven from All The Magic, by Live Or Die from Celebrity Ball, the second dam of the other three semi-final winners.

Siring feat to Volstead

Rather a notable siring feat was credited to the Cantab Hall horse Volstead at Geelong last weekend, when he sired four heat winners in the Vicbred Super Series.

He made a clean sweep of the three-year-old fillies’ division with Violet Stanford, Keayang Zahar and Worth Waiting, while the three-year-old gelding Derek The Jet extended his unbeaten winning skein to six in his heat.

Volstead’s oldest stock in Australia are three-year-olds and also include the Group/Listed winners Maori’s Mac, Nordic Reign, Val Thorens, We Can Have It All, Pinnie and Prohibited Grace.

Volstead was the first son of Cantab Hall imported to Australia, and his first two crops have been most impressive. Another two sons of Cantab Hall are On A Streak (Haras Des Trotteurs), a USA Breeders Crown champion at two, and the millionaire Pastor Stephen (Llowalong Farms) both are standing in Victoria, while the frozen semen of Father Patrick is available from Nevele R Stud.

Geelong track record

A fresh track record rating for 2100 metres from the mobile barrier was established by the Muscle Mass entire The Locomotive of 1:57.9 – better the previous record of 1:58.2 held by Ollivici by 3/10th second – when he won a heat of the Vicbred Super Series at Geelong.

The Locomotive, the Vicbred champion at 2 and 3, is a member of the same family as the Vicbred final winner Betty Hall.

The Locomotive ranks as a brother-in-blood to the thrice Group 1 winner Dance Craze 1:55.6 ($551,780) and dual Group winner La Grange 1:54.2 ($172,236), being by Muscle Mass from the outstanding racemare La Coocaracha 1:58.5 ($428,911), whose dam Poetry was by Kentucky (a leading son of Tar Heel) from Morley Doll, by Royal Dollar from the Oaks winner Sheffield Morley, by Sheffield Globe.

La Coocarcha was a sister to the Moonee Valley winner Rivertalk and a half-sister to the exported Blake Castle 1:53.2 ($265,498) and Meredith Castle, who became the dam of cup class trotters in Iona Grinner 1:55.1 ($263,395), Garland Greene (1:56.8) and Berriesandcherries.

The Locomotive was one of three Vicbred heat winners bred by Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms, the others being the three-year-olds Derek The Jet and Valtino.

NSW Breeders Challenge Blue double

The Woodhouse family, who for many years conducted Yirribee Pacing Stud at Wagga (NSW), produced the winners of two Group 2 $100,000 NSW Breeders Challenge Blue winners at Menangle.

Soho Darknstormy, a colt by the former NZ superstar Lazarus and one of his second crop, led from end-to-end in the two-year-old colts and geldings’ final, while Soap Opera (by Warrawee Needy) came from last to capture the three-year-old fillies’ decider.

The winner of two of his five starts, Soho Darknstormy is out of The Blue Lotus NZ (1:56.6), a half-sister to the double Jewels winner and successful colonial sire Tintin In America 1:53.2 ($906,422), being by Grinfromeartoear from Zenterfold, by In The Pocket from the New York Motoring mare Zenola Star.

The Blue Lotus produced earlier winners in Blackened (1:52.8), Sapphiresndiamonds (1:54.3), Amazon Lily (1:57.6) and The Blue Beat (1:57.9).

Soap Opera, who also won the $50,000 APG Queensland Gold Bullion, is from the smart racemare Boldandbeautiful (1:59.2), by Albert Albert from Serene Queen, by Gammalite from the grand producer Taurus Lady.

Soap Opera is the ninth foal of Boldandbeautiful, whose family includes such horses as the NSW Breeders Challenge winner Its Only Rocknroll, Jay Ok (1:49.7), Replaced Eye, Duel Prince, Morgan Abby and the star WA racemare Double Expresso.

Reinette was sold for $15,000

Reinette, who won the Group 1 $215,000 Westbred Classic for two-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park, was knocked down for a modest $15,000 at last year’s Australian Pacing Gold Perth sale. She has won $160,676 in his first campaign, and on the strength of her latest success she looks a cheap buy.

By the Art Major horse Vincent, she is out of Aqueensomewhere (1:57.3), who ranked as a half-sister to the multiple Group winner Jumbo Operator and to Not Now Delilah, dam of the outstanding WA racemare Wonderful To Fly 1:53.6 ($742,744).

Reinette was bred by Dennis Roche.

Tasmanian Sweepstakes winners

Snowiewillrev (by Stay Hungry) and The Bride (by Poster Boy), the winners of the Tasmanian Sweepstakes for two-year-olds, run at Hobart, are both members of old-time Victorian families.

Snowiewillrev, who is undefeated in four outings, is a gelding by the Somebeachsomewhere horse Stay Hungry and one of his first crop, out of Banking On You, by Armbro Operative from the Queensland Oaks and Vicbred winner Handibank (1:59.8).

Unraced, Banking On You produced others in the country cups winner Pay Rise (1:56.4), the Menangle winner Fear The Banker (1:51.4) and Bankroll. Snowiewillrev was bred by Ballarat breeder Gary Toulmin.

The Bride, who has won four on end, is a filly from another first season sire in the all-American bred Poster Boy (a Somebeachsomewhere horse from an Artsplace mare) out of the smart racemare Belliciouslips (1:55.9), by Sutter Hanover from Ima Blue Bell, by Golden Greek from Ima Blue Chip, by Perfect Blue Chip from the Richmond mare Imamiss.

The Bride ranks as a half-sister to the Raider Stakes winner Watchmylips. She was bred and is raced by Tasmanian identities Jamie Cockshutt and Barry Cooper.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink