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.

Dangerous is Inter Dominion Final bound

Dangerous (Sweet Lou), who won the fastest qualifying heat of the final round of the Inter Dominion Championships at Menangle and who is proving the surprise package of the series, is a four-year-old entire by Sweet Lou from Ark Monroe, a useful racemare who took a record of 1:55.5.

He is a member of an old-time Australian family which was represented by a winner at Albion Park in the two-year-old Achy Breaky Ark one night before Dangerous won.

Ark Monroe was a Presidential Ball mare from Ark Maree, by Torado Hanover from Arklaine, by Holly Sand from the Pipiriki mare Arkriki. Ark Monroe is also the dam of a useful pacer in Eleniark 1:51.8 ($203,855), now racing in America, and the SA Derby heat winner Dee Roe (1:53.3).

Ark Maree was responsible for a most successful branch of this family. She is the dam of 10 individual winners including the Queensland Derby winner Arkamigo 1:56.2 ($293,474), the Inter Dominion heat winner Atomic Ark TT 1:54.1 ($435,113) and the Listed winners Arkareena (1:56.5) and Ark De Ville (1:56.5).

Others from this fine family have been Ghadastar (Tas. Oaks), the NSW Derby heat victor Monarckmac, Air Express (1:53), Ark Alencon (1:54.6) and Rocknroll Noah (1:54.1).

Dangerous was bred by Melbourne enthusiast Harvey Kaplan.

Captain’s Knock tops Inter point scorers

The Captaintreacherous four-year-old Captain’s Knock was the leading point scorer for the Inter Dominion and he is entitled to be one of the favourites for Saturday night’s $500,000 Grand Final. He sandwiched heat wins at Menangle and Newcastle with a close third at Bathurst.

Captain’s Knock, who was bred by John and Kristen Rutter, was an Australian Pacing Gold purchase in 2021 in Sydney and is an entire by the Somebeachsomewhere horse Captaintreacherous from Scarlet Finn, a NZ bred mare by In The Pocket from Went Motoring, by New York Motoring from Went Overboard, by Butler B G from the broodmare gem Zenover.

The most distinguished member of this family was a champion NZ pacer in Elsu, who won 27 races – 11 at Group 1 level – and $2 million in stakes including the 2005 Inter Dominion Final at Alexandra Park.   He later became a very successful colonial bred sire.

Stormryder bred to be good

Stormryder (Captaintreacherous), who won the Gordon Rothacker Memorial Championship Final at Melton, is a three-year-old colt expected to graduate far beyond his present rating.

Bred by Bruce and Vicki Edward, Stormryder has a good deal more in his favour on the score of blood than most. By the champion sire Captaintreacherous, Stormryder is out of the Art major mare The Baggy Green (1:57) whose dam was a fine racemare in Lady Waratah 1:59.5 ($564,77), the winner of 20 races and who left horses the calibre of Steno 1:51.9 ($483,783) and Some Waratah 1:50.3 ($242,103). 

Lady Waratah, a dual Breeders Crown champion, was sired by Walton Hanover from Waratah Way, by Tompkins Hanover from Yankee Leanne, by Select Yankee from Bernie’s Sister (dam of 9 winners), by Gay Reveler.

The family traces back eventually to the NSW bred mare Miss Tommy, who founded one of the greatest sources of speed in the Australian stud book.

From the Bernie’s Sister branch of it and to which Stormryder belongs, others in the millionairess Frith, the Derby winners Albert Kelly and Greg Kelly, McRae’s Mate, The Mustang (1:49.6), Tim’s A Trooper and Molly Kelly (NSW Breeders Challenge) are also members.

Won San Simeon

Golden Lode, a three-year-old by Always B Miki from the Group 1 winner Yankee Dream (1:54.9), by Dream Away from the Western Australian bred Acropolis, by Abercrombie, failed to win a race in eight starts as a two-year-old last season.

But the Always B Miki gelding has proved himself to some purpose in his three-year-old racing, and he won the $50,000 San Simeon at Gloucester Park in a new lifetime mark of 1:55.2 for 2130 metres.

It was Golden Lode’s 10th success for the season and his mile rating of 1:55.2 was put up when he had nothing in his favour, drawing wide on the front row and being obliged to race three deep for the last 1000 metres. He is a very good youngster.

Golden Lode was bred by the NZ branch of Alabar Bloodstock.

Breeding double

Ballarat breeder Pat Driscoll bred the winners of both final round heat winners of the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship at Menangle last Saturday in The Locomotive and Parisian Artiste.

The Locomotive, who is unbeaten in the series, is a four-year-old Muscle Mass entire out of a champion racemare in La Coocaracha, by Safely Kept from Poetry, by Kentucky from Morley Doll, by Royal Dollar.

La Coocaracha, a dual Inter Dominion heat winner herself, has left 10 individual winners including the 10-time Group winner Dance Craze, the Breeders Crown and Vicbred champion Reina Danzante, Mataderos and La Grange, all trotters of some worth.

Parisian Artiste, the winner of 13 races and over $200,000, is a six-year-old gelding by Love You from Schleck, by Muscle Mass from the Harness Jewels winner Merckx, by Dream Vacation from Cipollini, by Sergio Hanover from Broomfield Ann, and thus a member of the same family as the 1998 Inter Dominion champion Buster Hanover and other fine trotters in Lemond, Il Pirata, Dead Cat Bounce and Gimondi.

Driscoll has brought out four runners for next Saturday’s $150,000 Trotting Grand Final in The Locomotive, Parisian Artiste, Royal Dan and Keayang Chucky.

Well related three-year-old

Gotta Lockheed (Bettor’s Delight), who led throughout to win the Tasmanian Guineas at Hobart, showed ability as a two-year-old last season when he won a heat of the NSW Bred series.

He has been one of the ‘finds’ of the Apple Island three-year-old racing, winning two of his three starts and will be well in line for next season’s four-year-old classics.

He is a gelding by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight from Gotta Go Jazzy Jet (1:54.8), the dam also of this year’s Bathurst Gold Tiara winner Bittersweet.

Gotta Go Jazzy Jet was out of the Harness Jewels winner Gotta Go Harmony 1:55.5 ($205,909), whose dam, Elect To Live, won three Oaks classics and the Australian Derby and was one of the best racemares of the early 2000’s.

Gotta Lockheed was bred by Phil and Denise Thurston, of Celestial Standardbreds, Forbes (NSW).

SA Trotters Derby winner

The SA Trotters Derby, one of the features of the summer racing at Globe Derby Park, was won by Distant Sun, a well fancied gelding by Lucky Chucky from Itsgettingcalder.

Lucky Chucky, a $2 million winning son of Windsong’s Legacy, was the leading two and three-year-old trotter in North America of his time and has been a successful sire in America, Europe, Australia and NZ. 

Itsgettingcalder, the Group 1 winning dam of Distant Sun, was by the French bred Ganymede, who also distinguished himself as a leading sire of trotters, from Calder Image, by Balanced Image and tracing to Maori Miss, dam of Maori’s Idol, rated the finest trotter bred in this country.

This branch of the Maori Miss tribe was bred from extensively over three generations by the late Rick Burchell and includes the dual Derby winner and Vicbred champion Blitzthemcalder ($432,149), Gee Cee Calder (1:57), the dual Group 1 placegetter Smaththemcalder and the Victorian country cups winners Lightning Calder and Calder Sensation.

Yabby Dam Farms at NZ yearling sales

The Victorian-based Yabby Dam Farms will be offering nine yearlings at the NZ sales in February.

There will be three lots at Karaka on February 15 comprising colts by Face Time Bourbon, On A Streak and Village Mystic and six at Christchurch on February 18 including two colts and two fillies by On A Streak, a filly by Bold Eagle and a colt by Bird Parker.

The draft features a colt out of the crack racemare Dance Craze, a colt from the 2YO and 3YO Trotting Filly of the Year My Arya, a half-brother to the Victoria Trotters Derby and Vicbred champion Cravache Dor and a half-sister to the Harness Jewels victor Wilma’s Mate.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink