Once again, we highlight some of the harness racing breeding successes from around the country for the week ending the 2nd of October.
Leading Pacing Sire: Bettor’s Delight, A Rocknroll Dance, Art Major | 4 winners
A Rocknroll Dance was a John Dunn special away from taking out top honours this week when Dance Til Dawn squeezed through a gap to nab the Steve Dolan trained Bri Express right on the line at Addington on Friday night (Sep 30.)
Maximillian was a winner at yesterdays (Oct 2.) Timaru meeting with Thursday’s (Sep 29.) Gore meeting providing a siring treble with wins coming from Rockin Va Va, Bobbies Rock and Carrera Dance.
His four winners across the weekend continues a rich vein of form for the son of Rocknroll Hanover with his progeny having him sitting fourth on the New Zealand all age pacing stallion ranks by money won. Only Bettor’s Delight, Art Major and American Ideal are ahead of him.
His 54 individual winners are one shy from his career best year in New Zealand where he sired 55 winners last season.
There is little doubting his ability to sire a nice horse with the likes of Tango Tara, Yorkshire, Miss Streisand and Blacksadance among his best NZ bred progeny. Like a fine wine, they have tended to get better with age. The sad reality of that however has seen Alabar move on from the stallion with the lack of precocity from his progeny having a huge bearing in his popularity waning with breeders at stud. He now stands in Queensland at the Patrick Estate property of Pete McMullen and Chantelle Turpin.
Leading Pacing Broodmare Sire: Mach Three | 5 winners
Daughters of Mach Three continue to lead a charge up the broodmare sire ranks for the ill-fated stallion.
Five of his daughters left winners over the weekend with Sneak A Peak (Timaru), Warrior Chief, Manhattan, Street Art (Addington), and Whispering Artist (Cambridge) all prevailing victorious.
Mach Three had to be euthanised after breaking his leg while on farm in New Zealand at Alabar stud in 2017 at the age of 18. He had finished no worse than fourth on the NZ all age sires tally in the five years prior to his death and has achieved the same success in the five years since his passing. And while he has never achieved the lofty heights of his archrival Bettor’s Delight at stud down under, the son of Matt’s Scooter has greatly exceeded him when it comes to preserving his own siring line.
As the sire of the great Somebeachsomewhere, Mach Three is the grandsire of four of the top five leading two-year-old sires this season in North America. Incredibly, the sire line is already well into its fourth generation with Captain Crunch standing his third season at stud in 2022 while full brothers Capt Midnight and Captain Trevor served their second crops.
MACH THREE | CANADIAN HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
The legacy is now being furthered down under by daughters of Mach Three with the likes of the recently retired Classie Brigade, Allamericanlover and True Fantasy all worthy of being headline acts. Having daughters of the caliber of Venus Serena, Joyfuljoy, Here We Go Again & Safedra will ensure our future generations continue to receive the mixture of speed, toughness and x factor that Mach Three was known for passing on.
Leading Trotting Sire: Andover Hall, Muscle Hill, Creatine | 2 winners
Leading Trotting Broodmare Sire: Love You | 3 winners
Three sires between them took out almost 50% of the weekend’s trotting races in New Zealand.
Despite being a champion international sire, down under breeders were late to the party in getting access to Andover Hall. His frozen semen was made available by Nevele R Stud in 2015 with the then 16 year old stallion producing just 24 live foals.
It’s taken some time for the two-time Elitloppet winning sire to find any prominence here with his progeny tending to be on the larger side, however the full brother to siring sensations Angus and Conway Hall has started to make his mark.
He sits fourth on the all age trotting sires list by stake money won for the current season and with the likes of this weekend’s winner, Resolve, and the budding Open Class star, Harold Smith getting better every time they line up, Andover Hall should continue to be prominent going forward. Both of the aforementioned progeny are out of Love You mares with the cross responsible for three of his top 10 New Zealand progeny.
Joining Andover Hall with two winners for the weekend is his siring son, Creatine.
Creatine has had a cracking start to his stallion duties producing the likes of North American Trotter of the Year, Jujubee, from his first crop. Down Under he has already produced Northern Derby placegetter, Hot To Trot from his oldest crop and sits second behind Love You as the leading sire of three-year-old’s.
At Cambridge on Thursday night (29 Sep.) he produced a siring a race to race double with juvenile Southern Diamond winning the non-tote two-year-old race for Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan and the Dave and Clare McGowan trained True Story clearing maidens at his fourth start.
In welcome news to breeders, it was recently announced that Nevele R Stud would have the frozen semen of Creatine available after advising he wouldn’t be shuttling this season due to aggravating an old injury. While his fresh semen would be welcomed with open arms, his value at $3000 in the trotting ranks cannot be ignored based off his immediate impact at stud.
Click here to see the leading NZ Sires table.
Leading Breeder: Brian West (Studholme Bloodstock) | 3 winners
West was again the leading New Zealand breeder picking up wins at the two South Island meetings with Rockin Va Va (A Rocknroll Dance) at Gore on Thursday and Paramount Empress (Muscle Hill) and Manhattan (Bettor’s Delight) both winners at Addington on Friday.
The latter was fresh up having not raced since the Auckland Cup carnival in May and was taking on a quality field of fillies and mares. She is now the winner of six and with her grand dam being a half sister to the future hall of famer, Scuse Me, will be a valuable breeding proposition in the future for connections.
Notable mentions need to be made for two men who don’t breed anywhere near the same volume as the 2017 breeder of the year. Firstly, the late Mike Stratford who had two breeding successes from his fine broodmare, Bowenvale.
The Courage Under Fire mare had winning credits thanks to Glenthorne (Sir Lincoln) at Cambridge and Corravally Star (Washington VC) at Addington. Both geldings achieved career win number seven and have furnished into very capable intermediate grade pacers for their connections. The success should come as no surprise with Bowenvale being a half-sister to derby winning producer, Suzy’s Delight (Washington VC), mother of Locharburn and Cullenburn among her notable performers.
Southland breeder Tom Kilkelly also had himself a weekend double as a breeder winning at the Gore meeting with Bobbie’s Rock (A Rocknroll Dance) who was out of his former smart race mare, Ask McArdle. She was a creditable fourth in the Group One 2YO Diamond of her year. The win of Bobbie’s Rock was the second of her progeny for the month of September with Caldwell (Sportswriter) also breaking maidens earlier in the month.
Kilkelly got his double at Addington a day later when the talented Monkey Bones trotter, Smokin Bandar, upset the apple cart in the feature trot on the night for young Southland trainer, Craig Ferguson. Smokin Bandar is out of a half-sister to the Fiery Ginga and with the family tracing back to Mocassin, dam of two New Zealand greats in Le Chant and Stylish Major.
1: The number of pacing sired trotting quinellas this weekend which as things go, is not something that occurs very frequently in 2022.
Holmes Hanover (1464 NZ winners) and Bettor’s Delight (1497 NZ Winners) have won 15 of the last 24 national pacing sire premierships between them. The pair have sired 30 trotting winners between them, hardly enough to have earned dual gaited status despite Bettor’s Delight having sired a couple of G1 winning trotters.
Phar Lap Raceway set the stage when in the fourth on the card, evergreen trotter, Take After Me (Holmes Hanover), won his 13th race as a trotter, and 17th overall at the ripe old age of 11. The win took his career earnings to an incredible $230,000 which has been heavily assisted in part thanks to his 70 career placings.
He was one- and three-quarter lengths clear of Instant Delight, a daughter of Bettor’s Delight who at just four-years of age is just starting to find her feet in her career without the hopples.
TAKE AFTER ME REPLAY
5: The number of winning progeny out of Group Race winning mares from the weekend’s action of racing.
They were: Paramount Empress (Paramount Queen), High Energy (High Gait), Republican Party (Democrat Party), Resolve (Habibti) and Warrior Chief (Here We Go Again).
20: The number of breeders in the ownership of the 41 winners from across the weekend of racing in New Zealand.
by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink
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