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.

Chariots of Fire winner

The Somebeachsomewhere four-year-old Bay Of Biscay, the brilliant end-to-end winner of the $250,000 Chariots of Fire in 1:49.1 at Menangle, may be targeted at the $2 million The Eureka in September. He finished a close second to Don Hugo in last year’s Eureka.

From 21 starts Bay Of Biscay has now won 10 races and been eight times placed for $821,580 in stakes.

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

Nike Franco was a McArdle mare from a top flight NZ mare 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 Little Brown Jug winner and successful sire Beach Towel.

Breeding of Miracle Mile field

The champion sire Bettor’s Delight appears in the pedigree of four of the eight-horse field for the $1 million Miracle Mile. 

Leap To Fame, Max Delight and Sooner The Bettor were all sired by the Woodlands flagship, while Don Hugo (by Art Major) is out of a Bettor’s Delight mare.

Captaintreacherous is the only other sire with multiple representation – Catch A Wave and Captain Ravishing, while Art Major figures as the damsire of Leap To Fame, Swayzee and Max Delight.

Four of the runners were bred in NSW, two in NZ and one each in Victoria and Queensland. 

Don Hugo is the only first foal of his dam, Captain Ravishing and Max Delight (2nd), Swayzee and Catch A Wave (3rd), Leap To Fame (4th), Tact McLeod (6th) and Sooner The Bettor (7th).

Poster Boy’s Derby double

The Somebeachsomewhere horse Poster Boy, who won the NSW Derby in 2018, sired the winners of the opening two heats of this year’s edition at Menangle in The Highlight Reel and Silver Pistol. Both are members of Poster Boy’s impressive first crop.

Silver Pistol, who is undefeated in three starts this season, was bred and is owned by Bill and Anne Anderson’s Lauriston Bloodstock, who raced Poster Boy throughout his decorated career.

Pistol Abbey (1:55.6), the dam of Silver Pistol, was a top racemare in her own right, winning 14 races and $253,060 in stakes including the Queen of the Pacific and Vicbred 4YO Final. This is her first foal.

Pistol Abbey was a Western Terror mare from a fine racemare in Art Princess (1:59.2), by Art Major from the Bathurst Gold Tiara winner The Kindly One.

The Highlight Reel, a winner of five of his eight starts, is a colt from the Rocknroll Hanover mare Rockin Diva, who produced earlier winners in Call Me Diva (1:56.4) and Cant Eatovers. Rockin Diva, who was unraced, is a half-sister to the Menangle winners Macworthy (1:52.4) and Desirable Guy (1:54.7).

Their dam, Atworthy Maid, was a Presidential Ball mare from Crown Velvet (by Thor Hanover), who established a great winning line for the late Les Johnson, of The Rock (NSW). She left five winners including the Australian Pacing Gold winner Croesus ($253,050) and the smart square-gaiter Velvet’s Bee Gee.

Storms Collide, the winner of the third Derby heat, is a colt by Rocknroll Hanover horse The Storm Inside from Tiger Storm (1:56.6), by Art Major from the NZ bred mare Tigress Franco, the dam of the star Perth pacer and multiple Group winner Pinny Tiger 1:51.2 ($374,043).

Siring feat to Captain Crunch

Rather a notable siring feat was credited to the Captaintreacherous horse Captain Crunch at Gloucester Park, when he sired the winners of both $100,000 Australian Pacing Gold Sales Classic Finals for three-year-olds in Captain Stirling and Its Maa Time.

Captain Stirling, a winner of three races and $132,665, is a half-brother to the Group winners Bettor Reward 1:52.7 ($244,065), Sovrana (1:55.5) and Bettor’s Destroya (1:56.2), being out of Chemical Romance, by Northern Luck from the top racemare and WA Oaks winner Ferrari Trunkey 1:56.6 ($267,527).

Captain Stirling was one of four winners on the night brought out by leading Perth breeder Steve Johnson, the others being Paul Edward, Ideal Beach and Rajah Rocks.

Its Maa Time, a three-year-old filly, has earned $86,002, a worthwhile investment on the $60,000 paid for her as a yearling. Bred by Sharyn Munnerley-Jose and her husband Greg, she is out of the Group 3 winner Maastricht (1:55.3), who produced others in Captain Maastricht (1:54.5), Maa’s Betting Again (1:55.4) and Shazza Love (1:56.4). 

Maastricht, a winner of 15 races, was sired by Blissfull Hall and out of the Listed winner Forest Glory, an Armbro Aussie mare who left eight 2:00 winners and is the grand-dam of Captain Bellasario, who won at Melton one night after Its Maa’s Time won.

Captain Crunch’s oldest stock are three-year-olds and they include Captain James (one of star youngsters in WA last season), Golden Shooz (1:52.9), the Group 1 placegetter Captainshavtime and Miss Crunch (1:55.4).

APG Sales Classic winner

The $125,000 Australian Pacing Gold Sales Classic, the first major classic for two-year-olds, and run at Gloucester Park, was won easily by Ideal Beach, a colt by American Ideal from the family of the outstanding pacer Auckland Reactor.

The second highest priced lot at the 2024 sale at $130,000, Ideal Beach is undefeated in two starts to date. He won a heat of the Sales Classic 10 days earlier.

Bred by Trevor Lindsay and Steve Johnson, Ideal Beach is out of the unraced NZ bred mare Coopers Beach, dam also of useful winners in Mikí’s Beach (1:54.8), Coopers Ideal and Svenn. Coopers Beach was sired by Somebeachsomewhere from the grand producer Bishops Blessing, by Live Or Die from the Soky’s Atom mare Atomic Lass, dam of the millionaire pacer and six-time Group 1 winner Auckland Reactor (1:52.9) and the dual Listed winner Taihape Tickler.

Bishops Blessing, who was only a moderate, left two high class pacers in Devil Dodger (1:50.8), a winner of 38 races and $724,666 including the Breeders Crown, and The Devil’s Own (1:48), who won 23 races and $525,706 including the NZ Yearling Sales 2YO Series.

WA Sales Classic winning line

The $125,000 APG Sales Classic winner for two-year-old fillies Ma Petite Dame is a daughter of the Bettor’s Delight horse Bettor’s Wish, who also sired the runner-up Wishing Belle.

Ma Petite Dame’s success was her first from only two starts. “We know she has a bright future ahead,” her trainer Ryan Bell said.

Ma Petite Dame is out of the Somebeachsomewhere mare Some Copper Beach (1:57), a Group 3 winner whose dam, Artistic Copper (1:59.1), won the Sales Classic herself and left last year’s Sales Classic winner Copper Head Lady (1:56.2) and the Group winner The Good Life (1:55.5).

She was bred was well known WA breeder-owner Mike Howie. 

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink