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.

Loucasso the leading two-year-old

Loucasso (Sweet Lou), who won the Group 1 $500,000 The Protostar at Albion Park, scored his second classic success, and he is entitled to be rated as the season’s top two-year-old pacer.

Earlier in the season he won the $150,000 Australian Pacing Gold Melbourne Sales Graduate Series at Melton and from seven starts he has won five and been once placed for $345,204 in stakes.

Loucasso ranks as a half-brother to the handy pacer Master Remi (1:54.7), being a colt by the Yankee Cruiser horse Sweet Lou from Our Little Artist (1:58.1), by Art Major from the SA Oaks winner Saved A Corka (1:59.1), by Armbro Operative from the fine racemare Uncork (1:59.9), by Tuapeka Knight from the Adios Vic mare Tales Of Tabella.

Other members of this fine family have been the Ballarat Cup winner Whale of A Tale, the former SA Horse of the Year Come On Frank, Major Exclusive (SA Derby), Night Spirit and the top flight SA juveniles Aspiring Artist and He’s A Corka.

Loucasso, who was bred by Goulburn (NSW) breeder Matt Day, was one of three winners on the night sired by Sweet Lou, the others being Eye Keep Smiling (Fleur De Lil Ladyship) and Our Luciano, an impressive winner of the Kevin Thomas 4YO and a stayer of some real potential.

Bronski breed to the fore

Speak The Truth, who led most of the way in an Inter Dominion heat last Saturday, has now won 19 races and $656,485 and is rated an outside chance in the $1 million Final. He ranks as seven-year-old brother by Bettor’s Delight the prolific Albion Park winner Bronski Delight.

Private Bronski (1:55), the dam of Speak The Truth and Bronski Delight, was an Art Major mare from Bronski Gorgeous 1:57.3 ($210,622), a QBred Triad winner and by Fake Left from Promise.

Private Bronski, an Albion Park winner, was a sister to the Group winner Admiral Bronski 1:51.6 ($315,899), the exported Brigadier Bronski 1:51 ($391,191), the QBred Triad victor General Bronski (1:53.7) and Major Bronski 1:56.1 (sire) and a half-sister to the exported Bronski Mackenzie 1:51.6 ($213,515) and the Triad winner Bronski Zulu 1:53.1 ($212,473).

This has been one of the most successful branches of the Our Star family, Bronski Gorgeous being a half-sister to the APG winners Sir Galvinator 1:56.8 ($516,723) and Esprit De Kayjay 1:51.6 ($586,976) and to Promise Me Robin, dam of the dual NSW Group winner Tin Tin Jo (1:51.5).

Bet N Win top trotter

Bet N Win, who won a second round heat of the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship at Albion Park and was the leading pointscorer for the series, is a What The Hill gelding from the same family as that which produced the Derby and Breeders Crown winner Stress Factor.

Bet N Win, who won the Rowe Cup at Auckland Cup in May, has only been sparingly raced but he has shown up as a smart trotter, and it was a strong field he beat on Saturday night.

He has won 15 of his 25 starts and $447,408 in stakes.

Bred and part-owned by Ken and Karen Breckon, Bet N Win is a member of one of NZ’s most successful families, being by the Muscle Hill horse What The Hill and out of the unraced Factor The Odds, dam also of Cheeky Babe, a winner of four of her five starts at two.

By Pegasus Spur, Factor The Odds was out of Fear Factor, by Sundon from the Wide Acclaim mare Fickle, who left the NZ 2YO Trotting Filly of the Year Fear Factor and the Oaks winner Without Fear, both Group winners.

Fear Factor, a NZ Sires’ Stakes champion, became the dam of seven winners including the NZ Hambletonian and Victorian Central Victorian Trotting Championship winner Prince Fearless 1:55 ($186,519), Stress Factor and Factor The Odds, dam of Bet N Win.

Copy Cat Queen in top form

Copy Cat Queen, a daughter of the dual WA Pacing Cup winner My Hard Copy, who died a few years ago, has been one of the stars of the winter racing in Western Australia.

She won twice over 2130 metres at Gloucester Park including the $30,000 Westbred feature and 1684 metres at Pinjarra in a new career mark of 1:54.3.

Copy Cat Queen is closely related to a champion juvenile in Lombo Pocket Watch, who won a record six Group races as a two-year-old. In all, he won 45 races and was 17 times placed for $1.5 million in stakes.

Copy Cat Queen is by My Hard Copy from Luvya Maddy Lombo, by Jet Laag, a grey stallion by Laag from the Mamie family. Luvya Maddy Lombo, who was lightly raced, was out of Magic Maddy Lombo, dam of nine winners and by Classic Garry the Windshield Wiper mare Misty Maiden 1:59.4 ($245,449), who numbered among her 12 successes the Australian Derby, Oceania El Dorado and the Breeders Crown 2YO. 

Misty Maiden became the dam of nine winners including Lombo Pocket Watch and Bachelor Lombo (1:55.5) and the grand-dam of Australia’s first 1:50 pacer in Lombo Skyrider 1:50 ($841,611) and Listed winners Iseenothink 1:55.6 ($213,110) and Lombo Cloud Nine (1:55.3).

This is the family which produced the Australian Pacing Gold winner Suave Stuey Lombo (1:49.6), the WA Derby winner Handsandwheels, Rock Me Over ($399,177), the top racemare Lady De La Renta (1:49.4), Wesley (WA Champagne Classic) and Lombo Cloud Nine.

Copy Cat Queen was bred by WA studmaster Bill Hayes.

Parisian Artiste is well bred

Parisian Artiste (Love You), a convincing heat winner of the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship last Saturday night and a placegetter on opening night, is proving the surprise packet of the series.

Bred by Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms, the gelding is in his sixth season of racing and from 65 starts he has won 14 and been 19 times placed for $248,473.

Parisian Artiste has a background of trotting blood second to none, His sire, Love You, has left the great Australian trotting mare Queen Elida, and other top trotters in Monbet, Enghien, Keayang Chucky and Habibti Inta.

His dam, the NZ bred Schleck, is by Muscle Mass, a leading sire of trotters for many years.

Parisian Artiste ranks as a half-sister to Elegant Jet (1:58.8), who won seven, and the promising Fonda Rhonda (1:57.6).

Schleck, a useful trotter herself, ranked as a half-sister to the Victoria Derby heat winner Gimondi (1:57.1), being out of the Harness Jewels victor Merckx, by Dream Vacation from a smart racemare in Cipollini, by Sergio Hanover from Broomfield Ann.

The family, which traces to the Lincoln Yet mare Georgina, produced a champion trotter in Buster Hanover, who won 25 races including the 1998 Inter Dominion and two Australasian Trotting Championships, and other good trotters in Lemond (Anzac Trotters Cup), Dead Cat Bounce (NSW Trotters Cup), Wee Annie, Il Pirata and Purplepeopleater.

Breeding of ID finalists

Bettor’s Delight, Art Major and Captaintreacherous are each represented by three runners in the $1 million Inter Dominion Pacing Championship Final. 

Art Major is the damsire of three finalists, while Bettor’s Delight is the damsire of two.

Four were bred in NZ and NSW and two in Queensland and Victoria. 

Two of the runners are first foals, two are fourth, fifth and sixth foals and one are second, third, fourth, eighth and eleventh foals.

In the $500,000 ID Trotting Final, Majestic Son has the largest representation with three runners. Love You and Trixton have two each, while Pegasus Spur, What The Hill, Skyvalley, Bettor’s Delight and Betting Line have one apiece.

Five of the finalists were bred in NZ and Victoria and one each in NSW and WA.

Only one was a first foal. Two were second  and sixth foals, four were third, one were fourth, fifth and tenth foals.

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink