Big night at Bathurst for Huntsville

Huntsville, the former world champion two-year-old and USA 2YO Colt of the Year, took the siring honours on the final night of the Bathurst Gold Crown carnival.

The Cobbitty Equine Farm-based stallion was represented by three winners on the program including the two signature events, the Group 1 $150,000 Gold Crown and the Group 1 $150,000 Gold Tiara, taken out by Jacwill Kid and Birdsong respectively.

The winner of two of his three starts, Jacwill Kid became Huntsville’s second Gold Crown champion, joining the 2022 winner Tardelli.

Birdsong, who extended her unbeaten winning skein to four, is the Somebeachsomewhere horse’s first Gold Tiara winner. She was bred by Brooklyn Lodge’s Doug and Janet Moore and is from the Art Major mare Dizygotic Lass, a great granddaughter of the 1988 Gold Tiara winner Willing Whiz.

Lux Aeterna, the winner of the 2023 edition, is also a member of this family.

Jacwill Kid, bred and raced by Helen Plumb, is the second foal out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Ruby Delight and belongs to the same family as the 2YO Filly of the Year Maajida, the NSW Breeders Challenge winner Nathan Street and the APG Gold Bullion victor Chicago Bart.

Huntsville also led in the winner of the $30,600 Gold Crown Gold Consolation in Don Hunter.

Alabar Bloodstock’s emerging, young sire Captain Crunch was represented by the winners of the Group 2 $100,000 Gold Chalice (Brooklyn Dan) and the Gold Chalice Consolation (Rewatch).

Brooklyn Dan, who was bred by Alex Smith and Russell Woods, is out of the unraced Eye Betta Fly, a daughter of Bettor’s Delight and the grand producer Grace Robinson and thus a member of the same tribe as Eye Keep Smiling, Two Eye See, Eye See Diamonds and so on.

Rewatch, bred and raced by Michael Harvey, is a close relative of the Victoria Cup and NZ Cup hero Kingman, being out of Gotta Go Electowatch, by He’s Watching from the outstanding NZ racemare Elect To Live.

Willows Girl, the winner of the $100,000 Gold Bracelet, provided Sweet Lou with consecutive wins in the Group 2 following Gunna Reload’s success 12 months earlier.

Bred by Wagga couple Denis and Jo Howe, of Mataranka Park Standardbreds, Willows Girl is out of Soho Montelena, a Rocknroll Hanover mare from the crack Tasmanian mare Lourdes, the second richest Australian-bred daughter of the champion sire Fake Left.

Interestingly, four of the winners on the night were out of mares by Bettor’s Delight, namely Jacwill Kid (Gold Crown), Brooklyn Dan (Gold Chalice), Atomik Go Anna (Gold Tiara Gold Consolation) and Ripp (Mayor’s Cup).

Perfectdelight (by Bettor’s Delight) and Don Hunter, the winners of the Gold Bracelet and Gold Crown Consolations respectively, are very closely related. The former is from the Christian Cullen mare Perfect Penny, while the latter is out of her Group 1 winning daughter Miss Halfpenny, a half-sister to the 2021 Bathurst Gold Bracelet winner Anntonia.

 

by Peter Wharton, for Harnesslink