Victorian harness racing breeder Paul Humphreys no longer races Anything For Love, but the Shane and Lauren Tritton-trained speedster will always hold a special place in his heart.
The passionate trots man bred Anything For Love and raced the pacer with trainer Leigh Miles before accepting an offer to transfer the horse to new connections in New South Wales.
On Saturday night at Menangle the now five-year-old, who set a new career mark via a 1:48.7 win in last weekend’s Group 1 Allied Express Sprint, will line up for his shot in the Grand Circuit $750,000 Miracle Mile.
“I still get a huge thrill out of it,” Humphreys said.
“It’s like watching one of your kids out there. The team (Shane and Lauren) have done an amazing job with him.”
Anything For Love is out of a mare named The Perfect Mona, whose 14 racetrack appearances yielded a solitary win.
In the breeding barn however success came more naturally to Mona, her first foal named Palais Du Louvre (by Safe And Sound).
Raced by Humphreys, Palais Du Louvre won $165,201 in stakemoney via 18 wins and 24 minor placings from 88 starts.
“We had so much fun with him,” Humphreys said.
“When he ran fifth in the Breeders Crown Final (2011 as a four-year-old) he looked a chance at the home turn. That was a huge thrill.
“He won a Breeders Crown Graduate on Breeders Crown Day in 2014, which was also fantastic and he was just a super horse.”
Humphreys also raced the siblings of Palais Du Louvre, Trip Sevens (by Bettors Delight), who won three races and $18,800 from 29 starts, and Anything For Love before his move north.
And he has three younger ones coming through with an unraced Safely Kept filly named Something Fast, a two-year-old Pet Rock rig called Dino Bellino and a yearling by superstar stallion Somebeachsomewhere.
Asked about his approach to breeding Humphreys says his is more investigative than scientific.
“I ask lots of questions… for Anything For Love I got on to a fella in New Zealand and we talked breeding for ages. He was really helpful. I went looking for a stallion and found Rock N Roll Heaven.”
On his unraced progeny of The Perfect Mona: “Safely Kept is by Jate Lobell and Palais Du Louvre is by Safe And Sound. I couldn’t go to Safe And Sound, because he’d retired, so I went to Safely Kept instead. Alabar still had some frozen semen as he’d retired as a stallion too. I think there were three Safely Kept foals born that year (2013),” Humphries said.
“I chose Pet Rock because he was a real brave bugger and had almost the same pedigree as Rock And Roll Heaven. Both were owned by Joe Bellino (in the USA).
“And Somebeachsomewhere was the best going around they say, so I went to him (most recently).
“I really enjoy the breeding side of things. It’s great fun. And my daughter Sarah loves the foals.”
Trots Media – Cody Winnell