He was a huge drawcard on the racetrack…and now Auckland Reactor continues to leave his mark at stud with his maturing progeny now attracting the eye of astute harness racing horsemen.
Bred by Dr Tony and Anne Parker, Auckland Reactor (Mach Three-Atomic Lass (Sokys Atom) was the quickest horse ever to get to the one-million-dollar mark in earnings.
Bursting onto the scene and winning his first 17 straight got the powerful pacer's bank roll looking healthy and he finished his astonishing racing career with 32 wins and four placings from just 53 starts.
Auckland Reactor's oldest progeny are now four-year olds, and from his 385 Australian foals old enough to race he has has recorded 120 starters and 54 individual winners for just under $1.3 million.
One of Auckland Reactor's impressive recent winners was well-bred bay filly Torque With Esteem (Auckland Reactor-Effective Torque (Jennas Beach Boy), which saluted at Queensland's Redcliffe in successive weeks.
Trained by Chantal Turpin and her husband Pete McMullen at their property at Patrick Estate (population just 200), about an hour from Brisbane, the pacer has certainly shown a liking for the bayside track.
"She has now won four races this year at Redcliffe and I think with more experience, she should develop into a nice horse," McMullen said.
"They do need to have a bit of ability these days, and thankfully she's not missing in that department," he said.
"Our stable worker Reece Maguire won with her the first two times, then Chantal was successful, and I got the money on her at the most recent win."
The only chink in the armor for Torque With Esteem is a tendency to race a little greenly at times.
"Her manners are not all that good, but she's getting better," McMullen said.
"It's nothing too serious, she just tends to run around a little. But I'm sure with more race experience that will improve."
The pacer is raced by enthusiastic breeder-owner Ian Corazzol.
"Ian has four or five horses with us at the moment. He just loves watching all his horses. It doesn't matter if it's at a country meeting at Marburg, or a metro fixture at Albion Park, Ian will be watching them go around," McMullen said.
To watch Torque With Esteem win on the 22nd of May click here.
To watch Torque With Esteem win on the 29th of May click here.
Another son of Auckland Reactor, exciting Queensland youngster Hipstar (Auckland Reactor-Oh So Hippe (Life Sign USA) has been raising eyebrows in recent months.
Trained by respected horseman Graham Dwyer, the three-year-old has now won four of his past seven outings.
His winning purple patch kicked off at Albion Park, Brisbane, on March 8. He then showed that wasn't a fluke with further victories at that venue on April 2 and May 10.
His latest win at Redcliffe showed he's as "tough as old boots" with in-form reinsman John Cremin the winning driver.
Hipstar is destined for bigger things that's for sure! His career at the moment stands at 26 starts for six wins and nine placings with a PB of 1.56 posted at "the creek".
To watch Hipstar win on the 29th of May click on this link.
And the Auckland Reactor juggernaut rolled along at Ballarat, and then down the highway to the Melbourne metropolitan meeting at Melton.
Trainer Jeremy Quinlan and junior Bendigo reinswoman Tayla French delivered a knockout blow to punters at Ballarat when they combined with four-year-old You Ninety Two (Auckland Reactor-Numismatic (Elsu NZ) to score at odds of 20/1 in the Best Western Plus Ballarat Suites Pace.
French, who works part-time for successful Bendigo trainer-driver Chris Svanosio, did an exceptional job as the horse raced strong on the bit and she found herself in a pocket approaching the home corner.
But when You Ninety Two (bred and owned by Peter and Beatrice Salathiel, of Goornong) saw daylight, he knuckled down to the task, out four and five wide, to find the line nicely.
It was the first time French had driven the pacer.
And to explain his name? U92 is the chemical symbol and atomic number of Uranium on the periodic table of elements. And to add more intrigue, the grandmother of the horse is Atomic Fusion, while the dam of Auckland Reactor is Atomic Lass.
To watch You Ninety Two win on the 24th of May click on this link.
A nice Emma Stewart mare coming through the ranks in Shining Oro (Auckland Reactor-Totally Oro (Totally Ruthless) also recently won well at Melton.
Raced by Sam Stewart, brother of the trainer, the four-year-old was rated to perfection by master city reinsman Chris Alford. Splits of 28.9, 30.2, 28 and 27.9 saw a handy rate of 1.54 to the winner.
Shining Oro now has four wins from her seven outings this preparation.
To watch Shining Oro win on the 25th of May click on this link.
In-form country Victorian trainer Rebecca East continued on her winning way at Terang on Tuesday night with a winning double.
Lightly raced three-year-old gelding Crowded Reactor (Auckland Reactor-Threes A Crowd (Armbro Operative) scored a narrow win in 1.59-6. Tim McLean was the victorious driver.
The pacer started his career with Kevin Brough and was transferred to East late last year. The gelding has now won two and certainly looks an improving type.
To watch Crowded Reactor win on the 4th of June click on this link.
The second leg of the East double came in the form of Girls In Charge (Lincoln Royal-Proud Trick (Falcon Seelster). Popular reinsman Michael Bellman, who is closing in on a century of wins for the season, landed the money.
Terry Gange
NewsAlert PR Mildura