Kevin Schuck, of Myross Bush (near Invercargill) achieved a rarity in the horse racing world as the breeder of the first three horses to finish in a race at Roxburgh last Wednesday (4/1/2017).
Spotlight The Valley, Overcast and De Vito, all bred by Schuck, landed the trifecta in the 2600m race for C1 to 6 trotters which was contested by 14 horses.
“It is very exciting from a breeders point of view,’’ said Schuck, who has been breeding thoroughbred and standardbred horses for 29 years. He is a jeweller by profession.
“I just love the trotters and love the breeding side of things,’’ he said.
Spotlight The Valley, Overcast and De Vito are the first foals of different mares and each has now won four races. They are by different sires.
Spotlight The Valley is raced by the Sunbeam syndicate and trained at Balfour (Southland) by Robert Wilson.
Overcast is raced by Schuck and Longbush trainer Alan Paisley. De Vito, raced by the Balfour syndicate, has won twice this season from the Ryal Bush stable of Nathan Williamson after two wins for Billy Heads last season.
Spotlight The Valley is a 5-year-old mare by Skyvalley from Streaming Sunbeam, who had four minor placings in 20 starts.
“I bought her (Streaming Sunbeam) at the yearling sale for her bloodlines and that has worked out,” said Schuck. A $16,000 purchase in 2007, she is by Armbro Invasion from A Touch of Sun, who subsequently left Sarah Lindenny (10 wins) and King Denny (Harness Jewels races at three and four).
Overcast is a 7-year-old mare by Sundon from Cochy Bondhu who won four races for Schuck and trainer Paisley. Cochy Bondhu is by Chiola Hanover from Sylvia’s Star (Gee Whiz – Elgin Princess).
De Vito is a 5-year-old gelding by Sundon from Lady Eileen, an unraced mare by Armbro Invasion and one of four foals Schuck bred from Elgin Princess. Another was Mr Mayfly, who won six races when trained by Wilson for the Balfour syndicate. Mr Mayfly was sold to Australia in 2015.
“I started off with thoroughbreds and then switched to trotters,’’ said Schuck.
He bred the winner Fast Forward from the thoroughbred mare, Ravensdale (Grey Gull – Game Girl) in 1988. Fast Forward (by Codeene) won a race at Gore when trained by Len Casey before being sold to Macau.
Schuck had his first venture into standardbred ownership with
the trotter Dean’s Pride, a Game Pride – Cathy Crockett gelding who won a race at Forbury Park in 1991 when trained at Invercargill by Murray Brown. Soon after Schuck won four races with the pacer Barbed Wire from the Brown stable. Both horses were sold to Australia.
Tayler Strong