Waikiki Beach may be the pack leader when it comes to future harness racing breeding crosses likely to dominate our breeding in years to come but he won't be the first made popular by performances of All Star horses.
Waikiki Beach is the product of a Somebeachsomewhere–Bettor's Delight cross.
It was always a dream come true for breeders on paper but now it seems it might become a reality with this colt's unbeaten run to date in two year old features.
Truth be told Mark was probably a little leery of Somebeachsomewhere stock before this one came along.
While we only had a small sample in this country at that stage,horses by the sire at All Stars had tended to be a bit wilful once they got on the racetrack.
They were, and probably to some extent still are, best when allowed their high cruising protential and front.
Some have proven a challenge when asked to race under restraint until the whips start to crack.
It might be fair to say that Mark may not have bought Waikiki Beach along with Trevor Casey and his old associate Neil Pilcher if he had not been out of a Bettor's Delight mare.
"That definitely influenced me."
"They are such great all round horses and they are a relaxed breed."
"Some of the Somebeachsomewhere's I had had and seen were a bit headstrong."
"We had Someardensomewhere for example who wanted to run freely in front and could be difficult to drive in a field."
"He had the ability but in our racing you need good racing manners and that is what Bettor's Delight has given us."
"But this bloke is no problem."
"He likes to run in front because he is better than most of them but as he showed in the Breeder's Challenge Final he can run in the field just as well"
Waikiki Beach is the only two year old by his sire to race in New Zealand from a Bettor's Delight mare but there more in the pipeline including one interesting foal from Southwind Arden.
Cyclone Betty the dam of Waikiki Beach won a Breeders Crown heat but never set the world alight.
Back a generation it was a different story.
Matt's Claim, Waikiki Beach's 3rd dam by Windshield Wiper who trialled in 1.53.4 was a top producer.
To one of the great "knockabout" "made my own way" stallions, Classic Garry, she left 1992 Two Year Old of the Year, Chandon who was also an outstanding three year old in Perth.
Then came Salinger the 1997 Australian Three Year Old of the Year.
Ironically a less sensational foal, Sorryimstuttering never broke two minutes but was a sister to Princess Kenru the dam of Cyclone Betty so that blood came out too.
Like a lot of top Australian performers there is a breeding link to New Zealand.
Waikiki Beach's family goes back more than a century in this country and in its earlier days in the 1920's produced the outstanding Talaro which later won an Auckland Cup.
The mares in this family were poor foal getters and it almost died out in the 1940's but its basic class meant it kept coming back.
The mare given founding credit for the family in New Zealand, Golden Bond, (Australia opts correctly for an earlier dam Boudre) had only one foal Millimetre and her line bred on.
There was a strong trotting influence in the family in its earlier days.
In Volometre (Gaillard) it produced an important link for she was the dam of Elsinore the dam of the outstanding Robalan
In the 1950's Petite Yvonne, a daughter of Millimetre's daughter Centimetre, a half sister to
Volometre was an outstanding racemare in New Zealand in an era of giants and when mare's has to
take their changes in open races.
Another influence from the family was Noble Chief who figured in the breed of horses Keith Powell made famous from his Westport base.
Currently the "Norwegian Wood" branch has done well and earlier produced Lennon for All Stars which no doubt Mark also recalled.
At this year's sale $100,000 was given for a Christian Cullen colt from Blackbird Fly a black type mare from this tribe, and a similar price (by Robert Dunn) for a "Somebeach" colt from the closely related Free As a Bird offered by Stephen Hammar and Don Bates.
This was the only branch of the family offered at the Yearling Sales this year.
Waikiki Beach has an unlimited horizon at the moment and he guarantees the Somebeachsomewhere outright speed cross with the all round skills of Bettor's Delights will be highlights of future sales.
Similarly Highview Tommy was one of the first highly performed sons of Bettor's Delight (if not the first) to show that that stallion's cross with Christian Cullen produced great mix of speed and stamina and the cross, as might have been expected anyway, is now a verypopular cross if yet to produce one as valuable as he was.
Highview Tommy now stands alongside his sire and a stallion career could beckon also for Waikiki Beach if he continues his outstanding run of form.
David McCarthy – All Stars Racing Stables – Check site here