Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents all the harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America every Friday brought to you by Garrard’s Horse & Hound.
General Dodge’s family background
General Dodge, a son of the champion New Zealand sire Courage Under Fire, who died a few years ago, further underlined his potential when he scored an impressive win in the Golden Reign Free-for-all at Melton recently.
A fortnight earlier he disposed of Pacifico Dream and others in a Free-for-all at Geelong.
General Dodge has not done a great deal of racing, having only had 19 starts for 14 wins and a placing for $108,810.
Bred by Alabar Bloodstock, he is an eight-year-old gelding by Courage Under Fire from Sheza Keeper, by Safely Kept (son of Jate Lobell) from the noted producer Boom Or Bust, by Kawartha Robust from Boom Boom Baby, Pure Steel from Morris Queen, by New Morris from the Aachen mare Gay Lark.
Sheza Keeper left others in Kurai Kage (1:56.1), Heza Warhouse (1:57.6) and Heza Blaster. She was an unraced half-sister to the top WA mare Party Date 1:56 ($256,003), Red Hot Date 1:56.5 (WA Breeders Stakes) and Hello Boys (1:57.5). Their dam, Boom Or Bust, was a half-sister to the exported Follow The Stairs (1:53), the Gloucester Park winners Slam Bam and My Barney Rubble and to the Crouch mare Pleasedontstop, dam of nine winners including Nomore Forusir 1:57.8 ($198,663).
An interesting feature of General Dodge’s pedigree is that it combines several lines of rather noted colonial blood through Courage Under Fire, Pure Steel and Aachen, all top racehorses.
General Dodge winning at Melton. Stuart McCormick photo
New 2YO trotting sensation
Wimmera horseman Peter Manning, who has a grand record in producing star juvenile pacers and trotters, produced a grand two-year-old trotter at Melton last Saturday in Plymouth Chubb.
After breaking in the first lap and spotting the leaders a conservative 50 metres, Plymouth Chubb’s chances could have been written off. But the gelding joined the field at the 500 metre mark, reached the lead soon after straightening and waltzed away to score by 17 metres.
Plymouth Chubb’s performance was an amazing one in every respect. He is a son of the Angus Hall horse Majestic Son, a top trotter himself and who has been the leading trotting sire in both NZ and Australia for the last five years.
Pocket Fantasy, the winning dam of Plymouth Chubb, is an In The Pocket mare from a fine straightout trotter in Kim’s Fantasy, by Smooth Falcon from the Gaviland mare Vila Court, the grand-dam of the Victoria Trotters Oaks winner Running Pinevale.
Plymouth Chubb is a half-brother to the cups winner My Skypocket 1:59.4 ($131,888), Edge Hill 1:55.6 ($110,161), the Tatlow victor Dublin Chubb (1:59.8), Zephiane (1:57.1) and Garston Girl (1:57.3).
Plymouth Chubb winning Group 1 Vicbred Home Grown 2YO Colts Classic at Melton. Stuart McCormick photo
Group double for WA breeder
Rather a notable breeding feat was credited to prominent WA breeder Mike Howie, of Copper Lodge, when he bred three winners at Gloucester Park last Friday.
The haul included two Group winners, Caveman and Star Of Diamonds, both four-year-olds expected to graduate far beyond their present rating. His third winner was the impressive two-year-old The Miki Taker.
Caveman, who won the Group 2 $51,000 APG 4YO Consolation Final, is a Somebeachsomewhere entire out of the Art Major mare Our Copper Art (1:58), a half-sister to Copagrin 1:54.7 (winner of 19 races and $241,352) and the WA Breeders Stakes winner Copper Beach Girl 1:56.2 ($156,851), grand-dam of The Miki Taker.
Their dam, Red Hot Copper, was by Fake Left from the Maple Lane’s Strike mare Copper Strike (1:58.8), a WA Sires Produce winner who left the Pearl winner Willowleaf Boy (1:57.7) and Strike North, who won five at Gloucester Park.
Star Of Diamonds, winner of the $50,000 WA Breeders Stakes and a week earlier the Race For Roses, is a four-year-old Bettor’s Delight mare from a capable racemare in Maddy White 1:56.9 ($110,824), the dam also of this year’s WA 2YO Sales Classic victor Floewriter (1:56.5).
By Lombo Mandingo (a multiple Group 1 placegetter), Maddy White ranks a half-sister to the WA Derby and cups winner Handsandwheels 1:53/.2 ($666,739) and the Listed winner Rock Me Over 1:53.8 ($323,965), being out of Benjor Maddy Lombo, by Perfect Art from Magic Maddy Lombo, by Classic Garry from the Australian Derby winner Misty Maiden.
This is a long established WA family and an earlier top two-year-old belonging to it was Lombo Pocket Watch, who was the first Australian bred pacer to earn $1 million before the end of his three-year-old campaign.
Caveman winning at Gloucester Park. Paceway Photos
Star four-year-old by Art Major
A bright future is being predicted for the Art Major four-year-old mare Spellbound, whose success at Melton recently was her second winning run in Victoria in as many starts. A week earlier she won the Ian Daff Memorial in a new career mark of 1:52.9.
She has a good deal in her favour on the score of blood. Apart from being by Art Major, Spellbound is out of the Armbro Operative mare Return To Gold (1:57.5), a half-sister to the Listed winner Skewbridge Road (1:56), being out of Turn To Gold, by Tuapeka Knight from the El Patron mare Our Stretto TT1:55 ($168,028), who won 15 races at Harold Park including the NSW Ladyship Mile and became the dam of the Melton Cup winner Hei Heir (1:57.6).
Spellbound ranks as a half-sister to the Albion Park victor Missinmemate (1:54.5) and the Gloucester Park winners Mach’s Gold (1:54.3) and Generally Outspoken (1:59.4), who, in turn, left the recent WA De Campo Memorial winner Whataretheodds (1:55.5).
NSW Trotters Derby winner
The NSW Trotters Derby, for three-year-old trotters, one of the features of last weekend’s racing at Menangle, was won by Kyvalley Hotspur, a well performed colt by Muscle Hill from Love Ya Doosie.
Last season Kyvalley Hotspur won the Tatlow Stakes at Melton and from 12 starts, he has now won five and been four times placed for $72,660 in stakes.
Kyvalley Hotspur ranks as a brother to a capable trotter in Kyvalley Chief (1:56.4), being out of Love Ya Doosie, by Love You (a leading sire in Europe) from the dual NZ Broodmare of the Year Sheezadoosie (7 wins), by Chiola Hanover from the American-bred mare Becalm Lobell.
Love Ya Doosie, a double winner at Auckland, is a half-sister to the millionaire trotter I Can Doosit (1:55.5), who won 18 races on end at one stage including the Inter Dominion Grand Final twice, Rowe Cup and the Dominion Handicap, and to the Group 3 winner Sno’s Big Boy 1:58.4 ($215,308).
Another half-sister in Yankeedoosie (by Muscles Yankee) is the dam of Forget The Price Tag (5 wins and $90,173) and the highly promising American Pride.
This has been a most successful family, as Big O E, a half-sister to Sheezadoosie, was the dam of the Breeders Crown champion Aldebaran Ay M and a smart trotter in Aldebaran Southland.
A What The Hill half-brother to the Derby winner offered by Breckon Bloodstock was knocked down for $45,000 at the NZB National Yearling Sale at Karaka in February.
Australian bred siblings win in America
It was no mean feat for the siblings Soho Burning Love and Persimmon to win on the same night at Harrah’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania recently. Soho Burning Love won in 1:50.2 and Persimmon in 1:51.4.
Both bred by Robert Watson were sired by Auckland Reactor (Soho Burning Love) and Courage Under Fire (Persimmon).
Soho Bordeaux, the dam of Soho Burning Love and Persimmon, was out of a useful racemare in Lombo Portrait, who took a record of 1:59.9 and earned $94,998. Besides Soho Bordeaux, she was also the dam of Soho Monroe (1:57.4), Playboy Shadow (1:57.5) and Soho Summer, dam of the top Tasmanian juveniles Colby Sanz and Sunny Sanz.
Lombo Portrait was from a Breeders Crown champion in Lombo Adreamin, who had a record of 1:56.8 and won 29 races for $337,575.
Top filly by Skyvalley
Aldebaran Misty, who is proving herself a star juvenile trotter, has won two of her three starts including the Group 1 $50,000 Vicbred Platinum Home Grown Classic at Melton.
Aldebaran Misty has a background of trotting blood second to nine. Her sire, Skyvalley, has left the great Victorian trotter Tornado Valley and other top trotters in Pink Galahs, Sky Petite, Fear Not, Aldebaran Eve and Kyvalley Finn.
Her dam, Mason Magic, is by Kadabra, the leading sire of trotters in Canada for many years.
Aldebaran Misty ranks as a half-sister to the thrice Melton winner Abitofmagic (1:59.6).
Mason Magic, who was unraced, is a daughter of the Inter Dominion Grand Final winner Sumthingaboutmaori, the dam of the Breeders Crown winner Gus An Maori 1:56.8 ($119,071), Justanother Maori (13 wins) and the recent Home Grown Classic 3YO winner Central Otago.
The family, which traces to the Grand Monarch mare Maori Miss, produced a champion trotter in Maori’s Idol (1:59.3), who won 40 races, including 24 in a row, and other top trotters in Maori Time, Noopy Kiosk, Danny Bouchea and Blitzthemcalder.
Aldebaran Misty winning Group 1 Vicbred Home Grown 2YO Fillies Classic at Melton. Stuart McCormick photo
Fourteenth foal a winner
The two-year-old Commander Buzz, who won at the Kilmore midweek meeting, is the fourteenth foal and the ninth winner out of his dam, Star Chaser.
Commander Buzz, one of the first crop by Betting Line, had finished runner-up in the Victoria Sapling Stakes at his previous start. Others from Star Chaser to win have been the ‘Cups King’ Safari (1:55.7), the Vicbred champion Our Maid Marianne (1:57.9), the Derby winner Astronaut (1:53.4), Major Frank (1:52.8), Our Star Dust (1:54.2), Stratospheric (1:56.2), Lewis Lane (1:58) and June’s Girl (2:00.6).
Star Chaser was 25 when she left Commander Buzz.
The 2007 Victorian Broodmare of the Year, Star Chaser was a Torado Hanover mare from Dream Chaser, by Classic Garry from Dreamwood, by Lumber Dream from Madame Han, who established a great winning line for Helen and the late Graham Head. She left 10 winners including the cups winner Chipmunk.
American filly wins at Kilmore
Farady Hanover, an American-bred filly who won at her second Australian start at Kilmore recently, is a three-year-old who can claim some worthwhile blood.
By Somebeachsomewhere, she is out of the Western Hanover mare Fashion Ecstasy 1:52.8 ($126,228), whose dam, Galleria (by Artsplace), was one of North America’s most outstanding racemares in the late 1990’s. She won 22 races including the Breeders Crown and $1.8 million in stakes and took a mark of 1:49.2, a world mares’ record when set.
At the stud Galleria left the world champion filly Gallie Bythebeach (1:49), the Breeders Crown winner Sandbetweenmytoes (1:48.6) and the Stakes winner Western Gallie (1:51.4).
A sister to Galleria in Sans Sophia (TT1:52.6) has produced the classic winners Raging Bull (1:56.6), now siring winners in NZ, Thisbeachrighthere (1:50.8), San Rafaella (1:52.3), Our Santa Catalina (1:55.6) and Hilltop Sophia.
First winner
The Mach Three horse, Three Over Three, a Breeders Crown champion and now at stud in the NSW Riverina, was represented by his first winner when Knight Kiss was successful recently at Wagga.
Knight Kiss had been placed in her previous three starts.
Bred by Maureen Diebert, Knight Kiss is out of the Art Major mare, Silent Kisses, whose dam, the American-bred Make A Millie (1:57.8) was by Western Hanover from the Abercrombie mare Dutch Love, a half-sister to a top class pacer in Jenna’s Beach Boy, who later became a leading sire in both North America and Australia.
Broodmare triple treat
The Safely Kept mare Kiss Me Monty will be represented by her third consecutive The Allwood finalist when Betterthan A Kiss (by Betterthancheddar) lines up in the $100,000 two-year-old feature at Globe Derby Park on Saturday night.
Kiss Me Monty also left Milliondollar Kiss (by Million Dollar Cam), who ran third in the 2020 race, and Bayside Victory (by Shadow Play), who finished unplaced in the 2019 edition.
By Peter Wharton