When that trip never got off the ground, then there was at least the prospect of Safari providing some great more clashes if not just some competition for that other veritable Fake Left pacing machine Blacks A Fake on this season's Grand Circuit in Australia.

Safari made it back to the races this season to win a FFA at the Breeders Crown in August, before going amiss, but his lasting memory will be the culmination of last season's campaign where he ‘made' the Inter-Dominions in Melbourne.

After that scorching semi-final win in a 1.56.4 mile rate for 2575m, and having beaten Blacks A Fake in the G1 Ballarat Cup a few weeks earlier, the final promised to be a ‘race for the ages' between the two giants.

It was for a good way, but Safari ultimately went the way of all those before and succumbed to the relentless power of Black A Fake in the end.

Safari might be gone for good now, but before he passes into relative obscurity completely, we thought it might be appropriate to have one last look at the life and times or ‘travels' of this fine horse who never really reached his true potential.

For a start, it was interesting to note the similarities in type and pedigrees of Blacks A Fake and Safari.

Both were big, rugged sorts from mares by sons of Albatross in Vanston Hanover and Torado Hanover respectively, meaning they have 3x3 reverse sex crosses to Albatross and are line-bred 4x4x4 to Meadow Skipper.

As well, Torado Hanover's dam was by Knight Dream and Vanston Hanover's grandam was also by that influential son of Nibble Hanover.

And in short course they both emanate from New Zealand maternal families.

Blacks A Fake's background has been covered in this column before, and this time we are covering the trail which led to Safari.

Bred by Graham and Helen Head at Congupna near Shepparton, he is the first foal from Star Chaser, by Torado Hanover from Dream Chaser, by Classic Garry from the New Zealand-bred mare Dreamwood.

The latter was a Lumber Dream mare from a daughter of Bachelor Hanover in Madame Han, meaning Dreamwood was line-bred 3x3 to the Axworthy-line stallion Nibble Hanover, who figures in the pedigree again when Dream Chaser was bred to Torado Hanover.

In effect we have a mare in Star Chaser who was very much an outcross, outside of the 3x4 cross to Knight Dream, who produced Safari when bred to a horse thick with Hal Dale blood in Fake Left.

The Heads sold Safari at the 2001 Melbourne APG Sale for $15,000 and in more recent years they have become one of Victoria's more prominent commercial breeders, where the mainstay of their drafts has been the Madame Han family.

For instance at the Melbourne APG earlier this year they offered 12 yearlings from five different New Zealand families, but five were from the family of their foundation mare Madame Han.

These included an Astreos half-sister to Safari who sold for $52,000 to The Stallion Station's Robert Watson of Perth.

Their next best price was $27,000 for a Western Terror colt from the Torado Hanover mare Gemfire (13 Aus wins, $109,916, 94 Vic Tatlow 2yo Mem), a granddaughter of Madame Han who is the dam of The Godine Machine (14 Aus wins, $107,170, 03 NSW Tatlow 2yo Mem, Bathurst Gold Chalice), Zante Beach (1.59, 16 Aus wins, $115,160) and now last season's smart Red River Hanover 3-year-old Garnett River (6 Aus wins, $99,375, 2ndBreeders Crown).

Zante Beach was imported to New Zealand a couple of years ago by Bob McArdle and produced a filly by Red River Hanover last season, while more recently she left a colt by McArdle.

The Heads also got $19,000 for a Mach Three colt from Left Town (Fake Left-London Town), the dam of the ill-fated top youngster Lively Exit, while other New Zealand-bred mares figuring in their yearlings were Precious Guest (Smooth Fella-New Guest), Black Debate (Lordship-Debatable) and Wee Cheval (Vance Hanover-Wee Robin).

It was through an extensive involvement with dogs that led Graham and Helen Head to their quite considerable operation breeding standardbreds today.

Graham, infirmed nowadays, was a world renowned canine breeder and judge and in the early 70s, as a representative of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, he found himself being appointed to the Trotting Control Board, the forerunner to Harness Racing Victoria.

"We had tried the odd thoroughbred and had two or three winners, but they sort of faded into the background," recalls Helen.

"We found the standardbreds more fun because they went past more than once.

"We didn't know it at the time, but the appointment (to the Trotting Control Board) meant we had to go to the (1974) Inter-Dominions in Auckland," she added.

This is where they got to know Graeme Cochran, who got them interested in acquiring a standardbred mare.

Cochran came from an influential trotting family and his uncle was Eric, for which the $30,000 Cochran Cup is named.

A Group Two race for aged trotters these days, it was won by One Over Kenny at Geelong this year.

Graham Head became "great mates" with Cochran, who among many other things would become the TCB chairman from 1976-84 and more recently figure as the breeder of Shakamaker in more recent years.

Cochran's advice was that a New Zealand-bred broodmare should be by a top stallion and be in foal to one, and this they found in Madame Han, who in 1975 came with a Lumber Dream filly at foot (Dreamwood) and back in foal to him.

Bred by Christchurch's Dave Moore, Madame Han was an unraced mare from Descendant, by Caduceus from Vitesse, by Josedale Grattan from Northern Smile, by Great Parrish from Air Flight.

Descendant was a half-sister to good Australian pacer Chief Vitesse (NSW Spring Cup), but none of her foals amounted to anything and neither did her family in New Zealand.

Madame Han was left in New Zealand for a time to produce seven foals, and had 18 foals in all for 10 winners, although none amounted to much either with her best being her second in the Lumber Dream colt Chipmunk, who won 19 races in Australia including a Nyah Cup.

Nine of her foals were fillies however and her family has most certainly made an impression in Australia, even before Safari came along.

Dreamwood left a good Albion Park winner in Pebble Wood (Aus1.56.9), while Dream Chaser's only two colts among her first 10 foals were Detroit Dan (18 Aus wins, $117,146, 2nd Seymour Nursery 2yo) and Mister Motown (17 Aus wins, $72,934).

Top youngster Majestic Emperor (13 Aus wins, $133,558), Shine On Holllywood (21 Aus wins, $114,983, US1.52.8), Merlot (39 Aus wins, $121,693), Majestic Tess (Vic Breeders Plate) and a half-brother to Gemfire in Vancouver Mac (27 Aus wins, $173,472) are other good performers emanating from Madame Han.

This doesn't include Star Chaser (7 Aus wins) however, the only winning daughter of Dream Chaser (2 Aus wins) whose best performance was winning an El Dorado 3yo Repechage at Moonee Valley in 1997.

Her first foal was Safari in 1999, followed the next season by Junes Girl (5 Aus wins), a Safely Kept filly who was asked to raced 40 times as a 2 and 3-year-old, and was not surprisingly a little tired by the time she got the Breeders Crown at Bendigo in 2004.

One foal in the next three seasons from Star Chaser was killed by a snake bite, before she produced the Badlands Hanover filly in Our Maid Marianne, who won the $100,000 Vicbred for 2-year-old fillies at Moonee Valley in July last year.

Sold for $30,000 as a yearling to Peter Tonkin, Our Maid Marianne resumed in January with a win at Moonee Valley and has taken her record to six wins and $88,838 to date.

Since the Astreos filly, Star Chaser has produced a Bettor's Delight yearling colt and was due to foal to Art Major this season.

"We've gradually built the numbers up over the last 20 odd years, and these days look to breed at least a dozen foals and put them all through the sales, part from the odd filly at times.

"I'd like to breed more but we've only got the 13 boxes for the yearlings."

Star Chaser is thus the star of the broodmare band at Grenada Park these days, although those New Zealand bloodlines have been joined by some American ones more recently as the Heads have looked to "branch out".

Spirited Storm (US1.59.2), an Artsplace filly from a Storm Damage daughter of Blue Horizon, the dam of Panorama and grandam of Grinfromeartoear (brother in blood to Spirited Storm), was purchased at the yearling sales a few years ago and won a couple of races from four starts from Peter Walsh's stable in New Jersey.

She had a Bettor's Delight filly last season and went back in foal to him.

More recently landed while empty was Mitzi M Hanover, a daughter of Camluck who is a half-sister to eight in 2.00 including Noble Ability (1.49.2, $1.75m) and King Tutpankhamen (4, 1.50.2, $461,501).

Getting the Best Presented Award and the top price for a filly at the Melbourne APG was the highlight for the Heads' breeding endeavours so far, if only Helen could have been there.

She was sidelined with a minor stroke the day before, but she bounced back pretty quickly and no doubt she will looking to breed a few more Safari's yet.

Frank MARRION