Posted in Harness racing, Horses, My photo of the week, Standardbred breeding, tagged Rock N Roll Heaven, Shadow Play on April 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »
It’s been pouring with rain most of the day, and our four weanings have been stoically waiting it out. Then at last a break in the weather! And oh boy, the Rock N Roll Heaven filly just couldn’t hold herself back. How could the Shadow Play colt not be in awe?
Hey look at me!
Oi, I said look at me!
You’re going to miss it…
Can’t hold it much longer!
Last chance…
Yeeehaaa!!!
Posted in Harness racing, Standardbred breeding, tagged Sundon, Sungait Song on April 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »
At 29 years old, Sundon has finally succumbed to those familiar adversaries – age and ill health. What a horse! I’m a person who doesn’t use the word champion much at all. But Sundon was and is a champion. Not only was he a superb racehorse, winning from 2 through to 7 years old – with stellar seasons as a 2yo, 3yo and 5yo – but his efforts as a sire have done more than just chalk up a long, long list of outstanding performers. He actually modernised our trotting breed by adding speed and athleticism, and stamping those American trotting qualities on such a large number of his progeny. His fertility usually hovered around the high 70s and often climbed into the mid 80s, and it is testament to his standing amongst breeders that even faced with availability of many top overseas sires in New Zealand over the past 10 years, he continued to be popular. This season he served 13 mares. Sundon was an American-bred colt by Arndon from the BF Coaltown mare Sungait Song who turned out to be a very good producer. One of Sundon’s best half-sisters was Yankee Reb mare Sungait Reb who is leaving her own family for Roydon Lodge. Another is the Roydon Boy mare Sunsong who did nothing on the track, but whose first and only foal was the filly Solar Fire (also by Yankee Reb), a terrific young trotter who is now the dam of the equally talented Sheemon. And yet another half-sister by Yankee Reb was Sunning who has also left some good performers like Burano and Sunny Vacation, as well as current racers No Potato, Santorini Sunset and a talented Angus Hall 3yo filly called Agnes Brown who will be worth following. Sundon’s wider family includes some branches that have not fired at all, as is the case with most families. But the overall class has come through. Sundon’s progeny are still showing those qualities we are so familiar with – just yesterday he quinelled a race at Ashburton with favourite 3yo filly Sunny Ruby and one of the outsiders All Lit Up. Look at the arrogant manner of the win – and yes, a gallop along the way just to make it even more impressive. Sundon’s have sometimes been regarded as a bit lacking in manners, a bit hot-headed. Sunny Ruby is trained by Fred Fletcher – good on you Fred – who of course was very close to Sundon through his career, training and driving him in many of his races. Summary of Sundon and his career Harnesslink tribute Otago Daily Times tribute and quotes from Phil Williamson
Posted in Harness racing, Standardbred breeding on April 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Most owners of horses who are getting old or who have chronic problems or who get very ill will identify with the ache that the Kennards have gone through nursing and finally releasing Monkey Bones, the grey trotting sire who stood at Wai Eyre.
As a sire, he has done a very solid job in a short time with a reasonable number of mares and good promotion. Let’s not forget his breeding – a son of Andover Hall and a lovely maternal family – with multiple links back into the stunning Goddess Hanover family. He got 66 mares in his last season, which shows how his reputation was growing, so good hear there will be frozen semen available in future.
Posted in Harness racing, Pedigree matching, Standardbred breeding on April 16, 2015| 1 Comment »
Wairarapa meeting tonight at Manawatu Raceway, Race 5 for 2yo and older C0 pacers, and it was good to see Hanover Alert, Driving The Dragon’s full sister, take out third placing and pay $20 a place. Complete outsider of the field, Josh Dickie gave her a sweet trip smothered up 4 back on the inside, but the gaps came and she ran on strongly. I saw her as a weanling at Alabar and noted how much like Sam she was. I really hope she turns out to have similar ability.
| Hanover Alert | 2010 4 B m Sutter Hanover – Shark Alert | |
| Trainer: | W P Fleming | |
| Owner: | W P Fleming, Mrs B K Fleming, K J More | |
| Breeder: | Alabar (NZ) Ltd | |
You can see the replay here
Their dam Shark Alert is currently on surrogate mare duties, I believe. I will follow Hanover Alert (4yo) with interest, and of course her older sister’s progress in Canada.
Ironic footnote: was planning to place a bet but missed completely, because I was yakking on the phone to Aussie blog mate Richard. Hey Ritch, you will enjoy the irony in that!
Posted in Harness racing, Pedigree matching, Standardbred breeding, tagged American Flybye, tintin in america on April 14, 2015| 3 Comments »
The latest winner for Tintin In America as a sire came at Manawatu racetrack today – American Flybye, a 2yo chestnut filly from the Caprock mare Cathy’s Flybye, who won for trainers Steve Telfer and Chris Garlick and for owners/breeders I D Bublitz and Mrs J I Bublitz, with the usual lovely drive, well rated, from Scott Phelan.
Solid even quarters on the tightish Manawatu track, and she did it easily in the end, in spite of challenges in the last bit.
Her dam Cathy’s Flybye ( 2 wins) has already produced a good filly by American Ideal – Ideal Flybye (5 wins, $34,209 to date) – but overall the wider family has not been offered much opportunity in terms of sires or made much of the better opportunities they have had. But more recent decisions by the Bublitz’s seem to be kick-starting this branch with two sires that combine toughness and good speed – American Ideal and Tintin In America.
Tintin wins the 3yo colts Breeders Crown
You know the back story – as the breeder of Tintin In America I have followed with close interest and support his efforts as a sire. To me, he offers great opportunities as a sire along the lines of Bettor’s Delight and American Ideal (speed, strength, tough attitude and durability). Tintin won at Group 1 level from 2yo to 4yo).
The oldest of his three crops to date are just 2yos in New Zealand and Australia, and already we have got the top seller ($70,000 plus) at a ‘ready to run’ sale in Australia (but NZ bred), the winner of the South Australian Kindergarten Stakes (a filly), and now his first NZ starter in a tote race winning in a fine way. So it is quality rather than numbers that will do his talking, it seems.
While it is early days for Tintin as a sire, it is also the hardest days. All sires struggle in their 3 and 4 seasons at stud while breeders hang back and buyers hang back…it is the usual cautious waiting for the standout performers to arrive. For sires at the lower end of the market, it is particularly tough. This past season he got just a handful of mares – but I think that could and should change next season. When from very small opportunities you make a mark with quality, a sire is worth a second and third look.
Posted in Harness racing, Horses on April 12, 2015| 1 Comment »
Blog readers will be familiar with the story of “Sam”, or Driving The Dragon, our lovely 5yo mare who progressed from a weanling bought from Alabar, to a 2yo qualifier, to a mature racing mare with just a handful of starts. Then she went on a winning rampage and chalked up 5 wins, all in defining bold style, before being sold to Carmen Auciello in North America with just 15 races under her belt. Her last race here was in early January and then she went through a brief but acute illness before recovering very well and being exported.
She obviously coped with the trip really well, as she qualified in Ontario recently with an eye-catching 4th behind a couple of open class mares.
So she went out favourite in her first start today at Mohawk in a Fillies and Mares $20,000, and although trainer Auciello could have started her in an easier class, he opted to enter her in this one for decent money, as he prefers to do. He obviously felt confident in her ability. She didn’t let him down – as Drivingthedragon N she shot out from her 6 draw to a good lead, extended that to 4 or 5 lengths and eased up towards the finish line to win by 2 lengths and in 1.53-3.
Love you Sam!
Bee saying goodbye to Sam late January in Cambridge, New Zealand.
Posted in Harness racing, Standardbred breeding on April 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »
So low key but always a great way to notice what’s coming through, especially from less-than-high-profile trainers and sires.
Today in glorious sunshine I watched the learner’s pace (where they first do a circuit of the course behind the mobile for practice before released) at the Cambridge workouts.
Racehorses are always a story in the making, so I like to sometimes cover these modest events and report on something of interest.
The small learners field included (in finishing order)
Close to the finish line Cambridge learners workouts 11 April 2015
It was a non-eventful workout, dawdle and run home, good practice, and all of them finished pretty close up as you can see from the photo, except for Norvic Thriller who went rough a couple of times and tailed off.
There was just a nose between Fire Chaser, who had lead the last round, and Ranfurly Brogden, who finished on from back in the group down the home straight and pipped Fire Chaser on the line. The other two both finished it off well – the Shadow Play filly is not big but looks to have some get-up-and-go, and the Rob Roy Mattgregor 2yo is a striking type of filly who I could see developing into a really nice 3yo.
These are all horses from families that have shown potential but are not really kicking on as you might have expected for quite a while. So it is good to see something flying an early flame and worth watching how that grows with time and experience.
Ranfurly Brogden – Christian Cullen x Swift Mirage
Hats off to the Bowens for going back to the well and getting a nice Christian Cullen filly from Swift Mirage. Her best other foal by far was Swift Therapy, a gelding by Christian Cullen. Sugar Ray Brogden was a Grinfromeartoear yearling from the mare that I really liked at the sales, and he seemed to add some strength to Swift Mirage. Unfortunately a palate problem got in the way and he’s now sold to China. But this Christian Cullen filly today looked strong and ran home particularly well after settling back in the field.
Fire Chaser – Flashing Red x Iola May
A nose back to Fire Chaser who must be a result of the free Flashing Red services that were on offer a few years ago – 67 live foals in the year Fire Chaser was born but a rapid decrease in services since. However let’s not forget Flashing Red as a remarkable racehorse at the highest level. The oldest of his progeny here are 4yos. 8 starters to date (1 winner, Red Hot Toddy), and with the ability shown this morning I think Fire Chaser could well joins those ranks.
Genociate – Rob Roy Mattgregor x Rocket Blaster
The main reason I was there this morning was to see Genociate – one of the few Rob Roy Mattgregors to get to the track in New Zealand so far. What a lovely strong looking filly she is. I have had a soft spot for the sire Rob Roy Mattgregor who stood here briefly before going to Australia, but has died since (and it appears there is no frozen semen.) He was a beautifully pedigreed horse with a good North American record, not a top liner but with real racing ability who had to retire from an injury. So it will be interesting to see if any others of his progeny here and in Australia show up. Breeder/owner/trainer Dave Iremonger liked the look of the sires pedigree, which has Leah Almahurst on the bottom line and Direct Scooter on the top line, and thought such a classy pedigree at an affordable price was a good prospect with his mare, Rocket Blaster (Pacific Rocket x Game Hostess). I think he got it right, because looking at the resulting filly today, particularly after the race when she was washed down and walking around, I thought she looked a very nice strong type of filly and will just get better with experience.
Lana Royale – Shadow Play x Katcha Fire
The 3yo filly Lana Royale came fourth in a good learning experience, as these workouts should be, and finished the race off well. She is the Shadow Play half sister to the Tintin In America filly yearling I have blogged about before. (Leanne Edwards took the Tintin yearling home from the yearling sales after she didn’t make a tough reserve, and she’s been pleased with that decision. The Tintin filly has been broken in by Richard Brosnan and given him plenty of “workouts”, being quite headstrong but lovely gaited.) This Shadow Play older half-sister at the workouts today is not a big filly but she will learn to understand the racing game and did a good first up job today.
Posted in Harness racing, Standardbred breeding on March 25, 2015| 1 Comment »
There’s a current debate in USA about retiring stallions to stud duties before they have raced in 3yo / 4yo or open classes. The Jeff Gural run Meadowlands is staying staunch, but Hamiltonian and Woodbine associations are pulling away after the pilot that Gural introduced. Behind that, is the whole debate about what emphasis we put on younger racing, and whether that is something that makes or breaks our wider industry. Like everyone, I love following the 2yo workouts, trials and racing, and seeing what is popping up in terms of individual horses, maternal families and sires. But that is only one measure of a horse’s potential, and increasingly I feel uneasy about the drive to get horses showing up early and getting a return for owners, versus the longer term potential of a horse. Mostly trainers are astute at judging that, and will give an owner a clear steer. But owners and breeders also need to have realistic expectations that are also supported by longer term rewards. Which is basically what Gural is trying to achieve, even if he does antagonise many vested interests. As is shown with Father Patrick, as well as many European male horses, a horse can be a sire and also race as an older horse. An aged mare can race and have embryo transfers. It is a win/win. But many of us cannot see the wood for the trees. The desire to create “a racehorse” starts so early for many horses, and although the breed is getting better earlier, there are some basic laws of nature and development which can’t be overlooked. It is like having an Olympics for 12 to 15yos. And do we wonder when many “child prodigies” don’t progress or break down in some way (emotional or physical), or are eventually outstripped by more mature people? Daniel Vettori is 36. Wonderful American pacer Foiled Again is 10 or 11. Pembrook Benny has just retired at 10. Lydia Ko is a world champ at 18. But these are all exceptions. The middle range is of course where physical and mental maturity catches up with raw potential, and you end up with an athlete. There is something very satisfying in seeing champions ripen with age rather than seeing talent burning bright and early – and sometimes out. It reminds us that a horse may only be getting to physical maturity as a late 3 or 4yo or older. Those are young bones and young minds that we are putting into harness. I’m a strong believer in trying out a horse at 2yo if it has any natural ability, but only to a point where it shows what it really needs and how natural it is under the pressure of racing. I often wonder if the “waste” of untried horses in the back paddock of past years has just been replaced by the “waste” of young horses tried too soon and too hard and rejected or broken down or broken as a result. When I see my foals growing and developing, I realise just how much they are gawky young kids, getting to find their feet and grow their bones, with muscle and temperament development still ahead of them. A few are precocious, some are not. But they all deserve our time and patience, and careful observation regarding their underlying ability. My advocacy to give a longer term return to breeders is based on a horse’s performance – patient breeders (and patient owners) deserve some real recognition for waiting and letting a horse find itself. Often these are the horses that make up the majority of race fields, week in and week out. Selling early on potential is one thing. Getting real performance on the track is usually harder – and definitely worth rewarding.
Posted in Harness racing, Pedigree matching, Standardbred breeding, tagged American Ideal, Black Watch, Shadow Play, Warm Breeze on March 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »
A couple of trials and a non-tote heat for 2yo trotters were of interest at Cambridge today, although a major highlight was seeing The Orange Agent, Democrat Party, Supersonic Miss and Joanne’s A Delight battling it out in a four-horse heat of the 3yo Nevele R Series, and finishing in that order. The speed came on from the second quarter of the last mile, with The Orange Agent holding the lead throughout and eventually pulling away from a brave Democrat Party who was parked for the last half. The time was a cracking 2-38.3 for the 2200m trip, and although the winner was never seriously challenged for the lead, the manner of the win was all class. Both the Orange Agent and Democrat Party are American Ideal fillies from strong families. The Orange Agent has Artiscape as her damsire – he’s done an okay job as a damsire with 40 NZ bred winners to date, and just over half of those going 2-00 or under.
Down the home straight and The Orange Agent pulls away to win the Nevele R Series heat for 3yo fillies at Cambridge 15 March 2015. Photo: Bee Pears
In the non-tote Sires Stakes 2yo Trotters Prelude it was a huge contest between the talented Gershwin (from the outstanding mare Allegro Agitato) and the Muscle Yankee filly High Gait who is bred by Breckon Bloodstock (the mare Regal Volo was bought by Ken Breckon off the Feiss’s) and so the filly is a full sister to Twentyten (racing well in Australia as Ourtwentyten).
The tussle up the home straight was sensational, with the filly just getting the better on the line, and a course record to boot.
Gershwin is a truly talented trotter. He was withdrawn from the yearling sales after an injury, but has bounced back from that to give his breeders the Laurens and now co-owner local vet Ian MacKay something special to take to the races.
I doubt if this is the last time these two trotters will battle up the home straight!
2yo trotting filly High Gait (Muscle Yankee x Regal Volo) returns to the stabling area after winning the non-tote Prelude. Photo:Bee Pears.
Finally, I was keen to see how the 3yo gelding by Shadow Play called Back The Black managed his qualifying race. I’m keen on Shadow Play’s potential as a sire, as blog readers will know. So I like to keep an eye on what is popping up.
Back The Black, bred by W H Fleming and owned by the Flemings with D L Hopkins, did the job very nicely for trainer Nicky Chilcott and driver Peter Ferguson. It was not a quick time, a dawdle and a sprint, but the gelding looks like he has ability and controlled the race in front.
His pedigree is worth looking at – there are some elements I’ve flagged up as being potentially good clicks for Shadow Play. but also the maternal line is a lesser known branch of the Rosehaven family (the dam of Black Watch and one of New Zealand’s all-time great maternal families). Interestingly it is the same branch that produced Hot Shoe Shuffle(by Falcon Seelster as is Back The Black’s mare Drums Of Time). The link back to Warm Breeze in Shadow Play’s maternal line creates a Rasmussen Factor of sorts.
This is early days for the gelding of course, but he will be worth tracking as he learns and develops.
Back The Black holding his front running position easily and winning the qualifying trial at Cambridge today. Photo: Bee Pears.
Posted in Harness racing, Standardbred breeding, tagged Breeders Forum, Dominique Dowding, John Mooney, New Zealand Standardbred Breeders Association NZSBA on March 14, 2015| 1 Comment »
I came away from the North Island Standardbred Breeders Forum a bit disappointed, as once again a great opportunity to discuss ideas and move solutions forward took a back seat to presentations on the current state of the industry and a description of the funding model.
The workshops and panel discussion was squeezed in at the end, merged into table-based brainstorming on a list of high level industry-wide topics with an over-moderated panel discussion. Maybe that was so we could finish on time, but the result was much less of a “forum” than was advertised.
I looked around the room at the 50 to 60 guests and saw the range of breeding was well represented, from the big and high end, to those who may have just one or two mares.
So there was a fantastic opportunity to focus in on some specific breeders issues and get some insights and some potential solutions. And perhaps to kick off some specific working groups. To bring people together, rather than just put them in one room.
But that didn’t happen. As each table reported back, there was a real lack of nitty gritty ideas to debate, and a lot more reiteration of what we already know. A table stacked with breeding leaders came up with the fact that “every part of the industry depends on the other parts”. It wasn’t their fault. It was just that the format of the forum didn’t allow them to come up with much else.
I noticed that three tables included specific reference to breeders incentives in their feedback to the wider group, but these were noted and put to one side by chair John Mooney, and instead we had protracted discussion between the panel and John on conditions as a way to deal with the falling number of race horses.
Maybe I had gone in the wrong door, and this was the Owners and Trainers Forum…
On the brighter side, Kiely Buttell kicked off the forum with a report on the profile of breeders and the survey NZSBA did on why those who left are doing so – interesting. Around 60% of breeders are breeding from just one mare, and this is where the industry is declining in terms of breeders stopping participating in breeding. Some of the exiting is through age and death, and many because of rising costs.
“Exit interviews” are well worth doing and can deliver very useful information. However our table later discussed whether those at the 1-mare end of the industry who have left are really those we might be trying to attract back – maybe they come from an era which is no longer applicable, an era of cheaper land, where every farmer had a mare in the back paddock. Do we want those people back? Instead, what has attracted some new breeders to start? And what would help those breeders in the middle range (2-5 mares) stay involved and add to their involvement? Someone from another table mentioned “trying to attract new customers vs rewarding and looking after current customers”. In any business, it is not an “either/or” You need to do both, but you have to get the balance right.
That middle group of breeders (2-5 mares) makes up about 33% of NZ standardbred breeders (19% with 2 mares; 14% with 3-5 mares). It is where hobby enthusiasm and business/financial reality meet, and perhaps where more effort could go into mentoring and finding out what would keep that group alive and well. The breeders of 6+ mares makes up the remaining 7% of NZ breeders. Figures were not available at the forum to show what percentage of mares or foals born each year (and perhaps registered foals) come from each of these groups of breeders, but have been promised.
Dominique Dowding – CEO Alexandra Park and a provocative, interesting speaker at the forum
My attention was grabbed by the presentation by Dominique Dowding, CEO at Alexandra Park. It was well reasoned and provocative, just what we needed more of. She outlined some of the approaches that are taking the Auckland set up into the future. Among her statements I noted: Are higher stakes really the panacea? Stakes at Alexandra Park have increased but still many races are not attracting good numbers of entries. The perception seems to be that Alexandra Park is harder to win at so trainers and owners look for easier options with lower stakes further afield.
You could sense the frustration in her voice!
Dominique also challenged the structure of the industry – “The infrastructure is not correct, and the funding model is not correct.” Therefore any solutions we try may be addressing only the superficial issues rather than the fundamental ones. At Alexandra Park they stopped relying heavily on external funding streams and started focusing on generating their own sustainable income. She summed it up by saying that in many ways harness racing was a professional sport still acting like an amateur.
Her passion for a sound business model to base our industry on is music to my ears. It doesn’t mean we become some sort of soul-less Golden Arches “have-a-nice-day” industry. There are many successful industry models that we could learn from that incorporate both big and small players as producers and consumers – I can think of the New Zealand wine industry as one.
A forum with more focus and more time for sharing ideas and developing possible solutions would be great next time.
I don’t want to knock the organisers. The forum is a neat concept and I would love it to continue, but perhaps in a way that produces some “meatier” exchanges of ideas and has more focus on breeder issues and a plan for moving them forward. Come up with a tighter theme, produce some information in advance, and give more time over to the “forum” side of things, with presentations angled to feed into the discussion in one way or another.
So after all that, did I get any opportunity to raise the ideas about breeders bonuses that I covered in my last 4 or 5 blogs?
No. Only within my table discussion, which was about 30 minutes to cover off about 6 high level topics and try to come up with something we had done no homework on.
However I did say to both John Mooney and Kiely Buttell afterwards that I would be keen to follow up on that breeders bonus issue if it was approached in a consultative and planned way – and that I would like to see others involved to.
So here’s hoping.
b4breeding 