There are just over 70 trotting yearlings listed in the NZ Sale of the Stars yearling sales coming up in February, from 18 different trotting sires. However many of these sires have only one or two representatives. The most popular in terms of numbers are Muscles Mass (16), Monarchy (12), The Pres (10), Love You (6), and Muscles Yankee (5).
This time I’m focusing on one of the four yearlings entered by Carl and Heather Middleton in the Premier yearling sale in Christchurch. Carl is a long time trotting trainer and breeder with a particular interest over many years in European trotting.
Lot 147 is the first foal with Love You as the damsire to make an appearance at the yearling sales – he’s named Fiscal Madness, by Revenue.
Revenue, the sire of Lot 147, in action – Foto Mats Hansson ALN Pressbild ABSolvalla
There is a real European flavour to this yearling. The dam is by French sire Love You, and Revenue raced in Sweden although his sire line is French and his dam, Hazel Sund, is from Norway but has American breeding.
Carl Middleton describes Fiscal Madness as a striking individual, a chestnut with plenty of size about him even though he is a December foal. “He’s not a 2yo type, and that will be a good thing in the long run,” Carl says. “Very few trotters are natural 2yos. I’ve raced some winners at two myself and it has come back to haunt me. Even if they progress to open class, they just lack the fire of the ones who weren’t raced so early.”
Carl has a high opinion of the sire Revenue. At the time he made the choice of sire, Revenue’s super son Market Share was winning the Hambletonian in America, and his progeny are also racing very well in Scandanavia.
Carl Middleton says the yearling’s dam Violette was a very good gaited but big trotter who was trialled as a 3yo but was too overgrown to cope once the speed went on – “her legs were too weak and went everywhere, she needed time to strengthen up.” That persuaded Carl to put her in foal and perhaps try her again later. After an injury when she stood on herself and developed a bad quarter crack, she has a second foal at foot (a colt by Dream Vacation) and the plan is to keep breeding from her.
The Middletons are currently breeding from 10 mares and have 4 yearlings in the sale. The other Revenue colt they are offering is Lot 444 from the very good Dream Vacation mare Savona (13 wins here and Australia, $150,000 plus). Both Savona and Violette are from the Middleton’s wonderful producing mare Millburn Segil, and she has a yearling herself in the sale: Lot 366, a filly by French sire Sam Bourbon. Their fourth entry in the sale is Lot 178, Enghien, a Love You colt from one of the Middleton’s other excellent producing mares, Another Starlet (the Lily The Pink family, and a branch of the excellent Working Girl family – and other good branch being Miss Whiplash).
The Middletons are putting up a small but high quality draft of yearlings, well worth checking out. Photo of Fiscal Madness below.
(Just an aside on Revenue’s maternal line – his dam is Hazel Sund. Her grandam Rare Scotch is the full sister to Speedy Scot, the sire of Speedy Crown. This maternal line traces back to Expressive, the daughter of foundation mare Esther who is viewed as one “modern” font of the large heart. The same family connection also appears in Hazel Sund’s pedigree via Sugarcane Hanover’s sireline.)
Fiscal Madness, Lot 147 at the Sale of the Stars 2015.
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