Breeding Matters | July 2017 by New Zealand Standardbred Breeders' Association

BREEDING M AT T E R S July 2017

Worlds fastest standardbred to stand down under! Always B Miki: Article on pg 60

FRESH, CHILLED SEMEN AVAILABLE NZ-WIDE IN 2017 A Rocknroll Dance* $6,000 Always B Miki $7,000 Art Major $12,000 Auckland Reactor $3,000 Betterthancheddar $4,000 Grinfromeartoear $3,000 He’s Watching $6,000 Majestic Son $5,000

THE ALABAR

CLASS

2017

WELL SAID p,2,1:51; 3,1:47.6 ($2,569,342) Western Hanover–Must See–Artsplace b.h. 16 hands

OUR MOST EXCITING LINE-UP — EVER

I THINK T HIS COULD BE T HE G R EAT EST HORSE T HAT EV E R LIVED HALL OF FAME TRAINER J I M M Y TA KT E R

Peak $2,500 Racing Hill $5,000 Rock N Roll Heaven $7,000 Roll With Joe $6,000 Shadow Play $4,000

Sire of Both a Meadowlands Pace and Breeders Crown Champion Top Ten U.S. Sire in 2YO, 3YO & All-Age Performance Earnings Every Year Since His First Crop Raced in 2013 From 4 Crops of Racing Age, Sire of 13 in 1:50, 160 in 1:55, 69 $100,000 Winners and $64,434 Avg Earnings Per Starter Progeny Earnings Now Stand At Over $24 Million

Sir Lincoln $2,500 Sportswriter $5,000 Sunshine Beach $4,000 *Standing at Nevele R

2016 Meadowlands Pace Champion ALWAYS B MIKI 20% DISCOUNT FOR PAYMENT 20 SEPT 2017

A LA B A R ( N Z ) LT D

09 232 1800

alabar@alabar.co.nz alabar.co.nz South Island Rep, Ivan Behrnes

03 615 6332 / 027 615 6119

(CONDITIONS APPLY)

DISCOUNTS FOR MULTIPLE MARES POLF OPTION AVAILABLE ON SOME STALLIONS

(LOADING APPLIES)

ALL FEES SHOWN EXCLUDE GST SEMEN AVAILABLE AT APPROVED LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT NEW ZEALAND

CONTROL THE MOMENT

p,2,1:49.8; 3,1:48.4 ($1,227,832) Well Said – Lifesliltreasure – Life Sign Service Fee: $6,000 + GST

Early Booking Discounted Fee

4,800 + GST

EMPIRE

STALLIONS (NZ)

Booking Enquiries: Johnny Robinson | Mobile 021 883 713 | john@goharness.co.nz www.empirestallions.com

CONTENTS From The Executive Brad Reid

From The Chairman John Mooney

The Breeding Bully | Graeme Henley Brad Reid

Feeding The Broodmare

From The Stud: Woodlands Moving Forward Charlotte Mooney

Courage Under Fire Dies Michael Guerin

Likely Contenders For NZ Pacing/Trotting Broodmares Of Year Peter Craig

FROM THE EXECUTIVE MANAGER

Increased minimum stakes set to roll out over the course of this season will hopefully make the sport more attractive to owners struggling to pay the bills. Savvy commercial moves by the ATC and NZ Met have made our premiere venues more attractive. This should trickle down into the pockets of the breeding industry whether you are breeding to race or breeding to sell. Trainers who have recently struggled to syndicate shares or take a chance at the yearling sales now have a sales pitch for prospective owners who have a real opportunity to get a good return on their investment.

By Brad Reid | Executive Manager What a time to be alive and involved in Harness Racing.

We’re not home by any stretch. We lost a generation of racegoers by getting complacent.

It may be some time before some of the recent announcements are truly felt throughout the Standardbred community, but one thing is for certain.

At a time when we were serving 5000 mares and winning a race would cover your costs for almost 12 months, sports went professional and with that came TV deals and an increased threats from multiple sources and options of entertainment.

Greener pastures await. 22

The leadership shown from Glenda Hughes, John Allen and their respective teams at the Racing Board need to be commended. They have put their hand up, acknowledged their shortcomings and have gone about addressing the issues the three codes are facing.

Super Rugby playoffs have shown first-hand how hard it has become to get people to leave their living rooms and experience a product in its raw form.

European Breeding Scene Dave Saunders

Live or Die Retired From Stud Duties

Not Foaling Around

Building An Empire | David James & Empire Stallions Brad Reid

Some People Are Just Soooo Nice John Mooney

Bob-Timistic On Bromac And Future Of Harness Racing Brad Reid

NZSBA Representative On The NZ Harness Racing Board Colin Hair

Gearing Up For Another Showing Season Julie De Fillipi

Wai Eyre Farm | Your One Stop Broodmare Shop

Leading Contenders For Breeder of Year Peter Craig

Slot Money Fueling Resurgent Export Market To America Garrick Knight

Trotting Royalty | Stallions Australia

Speed, Speed And More Speed

Breeding Basics: Getting In Foal Marvin Pave

Music to the ears? We wanted less talk and more action. That is what we are getting!

Senior management with a relatively fresh group at board level is listening to stakeholders and addressing genuine concerns in our own code.

Always B Miki Story Jess Smith

Race fields legislation has been delivered to parliament and looks likely to get the go ahead.

After some teething issues with the handicapping, the majority of horseman agree that it is working.

The Snow Show Bruce Stewart

A new technology solution has been approved to automate and significantly improve the fixed odds betting platform.

Shoeing News: Diamonds In The Rough Steve Stanley

The changes should see us able to deliver on some of our own objectives which is full fields with more turnover through more even betting.

Creatine To Muscle Up The Australasian Trotting Stallion Ranks

Breeding Basics | Animal Husbandry

The raw form of harness racing is the only way we are going to elicit the excitement and passion that can be derived from watching the Standardbred in the flesh.

Visibility, transparency and communication are key in instilling confidence to an industry that has literally had to pick itself off the canvas and get with the times.

How can we get someone to take an ownership interest in a Standardbred unless they too fall in love with the sport?

None of the three racing codes and their participants have been immune in feeling the pinch that is rising costs, coupled with stagnant stakes & declining participation. While it seems like the industry has had to get on its knees before we acknowledged and tackled genuine concerns, it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel after all. John Allen and the Racing Board have spent time listening to their stakeholders and have answered the call of desperately needed extra funding and new and improved technologies. They have achieved this through reviewing their business model and how it is delivered for the betterment of everyone involved. They have continued to deliver increases in distributable profit through improved margins and good cost management. “This will see distributions to the industry increased to a minimum of $148.2 million in 2017/18 and 2018/19 from the current baseline, in anticipation of the future financial benefits of NZRB’s key strategic work currently underway,” says CEO John Allen.

They have also introduced the ‘Industry Enhancement Fund’ to support infrastructure and youth development which our junior horseman will be the major beneficiary of. We can only hope that if there is a change of government that those who gain the Treasury benches have the sense to ensure continuity and stability on the Board itself. This board has a positive momentum that is delivering for our sport. They talk about what they are doing and achieving.

The only way it seems we can do that is if we can attract them to our venues to experience it.

Brad with his now yearling colt and Toomuch To Do This same approach has been adopted by the powers that be in Harness Racing. The team at Harness Racing New Zealand are more than doing their part. Why is it that the loudest voices are always the negative ones bemoaning a lack of direction and change? Yet when it occurs and positive moves are made, the same voices aren’t so vocal? Credit where it’s due is in order.

While the field sizes are an ongoing battle at Auckland, the odds-on favourites accustomed with ‘the ribbon of light’ aren’t so much. In their three July meetings there was only one odds on favourite win and in total four horses winning paying less than $2.50. This is what we want if we are to attract the punter who drives turnover, of which we are the beneficiary.

Our clubs are doing a fantastic job of reinvigorating the way they do this. Nights like Italian Night at Alexandra Park, Ladies Night at Addington, Christmas at the Races and our Summer Festivals of Racing are proof that our communities will support an event done well. We too need to take responsibility for the industry we love and get off the couch and support them. Take a friend along and show them a good time. Teach them about the horse, the driver, the tactics involved and why the horse on the leader’s back is allowed to utilize that funny passing lane thing. Our friends and family are our best chances to sell anyone on and then into the sport. When things aren’t going good it’s easy to forget why we do them in the first place. This an industry many have been involved with through the good, the bad and even at times the ugly. The fact you are reading this suggests you haven’t been lost, and while we could be slightly mad, the addiction that is Harness Racing is after all hard to shake. Keep fighting the good fight. Everyone from the breeder to the owner to the horseman to the administrators need to support one another to ensure we fight for more than our survival and keep pushing the industry forward together.

BREEDING MATTERS

We won’t always agree, and that’s healthy for harness racing. The important thing is the best interests of all are considered and met, from the industry elite to the small syndicate shareholder. From a breeding perspective we are doing our part to ensure your voices and concerns are heard. One of many cries recently has been to look at limiting the stud books like they do in America.

We have access to 13 of the top 20 stallions in the USA as of now.

Classical

We wouldn’t be able to secure the Bettor’s Delights and Art Majors, or unearth the heirs to their throne if we capped the books.

again this season a good horse can come from anywhere, and there is a market and future for a horse that can run!

We experienced similar issues with Holmes Hanover & Soky’s Atom and all the Albatross blood as they saturated the market previously. History will show all good things come to an end sooner or later and this couldn’t be more evident with the fertility issues of Cullen and the sudden passing of Courage. Alabar and Woodlands concede their respective two greats are in the twilights of their careers. While the conversation is healthy and needs to be had, we also need to realise the improvement in our breed has been the result of these stallions success. It’s also paving the way for the next generation of stallions coming through who are already leaving their mark. We’re in breeding purgatory a wee bit as we wait desperately to see who the next big thing is going to be in the siring ranks. We are given the task of listening to the trainers (and yearling sales prices), and making the use of the siring statistics available to us. From there we are expected to take a frontline investment risk and either stump up top dollar for the best, or take a punt and peer into a crystal ball that is the future success of an up and coming stallion. For Bob McArdle to tell me the Yearling Sales is the toughest aspect of the industry he has been involved in, with over 60 year’s experience in the industry, suggests it’s not as simple as breeding a Bettor’s Delight and filling out a sales entry form. The $50,000 for Brian West’s Roll With Joe colt and the $60,000 for Bromac Lodge’s Washington VC colt are proof that the physical product still needs to match the script. On the other side of the coin, horses like Captain Dolmio (Grinfromeartoear) and Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Changeover) showed Page 6

The breeder’s bonus which our members enjoy is another important aspect of recognition provided primarily by the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club and now the Cheviot and Amberley clubs as well.

Minnieme’s Excuse had a tough old time over the spring/ summer getting in foal. Being a maiden mare I thought she would be a good prospect for frozen semen and I’m a big fan of Captaintreacherous and his future prospects at stud. Over a Rocknroll Hanover mare I loved the cross however in January and no conception we were all left scratching our heads a bit.

My breeding journey is about to take its next step this summer as I will be selling my trotting colt at the 2018 yearling sales.

While the capping of the stallion limits to 125 or 150 would potentially be healthy for competition and in some respects the gene pool, it would also have detrimental effects in others.

With declining numbers of mares being served, this could take an even bigger hit if all the semen we received was frozen. Our in foal rates would naturally decline and this would result in even fewer foals on the ground.

years of age and I will likely only breed her once more. All the more reason to hopefully have a filly to breed on with!

The NZ Met alone have paid out over $100,000 in bonuses in the last 12 months which is quite simply awesome. It’s one thing having a story written about your mare, but $500 in the bank account is a tangible we could all do with from time to time to encourage us along the way.

While it could be argued the dominance of Bettor’s Delight and to some extent Art Major is having a negative impact on our industry and genepool, we need to discuss some of the parameters.

It’s already getting harder to bring these stallions Down Under in the flesh and it would be near impossible for the studs to secure the rights to these great horses if it was not economically viable for them to take a chance in doing so.

had an article featured about their breeding exploits at some time in the last 12 months.

The challenge as breeders seems to be remaining realistic about what we can expect. There does need to be an alternative solution for vendors looking to sell less commercial stock and I believe PGGW have gone a ways to addressing this with their select sale at the commencement of the yearling sales. Could we see a return of a Ready to Run sale in the future also? And as discussed earlier, who knows what positive ramifications the announced lift to stakes over the next few years will have for the future of breeding and selling horses. It’s hard to imagine it being anything other than positive. Graeme Henley pointed out in his editorial, he would like to see us to evolve as an industry and hopefully get to a point where we can breed our own stallions capable of competing with the best from North America.

Bolt for Brilliance is a Muscle Hill colt from a mare called Toomuch To Do. I decided to sell him to help with the burden of having two pacing mares in foal. I already lie awake at night dreaming of several under bidders desperately trying to out do one another at auction. Then the realist/pessimist kicks in and you wonder whether I will even make costs?! It’s an exciting prospect for me regardless because I didn’t into this exercise to try and make money. I can only imagine the emotions vendors go through when watching their stock go through the sales ring. Fingers crossed the colt keeps progressing the way he is and I can afford to buy myself an ice cream on the way home.

A change of tact and fresh semen with Sportswriter! First pop we had a positive 14 day scan. That’s breeding and it certainly isn’t all rainbows and lollipops. It’s funny how it works out though. Both mares have had stand out family members since conceiving with some a little closer to the maternal tree then others. Classical’s daughter Classic Nymph bred My Kiwi Mate and he looks set for a big Open Class season this year. Her half-sister Tact Philly has since left Sweetchilliphilly who looks like she could be anything as she pushes towards the Breeders Crown. Minnieme’s Excuse’s half-brother I’m Full Of Excuses has kicked on after showing plenty of promise in NZ and won multiple Group Races in West Australia for owners Merv & Meg Butterworth. He is being set for a tilt at the Interdoms, and Ollie Haines who I got the mare from has recently qualified her two and three-year-old sisters. Classical has a LDOS date of mid-October and Minnime’s Excuse is looking like foaling an awesome Christmas present. Will keep you posted.

Ultimately, I want to race some of my own breed and along the way I’m going to have to sell a few to do so.

All the best for another breeding season and hope you enjoy the publication.

Classical is in foal to Rocknroll Hanover. I’m praying she foals a filly and this will be the first foal I can raise with the intention of racing with a group of mates. She’s getting on a bit now at 18

Brad

Muscle Hill Yearling

With the number of records broken this season, and the way the bloodlines are continually improving, we can only hope the next Christian Cullen isn’t far away. Good luck to Auckland Reactor and Sir Lincoln this season as they continue their journey to matching it with the best. I believe the horse who won the Cup in world record time still has his manly bits? Could Lazarus be the answer? Like everything in this breeding game - time will certainly tell. From a personal standpoint, I’m still enjoying the challenge of delivering on our strategic plan for the New Zealand Standardbred Breeders. Our activities have ramped up significantly and it’s pleasing to get feedback from around the country on what we are doing well, and things we can continue to improve upon. I mentioned earlier credit where it’s due. While it is important we continue to partake actively in advocacy issues like taxation and the yearling sales, in an environment that hasn’t been delivering economically for all, sometimes a bit of love and a pat on the back goes a long way. We have 25 new members already in this early part of the season. Many of whom when reading between the lines have

BREEDING MATTERS

FROM THE CHAIR By John Mooney | NZSBA Chairman Based on these announcements stakes at Alexandra Park will have increased by 25% over the last three years. The following season the ATC will boost stakes again an average $4000 per race (over $1 million new money) with the very real possibility they could do the same thing the season after. Addington Raceway The New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club has raised its minimum stakes to $10,000 for all races at Addington Raceway from August 1.

INCREASED STAKES SHOULD DRIVE CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE The announcements are flowing: increased funding directly to stakes. Nothing brings confidence to the racing community like money in pockets. These increases are significant. This is sustainable real money into the pockets of race horse owners and breeders, who by the way are involved in 50 percent of the horses that race! Speaking to trainers at Addington on Friday night these announcements were greeted enthusiastically and positively. The increases in stakes at the bottom end, and the HRNZ maiden winner’s bonus of $1500, will support the retention of owners. It would be fantastic if this positive news resulted in breeders increasing the number of pacing mares being bred and the decline of recent years halted. We need to bred more than 2,500 mares a year minimum to maintain our industry target of 2,500 races. Similarly, the interest that trotting is generating should lead to another increase in trotting mares bred. At 550 mares bred last season we are still a long way from the 700 bred not that many seasons ago. Another increase will give studs confidence to continue to find top trotting stallions for us. Alexandra Park Auckland Trotting Club was the first cab off the rank announcing that it will put $1.3 million more into stakes this season, meaning no race at Alexandra Park next year will be for less than $12,000. A normal Friday night meeting will see a stakes range from $12,000 to 17,000. On top of that HRNZ will pay a $1500 bonus to all maiden winners, meaning a maiden win at Alexandra Park next season will be worth at least $7500.

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The increases have been applied across the board, so horses of any rating, from non-winners to the best pacers and trotters in the country, get their chance. A number of races, past the nonwin level, will have stakes between $13,499 and $14,400. All races during New Zealand Cup week will run for a minimum of $25,000. Eight races on Cup Day will have their stakes lifted to the new minimum. Cup Day with $1.25 million of stakes compares favourably with Riccarton on 2000 Guineas Day. The CJC offers total stakes of $700,000 over 10 races, $400,000 for the Guineas, and six supporting races a run for $30,000 each. All Group II and Group III races and a small number of Group I features will also have stake increases for the new season. NZMTC Board is targeting to spend 100 percent of the distribution of stakes from HRNZ on stakes. This is a tough target meaning that all racing club administration, operations and holding costs come out of the club’s other income sources. The harness code averages a distribution of 88.70 percent of funding spent on stakes while the thoroughbred returned $74.80 to stakes of every dollar received. Southland Harness Southland Harness is delivering on promises it made 12 months ago to increase stakes again under its bulk funding and centralised management partnership. Jason Broad the CEO announced recently claiming races would remain at $6000; maiden races will be run at $8000 with the $1500 HRNZ bonus added to the winners stake for a return of $5,900; R Rated races will be tiered from $8000 – $12000 based on club splits (ratings and number of races programmed) while the local Cup Races will continue to be at $14,000 at this stake, bar the normal higher cup meeting races. Auckland, The Met, Southland and other clubs are to be congratulated for these announcements.

THE YEARLING SALES After the sales this year vendors and The Breeders have had a number of productive meetings with the Bruce Barlass and the PGGW Standardbred team. It very pleasing to see the PGGW team (and the company corporately) respond positively to the vendors with some exciting revisions and enhancements coming up in 2018. The revised Christchurch sales format has been endorsed by South Island vendors: • Approximately 100 new demountable boxes are to be constructed within the complex’s sheep yards (PGGW management has approved the funding) so that almost all horses will be on site. The current boxes will all checked and strengthen as required. • 320 yearlings will catalogued at Christchurch: there will be a reduction in numbers due to some yearlings being taken to Karaka and the effects of the reduced foal crop. • Day One – a parade of yearlings starting 11 am through to 3 pm (trotters (60), fillies (80), colts (120)) then at 4 pm a boutique sale of all the trotting yearlings; • Day Two – one day sale of the pacing yearlings commencing 10 am with the 200 yearlings that were paraded on the Tuesday. • On Day Two a Supplementary Sale commencing at 4.30 pm with a further 60 yearlings. These 60 yearlings will not be at the parade; their entry fee may be half the main sale fee; and different arrangements for entry into the Sales Series (to be worked out). Having almost all horses on site gives trainers and buyers more time to inspect the yearlings available and compare individuals. The separate trotting sale can be a showpiece for youngsters from our quality trotting families and the excellent suite of modern stallions now available. I can see this sale growing to 80 or 100 yearlings within five years. PGGW will be announcing further enhancements to their marketing of the sales. All vendors will receive information of Health and Safety at the sales in 2018, and during the lead-up inspections. In October The Breeders will put on three regional forums on the theme of presenting the right type of animal at the sales, health and safety in breeding farms and at the sales and bloodstock taxation. Venues and dates to be confirmed in late August.

that allows everyone to offer their yearlings through the sales and a sale that enhances revenue to breeder/vendors. The feedback we have is that the vast majority of vendors are comfortable with PGGW as the vendor’s auctioneers. An independent professional auctioneer, such as PGGW, acting as the sales agent of the breeder/vendors has significant advantages for our sport. If PGGW at a corporate level ever wanted to dispose of the Standardbred Division, then The Breeders may be interested in facilitating an outcome that resulted in a vendor/breeder owned auctioneer. But that is not on the horizon today. Our overall interest is in fostering an enhanced participative working relationship between PGGW and their vendor clients. A $2 million increase is sales income benefits vendors and PGGW. Everyone, vendors and PGGW, have massive incentives to improve the overall performance of the sales.”

NEW COMMERCIAL BREEDERS AND TAXATION We, NZ Thoroughbred Breeders and the two codes, are working with the NZ Racing Board to clarify with the IRD the policy for the deduction of breeding losses by new investors. Last year the IRD proposed that new investors would be treated differently to existing commercial breeders. One example under the draft proposal was that new investors could only deduct expenses and depreciation associated with a filly or mare when a breeding business actually commenced as opposed to when the investor formed an intention to establish a breeding business. For example a new entrant could buy an expensive filly with the intention to bred her later. Under the IRD proposal the deductions would not be available until the filly was bred. Under current law an existing breeder who purchased the same filly can depreciate her and claim non-racing expenses as the breeding business is already in existence. The NZB and its lawyers have prepared a number of submissions to the Minister of Revenue on this and related bloodstock taxation and GST issues. We are hopeful that the policy will be confirm in the next month. September’s Breeding Matters will contain an update.

I do need to clear up a couple of issues. The Breeders has no desire to run the sales or control the sales, despite some mischief being spread by people who should know better. Our interest is solely to have quality well run yearling sales

BREEDING MATTERS

THE B R E E D I N G B U L LY | GRAEME HENLEY By Brad Reid Graeme Henley has been around this industry longer then he would care for me to publish. He has his finger on the pulse of the sport through his roles as General Manager of Alabar NZ Ltd and Chairman of the Sires Stakes Board. Throughout the breeding season Henley is incredibly hands on at the farm overseeing the early morning stallion collects whilst processing the many orders and shipments of semen that leave the stud.

crack at the new stallions which was really encouraging. We will continue to sell weanlings there every year and acknowledge that we need to keep upgrading our stock - which we will.

Alabar is clearly the largest stallion operation in Australasia standing 18 stallions between New Zealand and Australia. Where many studs may struggle to fill the void of losing a champion stallion such as the ill-fated Mach Three, Alabar (along with Nevele R Stud) has managed to do so securing the world champion Always B Miki.

The American stallion owners seem to realise that the market down here is a great opportunity. There’s very similar number if not more mares bred in Australasia as there are in North America now so it is a huge market down here that they want to be part of. They also realise that there aren’t a great deal of players down here anymore.

We caught up with Graeme to discuss the fast approaching new season and some of the exciting developments at both an industry level and closer to home at the farm. Thanks for your time Graeme, starting with some industry news, how important are the recent announcements of industry wide stake increases at both ends? Very important, something like that needed to happen and what Auckland Trotting Club, NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club and now Southern Harness are doing in raising minimum stakes and increases across some of the bigger races it’s wonderful. Without confidence, you don’t have any industry and its certainly the case with harness racing. The funding coming through from HRNZ is super and it’s certainly needed. The costs are rising and the industry needed something to encourage them that was significant - which it has been, so it’s really good to see coming into a new season. You must have been rapt with the way the Weanling Sales went for Alabar and your draft? Oh absolutely, I was nervous going into the sale because a lot of the weanlings we were selling don’t equate to the top-end of the yearling sales and away from the top-end of the yearling sales the vendors struggled a little bit. I wasn’t sure what the market would be like but it was really good. It showed you still need to bring quality though. A couple of years ago you could take some relatively low end ones along. There would always be someone with a horse float in the car park who would put his hand up and take it home. There’s no market for those types of horses anymore. It certainly showed that if you take the right article along there people will have a crack at them. There were a lot of trainers there having a

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With stallions being syndicated for such large sums in North America, is it getting more difficult to bring these good horses down under?

We have a great relationship with Blue Chip. Over the years, we’ve always done a good job for them and have always done what we’ve agreed to and that’s starting to play out. They keep us posted with what’s happening. It’s also been really important that we have a good relationship with Diamond Creek. Adam Bowden is a new young player who is really keen and he does a lot of things right securing the right type of stallions. Things have worked out well with A Rocknroll Dance and that’s helped in putting together the deal to secure Always B Miki which was a huge thing for Nevele R Stud and ourselves. Relationships do count for a lot and we do put a lot of effort into doing the right thing by the stallion owners and putting the horse first. Are we as an industry in New Zealand beginning to gain more respect in North America? For example, are stallion owners in North America recognizing our ability to breed a quality product and thus see us as an added opportunity to prove their stallions? The Americans have for a long time been strong players in Europe with frozen semen, they see that as a really good return and they have a lot of respect for the quality of what’s in Europe. Maybe in the past they haven’t had the same respect for the quality of the horses down here but that’s certainly changing with some of the horses we have had go up there in recent years who have done a really good job. Horses like Bettor’s Delight and Art Major are syndicated around some of the biggest farms in North America and they see the returns they are getting from those horses. That gives us a lot of respect. They see what the upside is down here if you can kick a goal. Most of them now realise it’s not easy here anymore and it is actually the toughest place in the world to compete because

everyone is competing against everyone. In North America you can pop a horse strategically into Ohio or Indiana to give him a start. You can’t do that in New Zealand or Australia, wherever you stand you’re competing against everyone so it’s a brutal market. A horse that can’t make it in North America will rarely make it down here. Even some of the horses who do make it in North America can’t make it down here because it’s very hard to get any traction. Wherever you go you’re racing against the Bettor’s Delights, Art Majors, Somebeachsomewheres, American Ideals and Mach Threes. It’s early in their season but at the time of writing we currently have 12 of the top 20 two year old sires in North America available to the NZ Market. Did you ever anticipate this happening early on in your career managing a stud? Possibly not. I’ve been doing this long enough to remember when Art Major was announced to be coming down here to Pepper Tree Farm, a lot of people just couldn’t believe it. They couldn’t believe a horse like him would be able to come down to this part of the world. Probably prior to Art Major we weren’t getting the absolute crème de la crème of horses and he was a game changer from the perspective of a big farm being prepared to send a horse like that down here. And it was also a game changer in terms of how a deal was structured where they were selling the rights and following on from that there were a lot of other deals of a similar nature.

like Cullen was. It’s something the industry needs to evolve to so that more of the money is kept down here rather than all going back to North America. It makes Auckland Reactor and Sir Lincoln even more important to us and the breeding industry as a whole. And the farm operation, how many staff do you employ and what sort of numbers are you doing on the farm in an average season? We don’t have a huge staff, there’s six of us on the payroll in New Zealand. We carry about 100 mares over the winter. We’re not a huge farm but over the breeding season we have something like 240 to 250 mares here and foal about 140 mares. Obviously by far the biggest part of our business is shipping the semen away. We also understand that having the mares on farm is an important part what we do. They provide a natural environment for the stallions on the farm and allow us to provide another service to that side of the industry. In conjunction with Nevele R Stud you were able to secure the current fastest horse of all time in Always B Miki. How exciting is that heading into a new season?

We were lucky enough to end up with Art Major but to me his original deal opened the door and since then the quality has really flowed. If Art Major and Bettor’s Delight hadn’t done such a great job and there hadn’t been a great return go back to North America it would have dried up. It is incredible.

He’s obviously a superstar. He’s a really iconic horse up there, not only because of what he did, but the way he did it. He was a very good young horse. Towards the end of his three-year-old season he kicked out at a wall and broke his hind pastern. He had two screws put in that pastern. When he recovered from that and he was coming back up to race again he was possibly not as balanced as prior to the injury and his other hind pastern went and needed two screws in that one as well.

The down side is that these two stallions have really created an expectation from North American stallion owners. The price on many of the southern hemisphere deals have become over the top. This puts a lot of pressure on the studs. It’s a high risk game as not all of these high price deals work out. Not by any means.

Even with all these screws in his legs he went on to achieve great things on the track. Because people knew what he had been through, he achieved cult status. Nobody was really surprised when he set the world record and he’s not just a speed horse either.

One thing I would really like to see is us being more successful in breeding our own stallions. The thoroughbreds have been successful at it while we’ve struggled with it in a lot of ways. Christian Cullen was a superstar but unfortunately some of the others since haven’t quite measured up. Maybe it’s a sign that Bettor’s Delight and Art Major are just so good that many other stallions can’t compete.

He was able to sit outside a horse like Wiggle It Jiggle It who is a superstar in his own right and find a way to beat him like good horses do. He’s got speed and he’s got guts as well. We’re really excited by his pedigree and with Bettor’s Delight being such a dominant sire, the next great sire will be the horse that crosses well with his daughters. We are all looking for that horse, it’s not rocket science to know that and because of Miki’s type and his bloodlines he’s a big shot at doing that.

Horses like Elsu and Changeover have done good jobs, but we really need a horse that’s bred down here that can be dominant

BREEDING MATTERS

To get a horse that stands in America for $12,500 and serves a full book of such quality mares in his first season, to get him down here and stand him at $7,000 is incredible. And the well-performed son of Roll With Joe in Racing Hill? We’ve had a bit to do with Tom Hill the owner of Racing Hill. He’s a huge player in North America and he’s just in love with this horse. He was really keen for him to come to Alabar and we were really keen to take him. He raced in a very strong crop of horses and didn’t dodge any battles racing against the best horses week in week out. He probably should have won the Meadowlands Pace where he went down a nose whilst suffering a gear malfunction in the running. If he was mine I would have been tempted to keep racing him as a four-year-old He’d already won $1.7 million and I think if he had of raced on as an older horse he would have gone on to win 3 or 4 million. Tom was keen to not risk him any further and give him his chance at stud in dual hemispheres and that’s what he’s done. It’s a decision that’s presented a wonderful opportunity to our broodmare owners. An absolute bonus I feel. Auckland Reactor has had a solid start to his career and seems poised for a big 2017/18. With large crop of three year olds and another solid crop of juveniles to come through, it must be exciting? Between New Zealand and Australia, he’s got 50 two year olds to date that have either raced or qualified - so he is off to a strong start. I guess it would have been nice to have had a few more winners, but he’s left a Group1 winner (Gold Reactor) and he’s left a Sires Stakes Heat winner in New Zealand (Miss Ethel Sunshine). I think we’ve got to put it in perspective that Auckland Reactor himself didn’t race at all until he was a three year old. What his progeny have done up until now has us really looking forward to the new season. The foundation is there and it’s now up to him to kick on and do it. I honestly believe that he will, but I also acknowledge that he has to do it himself and it will be exciting between now and Christmas to watch those three year olds come out. Sportswriter is currently second in the North America TwoYear-Old Sires list on money earnt and also leading the tough Ontario Sires Stakes programme. You must be happy with how he continues to perform both there and down under? He is a really good sire! In Australia, his percentages are great and people have said that the only thing missing from his repertoire was an absolute superstar colt. With Lumineer he looks like he’s now left one. He’s a horse people are saying is probably the best Australian two-yearold since Lombo Pocket Watch. So that void is certainly filled. Sportswriter’s a really lovely and fertile horse with a good pedigree, the trainers like his progeny and he leaves colts and fillies. He’s going to have a really influential career here - only Bettor’s Delight served more mares than him in New Zealand last year. I doubt there was any sire with a better in foal percentage either so the worlds his oyster really. Page 12

Another ex Casey Coleman horse in Betterthancheddar is off to a good start as a stallion also!

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He’s off to a very good start. It would have been nice to have a couple more winners in New Zealand but in Australia he’s got a horse like My Sweetchilliphilly who was obviously bred in New Zealand. You want to leave a superstar in your first crop and he’s done that. The amazing thing in North America at the moment is he stood in New York in his first season which probably wasn’t the right thing to do given the depth of their ranks. He’s only got 42 foals and from those 42 foals he’s just ripping it up with over 30 starters and already several stakes performers. He’s one horse who will definitely serve a lot mares then he did last season. A Rocknroll Dance is a stallion with the numbers and the pedigree to make a big impact in 2017/18. The early signs in North America are looking good? He stands in Pennsylvania, so every time his first crop lines up you only have to look at the fields and see the sires of the progeny he is taking on to see how well he is doing. You have the likes of Western Ideal and Somebeachsomewhere and it’s the one season Bettor’s Delight stood there before going up to Ontario as well. So his two year olds are racing against their progeny in all the Sires Stakes races – and they’re winning their share which is really encouraging. If he can compete there he can compete anywhere. The training reports down here are really good on them and he’s got good numbers. We’re looking forward to his two year olds stepping out. What about the old boy Art Major, there’s a bit of chat that this could be his last season down under. What can you say to breeders about one of our premier sires? No it won’t be the last season he stands down here. There’ll be confirmation come out about that at some point. He’s back in quarantine now and he’s fit and well. Our biggest problem at the moment is working our way through his full book. Looking back on it now we could have maybe put his service fee up but we didn’t want to do that - however it may have taken some of the pressure off! Finally, Majestic Son. He had a super season here in New Zealand and Australia and broke a record many thought wouldn’t be broken! How rapt have you been with his rise in the trotting ranks? Numbers are going to be his friend. He is a really good sire and he’s been the leading trotting sire in Australia two years in a row - with very few foals. And now that he has the big crops coming through you would absolutely have to think he will be the leading sire in both New Zealand and Australia at some point. This season he broke Sundon’s record for two-year-old winners and left some really good horses. It would have been nice to snag the two-year-old trotter of the year title but not winning the Jewels will have eliminated that possibility in a crop that seesawed throughout the season. But with another big crop of two year olds following on from his first big crop it should all be in front of him really. He only had eight three year olds in New Zealand last season. He’ll have 136 this season. BREEDING MATTERS

Since 1972 The Breeders (NZSBA) has recognised and supported participants of the Standardbred Breeding industry under our SIX PILLARS…

BREEDER REWARDS

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If you join The Breeders prior to August 31st 2017 for $89.95 and breed the winner of a totalisator race at a New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club non-premier meeting held at Addington Raceway, you will be eligible for a $500 MET Breeder’s Bonus payment! (Terms and conditions apply).

2017/18 Members will also receive: • The Breeders’ branded USB stick containing Crosses of Gold for the 2017/18 breeding season, as well as an interactive version of the 2017/18 Sires Register. • A copy of the HRNZ 2017/18 annual diary. • Free listings of Mares for sale/lease/free on our website. • Four issues of the revamped Breeding Matters publication.

To find out more information regarding the benefits of joining The Breeders, visit our website or contact Brad on 03 339 4168 for more info!

• Breeder’s Weekly sent regularly to your email address + much more! www.thebreeders.co.nz

FEEDING THE BROODMARE Providing your broodmare with correct nutrition during pregnancy and lactation is important to the development and health of the foal. Broodmare Nutrition during Late Pregnancy At seven months gestation, the foetal foal weighs only 20% of its birth weight. This means that during the last four months of pregnancy the majority of the foetal growth occurs. At this point, the mare’s nutrient requirements increase significantly and adjustments should be made in the mare’s feeding program to ensure healthy development of the foetus. Digestible energy (DE) requirements only increase about 15 percent, however, protein, vitamin and mineral requirements increase to a greater extent. This is due to the foetal tissue being synthesised during this time being quite high in protein, calcium and phosphorus. Trace mineral supplementation is also very important during this period because the foetus stores iron, zinc, copper, and manganese in its liver for use during the first few months after it is born. The foetus has developed this nutritional strategy of storing trace minerals during pregnancy because mare’s milk is quite low in these elements. It is vital that mares receive correct vitamin and mineral supplementation during late pregnancy. An example of this is the supplementation of copper. New Zealand researchers have studied the effect of copper supplementation on the incidence of orthopaedic disease in foals. When copper was given to pregnant mares, there was a significant reduction in physitis (inflammation of bone growth plates) scores of foals. There was also a significantly lower incidence of articular cartilage lesions in foals from supplemented mares. It appears that if the mare is not supplemented with copper in the final stages of pregnancy the negative effects on the foal cannot be reversed by supplementing the foal once it is born. Selenium and vitamin E supplementation in late pregnancy has been shown to increase immunity in both the mare and foal. Vitamin A has also been found to be important to the late pregnant mare, with studies showing that growth rates of foals is significantly reduced when pasture is scarce and mares are maintained on hay without vitamin A supplementation. Maintaining an ideal body condition score is important for broodmares. It is important that mares (like other classes of horses) are able to consume at least 1.5% of their body weight in forage per day. While many broodmares will maintain weight well on pasture and hay, it is crucial that the additional vitamin and mineral requirements needed at this time are met through supplementary feeding. For good doers, a balancer pellet such as NRM Mare Balancer is a convenient way of meeting the increased protein, vitamin and mineral requirements without an increase in energy intake. For mares who require additional calories to maintain condition

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as well as increased protein, vitamin and minerals above and beyond her roughage intake, a high quality concentrate such as NRM Evolve is ideal. However, make sure you feed them at the correct daily rate to ensure nutrient requirements are met. If your mare has any special dietary needs or metabolic conditions, it is best to contact an equine nutritionist for individual feeding advice. It is a good idea to supplement late pregnant and lactating mares with an omega 3 fatty acid supplement, preferably in the form of fish oil as these supply the preformed long chain omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Studies have shown enhanced passive transfer of antibodies to foals which in turn have stronger immune systems as well as improved fertility, lowered incidence of uterine inflammation and decreased risk of abortion for pregnant mares fed omega 3 fatty acids. KERx EO∙3 is a deodorised fish oil which provides a concentrated source of EPA and DHA omega 3 fatty acids.

FEED TO SUCCEED

Nutrition advice? Listen to the experts.

Broodmare Nutrition during Lactation Once the foal is born, the mare’s nutritional requirements change. The lactating mare requires approximately three times the amount of energy she would at maintenance. Mares can produce milk at a rate of 3% of their body weight per day and require increases in the energy, protein, calcium and phosphorus during lactation. It is important not to underfeed the lactating mare. Many mares cannot maintain their weight on forage only diets during lactation. High quality supplementary hay should be fed to help meet the high energy demands placed on the mare at this time. Calcium and phosphorus are the minerals that should be of primary concern during lactation, so lucerne hay is often the forage of choice due to its high calcium content. The quality of the protein supplied in the diet is important – high quality protein supports milk production and in turn supports foal growth. An appropriate feed such as NRM Evolve can be fed to help meet both energy and other nutrient requirements. It is important to follow intake rates recommended on the back of the bag, as feeding less than this will compromise nutrient intake. If feeding less than the recommended amount, a high quality vitamin and mineral supplement or balancer pellet such as NRM Mare Balancer should be added to make up the shortfall. It is advisable to speak with an equine nutritionist if you are concerned and they will be able to help you balance the diet. After about three months of lactation, milk product begins to decline. At this time, feed intake can be reduced to keep the mare in ideal body condition. If you have any concerns about the body condition of the mare, it is best to consult an equine nutritionist for further advice. In conclusion, it is very important to meet vitamin and mineral requirements during late pregnancy and avoid under feeding during lactation. Ensure your broodmare is able to consume a minimum of 1.5% of her body weight in forage, monitor her condition and then add a high quality feed on top as required for weight maintenance and/or vitamin and mineral supplementation. If in doubt, always contact an equine nutritionist for advice. For further information on feeding your broodmare to achieve optimum health of her and development of her foal, please contact NRM on 0800 800 380, via the website at: http://www. nrm.co.nz/ask-an-expert.html BREEDING MATTERS

Fiona Gillies, Nutrition Specialist

Nobody is closer to your equine partner than you – and nobody understands their unique nutrition needs more than our NRM nutrition specialists. It’s their expertise that make our range of feeds some of the most scientifically advanced in the market. Plus having nationwide access to their in-depth knowledge will support your understanding of equine nutrition to improve your horses performance. To arrange an on-farm visit, contact your local nutrition specialist or call 0800 800 380.

NEW LOOK NEW SIZE SAME QUALITY PRODUCT

FEED TO SUCCEED

0800 800 380 www.nrm.co.nz

FROM THE STUD: WOODLANDS MOVING FORWARD

Woodlands Stud

Bettor’s Delight

Celebrating 25 Years of World Class Breeding

By Charlotte Mooney With 25 Years of breeding success under its belt, Woodlands Stud looks set to have their best season yet in 2017.

Crazed. Sex of Fire (2014 2 Bl f Crazed - Miss Whiplash) Auckland 28th July 2017. WOW! Be in quick there are only 30 serves left.

The 2015/16 Breeder of the Year has come along way since being established by Dr Charles Roberts and Dr Andrew Grierson in 1992.

It’s hard to argue with the depth and quality of Woodlands 2017 Stallion Roster.

Learning as they went, the partnership has developed a formidable formula – provide Australasia with the best bloodstock on offer and you’ll attract the best. It’s taken many years of hard work, highs, lows and regrouping to get to where they stand today but now they’re only going to keep going from strength to strength. As New Zealand’s largest breeder, Woodlands will deliver 110 foals this year. “We will be breeding a larger number this season and will have an investment in the industry like no other” said Marketing Manager Charlotte Mooney. “The increase in funding from the NZ Racing Board through to Harness Racing New Zealand will see stakes increase over 10 percent this season. The increase in stakes that we have already seen last season (8 percent) and then the future promises from the Racing Board based around the race field’s legislation and new betting platforms gives us a confidence to invest so greatly in producing the horses the horsemen and women will be calling out for.” “I know it is strong language but we implore breeders to think along the same lines and have confidence in the sport. As more money is injected in to industry participants will have renewed enthusiasm and the demand for quality horses will continue to increase” said Charlotte. Woodlands impressive broodmare band all need ‘dates’ and that’s where Woodlands turns to their main men – Bettor’s Delight, American Ideal, Sweet Lou, Highview Tommy, Crazed and Pegasus Spur. Each boast credentials that are befitting to the high quality that clients have come to expect of Woodlands Stud. Bettor’s Delight is a stallion who needs no introduction. He is a freak! Contracts for this season are being sent out and his book will be full. American Ideal has stood in the shadow of his dominant older mate Bettor’s Delight but is now finally getting the recognition he rightly deserves.

The Woodlands business model has evolved over the years and the business operates in four main areas, Stallion Sales, Horse Sales, Client Services and Racing Syndicates. The first, has been touched on with their six stallions serving upwards of 900 mares per season. Sales is the fast becoming a major part of the business. In the past 12 months Woodlands offered over 80 horses for sale – all have new owners. With an established reputation for having realistic reserves and selling everything on offer buyers from throughout Australasia look forward to purchasing out of the Woodlands Yearling Sale and Mixed Aged Sale Draft. The later, has thrown up many a quality race horse, such as Linda Love Grace, My Hard Copy and Besotted. This year Woodlands consigned 62 weanlings and sold all bar one on the day, which was sold later. “The Stud has two distinct set of buyers for the two different sales, but all know that they are purchasing quality and that the horse that is there on the day is there for sale.” There are concerns that Woodlands would ‘flood’ the market with their large numbers for the weanling sales. The stud believes that there is a market for their horses. With declining breeding numbers it is not surprising that the studs in NZ are following their North American counterparts. “We had a fantastic weanling sale, the feedback on the quality and manner of the stock we sold has been outstanding so that reaffirms our position of breeding for the market numbers, people want them!” said Charlotte. What was a pleasant outcome for the Woodlands team was the reception first season sire Sweet Lou received. Heralded as the ‘outcross sire the industry is screaming out for’, his weanlings had people chasing them. Sold to some of the biggest names in the industry and for good money there is a great buzz around about Sweet Lou’s progeny. Athletic, good natured and intelligent they have all the hallmarks to make a sizeable impression on the track in 12 month’s time.

Sweet Lou the second highest earning stallion of all time on the track who is leaving progeny which are creating great hype. Highview Tommy is a local champion with a royal pedigree, Pegasus Spur the phenomenal strike rate sire and Crazed, the sire of trotting speed machines!

Twenty-five years ago, veterinarian partners Charles Roberts and Andrew Grierson had a vision that would see the world’s best standardbred stallions stand at the now South Auckland powerhouse stud that would become known as Woodlands Stud. Like any vision, there was doubts, sleepless nights and tough decisions. Racing is a cut throat vocation, results driven and things can change in a heartbeat but the rewards, sometimes however fleeting, outweigh the tough times. The business has evolved over the past twenty-five years to meet the market and achieve the vision, to give Australasian breeders access to the world class bloodlines. For all the stallions that have stood at Woodlands Stud, one horse casts the biggest shadow over the industry’s breeding shed, his name is Bettor’s Delight. History says he is the greatest and we pinch ourselves every time we utter his name. His reach, will run for many decades to come and, nobody could have foreseen the impact this stallion would have. For Woodlands Stud, the breeding game is a 365 day per year business, we run multiple farms, bred to sell at weanling and yearling sales, transport semen all over Australia and New Zealand, race over 25 horses via syndicates, sponsor within the industry and also outside it. Our efforts were recognised when we were awarded the prestigious New Zealand Breeder of the Year title in 2016 Our stallions are all quality and we aim to offer you only the best, which is a clear point of difference from our competitors. We are about quality not quantity. In a tough market place our stallions dominant racing across the age groups throughout Australasia. In a results driven business our stallions stand head and shoulders above our opposition. As Breeders it should also give you confidence that we can (& do) support our stallions like no other stud. Our 125+ broodmares only go to the best, which should give you the confidence to do so too. We thank everybody who has supported us in this vision, who knows what the next twenty-five years will bring.....

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BREEDING MATTERS

woodlandsstud.co.nz

American Ideal

2017/18 Service Fee: $8,000 + GST

*Discounts can apply

Highview Tommy

The Dominant Dual Hemisphere Stallion

Leading New York Sire in 2016 outpacing Art Major, Roll With Joe, Rock N Roll Heaven with ease

2YO of his generation - incl 2YO wins in the Harness Jewels and Welcome Stakes

2nd Leading sire in Australia on $$$ average 2015/16 and again for the current 2016/17 season

Group1 Winning Grand Circuit performer - incl. Ballarat Cup winner beating Smoken Up and Sushi Sushi, two x NZ Trotting Cup place-getter

American Ideal and Bettor’s Delight are the only stallions in the Australian Top 15 with a 50% + starters to 2YO winners statistic this season

A stunning individual who has thrown athletic progeny Progeny have broken in to rave reviews as they can’t be faulted. Intelligent, easy to work with and beautifully gaited

Strong 2017 Yearling Sales Averages Australian Pacing Gold, $42,833 - PGG Wrightson Sales, $25,875

Sweet Lou

$6,000 + GST

*Discounts can apply

$1,500 + GST

*No further discounts apply

The bigger the crowd, the better he went! Millionaire Son of The King – ‘Bettor’s Delight’ out of Christian Cullen mare, Harness Racing’s hottest cross ‘down under’

Progeny have won over $10,000,000 ‘down under’

2017/18 Service Fee:

Pegasus Spur

2017/18 Service Fee: $3,000 + GST

*Discounts can apply

The outcross stallion the industry is screaming for

The fastest 2YO in harness history – 1.49.0, Breeders Crown defeating A Rocknroll Dance by 7 1/2 lengths

An Elite Australasian Trotting Sire A stallion with a phenomenal record from only 476 Live foals in Australasia.

World Record Holder on a 5/8 track – 1.47.0

49% starters to winners percentage in New Zealand

Won a staggering $3.4 million in stakes

Sire of multiple Breeders Crown and Harness Jewels winners Sire of multiple Victorian Trotting Derby winners

Served three full books in North America

Leading sire on $$ average in Australia Sire of multiple Group1 winning super mare – Wilma’s Mate, Sire of open class Star – Speeding Spur

His foals, are strong, intelligent and are very athletic First public weanling at auction sold for USD $80,000 Outstanding weanling sales results in New Zealand. Snapped up by the likes of Tony Herlihy, Ray Green Cran Dalgety and Brent Mangos we have every confidence they’ll go on to be a sweet success on the track

Easily the best value for money trotting stallion standing ‘down under’. Fresh not frozen = reduced breeding costs!

BOOK EARLY AND SAVE! Book your mare into Sweet Lou before 1st September 2017 and we’ll give you an early bird discount of $2,000 reducing his service fee to only $4,000 + GST

woodlandsstud.co.nz

Crazed

(Frozen)

2017/18 Service Fee: $4,000 + GST

*Discounts can apply

A proven producer of high calibre trotters

COURAGE UNDER FIRE DIES

Millionaire son of Credit Winner

By Michael Guerin

Progeny have won over USD $15,000,000 Sire of 4 winners - $750,000 + Sire of 6 winners - $500,000 +

One of New Zealand’s most popular ever pacers Courage Under Fire has passed away with a record that may never be matched.

Sire of Crazy Wow 1.51.1 - $1.5million in stakes

While he was a very commercial stallion who sired recentlyretired Inter Dominion champion Smolda, it is as the Mighty Mouse of pacing that Courage Under Fire will be best remembered.

Sire of 2015 Older Male trotter USA & World Record Holder J L Cruze 1.49.4. Dominant New York Sire Stakes player A great outcross sire - perfect for those mares with Earl, Pine Chip, Pegasus Spur, Angus Hall & Valley Victory in their bloodlines

The tiny pacing hero turned stallion died in Australia yesterday where he was standing at Yirribee Stud in New South Wales. He would have turned 22 on Tuesday.

He won his first 24 starts, being unbeaten at two and three, that classic season including a record six Derby victories. It is doubtful any galloper would ever have contested six Derbys and very few harness horses probably have either, let alone winning them all. So his rarest of places in racing history would seem to be Courage Under Fire’s alone forever. The Derbys were part of a 41-win career from 56 starts that saw him amass $1,551,941 in stakes after starting his career in New Zealand with Bruce Negus and then being transferred to champion NSW trainer Brian Hancock after a sensational failure in the 2000 Inter Dominion in Melbourne. Courage Under Fire suffered his first defeat in a heat of that series, prompting Moonee Valley commentator Dan Milecki to yell “the world must be ending” as Kyema Kid surged past Courage Under Fire. While the world survived, Courage Under Fire’s career plateaued by his earlier standards and he was never as dominant as an older horse, winning a series of good races but never one of the great ones. He was narrowly beaten in both a Miracle Mile and Victoria Cup and fourth in an Inter Dominion Final but picked up Grand Circuit races like the South Australia Cup, Queensland Pacing Champs and Australian Pacing Champs.

Stallion Bookings & Test Matings can be made at www.woodlandsstud.co.nz/bookings

or by contacting

Australia: Mark Hughes - mark@woodlandssstud.co.nz - 04 51 650 707

New Zealand: Charlotte Mooney - charlotte@woodlandsstud.co.nz - 021 595 492 Pregnancy Results: Please email 14, 28 & final results to results@woodlandsstud.co.nz We wish you a prosperous 2017/18 Breeding Season and look forward to working with you to achieve your Breeding goals

woodlandsstud.co.nz

He came back to the pack because while he was a pacing machine at three he never got much stronger or faster, forever looking a fast teenager racing grown men. But as a three-year-old he captured the racing -- and some non-racing -- public’s imagination in a golden era that also saw Christian Cullen and Lyell Creek draw huge fan bases. The other two were better older horses, albeit all too briefly in Christian Cullen’s case, but Courage Under Fire’s size endeared him to race fans, his little legs whirling like a cartoon character when he was at full speed. Off the track he was a little softy. “He loved people and was the loveliest little horse to have around,” says original trainer Negus. “He had so many fans and when little kids came up to him to pat him, which happened all the time, he would lower his head down so they could get to him.

Page 21

“Once, when Brian Hancock was training him, they couldn’t find Brian’s six-year-old granddaughter and they were all panicking. “They couldn’t believe it when they found her in Courage’s paddock and she was patting him as he nuzzled her. This was when he was a seven-year-old stallion, he was just such a gentleman.” So did training a racing icon change Negus’s career or even life? “It definitely helped my career because we had a lot of good horses, many for his owner Greg Brodie after Courage left the stable. “But it also changed my life. I met so many people and was once asked to speak at a racing awards dinner because I was the guy who trained Courage Under Fire. “I met my wife Colleen at that function, so I owe Courage more than he would ever have known.” Footnote Standing at only a tick over 14 hands, the little stallion certainly had a huge heart and left a lasting impact on the Australasian breeding industry where few colonial stallions have been able too. Upon retirement he was the sire of 434 NZ Bred winners, he was also the sire of; * 7 NZ Group One Winners: Secret Potion, Lancome, Smolda & Pembrook Benny *16 NZ Group Two Winners *14 NZ Group Three Winenrs * 6 NZ Listed Winners His legacy will now be in those of his daughters who are already breeding on his guts and determination, with the outstanding mare Arms of an Angel being out of a daughter of Courage. #RIPCourage BREEDING MATTERS

L I K E LY C O N T E N D E R S F O R N Z PAC I N G / T R OT T I N G B R O O D M A R E S OF YEAR By Peter Craig It’s nearing season’s end and all eyes turn towards the various regional and national awards available for Broodmare (s) of the Year. When overviewing at the national level this task can be quite daunting. Where does one start and what criterion does one consider, are any criteria more important than others, one must set aside previous years achievements and Australian performances considering only current season NZ performances etc – think about number of winning foals per mare, number of wins by those foals, were any Group race performances, stakes earned by starters and so on.

Splendid Dreams (2001 Dream Away/Scuse Me) – reigning Pacing Broodmare of Year (2016), with four starters and three winners (all embryo transfers) for year including Auckland Cup winning mare Dream About Me (1:57.2, $231,050), five wins from six starts prior to a season ending injury, including Auckland Cup, Queen Of Hearts, NZ Cup Day Junior FFA and Northern Breeders Stakes. Other winners Aliante (2 including Holmes DG) and Accumulator (1) for eight wins for mare while old warrior Christen Me, a non-winner but placed in New Brighton Cup, Canterbury Classic, NZFFA, Franklin Cup and Waikato Flying Mile

The analysis below is only one person’s opinion, an attempt naturally fraught with difficulties to at least identify the broodmares who will be on the judge’s minds (apologies to others worthy of consideration). In alphabetic order (NZ performances only) without implying the likely standing of any of the mares being reviewed for their respective Broodmare of the Year Awards are :

Wave Runner (2003 Live Or Die/Seamoon) – a speedy southern mare herself, in 2016/7 Wave Runner was the dam of two 1:53 mares with seven wins from thirteen starts Southland Oaks mare Bonnie Joan (1:52.8, $105,970), also two Nevele R Fillies heats [second in final], second NZ Oaks, fourth in Jewels Diamond and Break Dance (1:53.3, $33,415), with three wins including Southern Belle Speed Series and North Island Breeders Stakes

Pacing Broodmares -

Highly commended mares who would each be worthy contestants for leading pacing broodmare that produced a winning Group One foal were Galleons Supreme (Spanish Armada, four Gp1’s; eight wins), Reality Check (Ultimate Machete, one Gp1; six wins), Larissa Rose (Jacks Legend, one Gp1; four wins) and Kept For Pleasure (Vincent, one NZ Gp1; five wins) while Crushem (Spankem) and Goodlookinggirl (Elle Mac) deserve a mention.

Back In USSR (2005 Presidential Ball/Paperback Writer) – dam of three foals to race, all winners in 2016/7 season including Jewels Diamond winner at just her fourth start in Dizzy Miss Lizzy (1:53.6, $165,594), three wins from four starts, Caduceus Club Southland and Yearling Sales Series 2yo Fillies, together with Hard Days Night (3) and Lady Madonna (2), giving the mare eight wins for season Bethany (2007 Christian Cullen/Spirit Of Beth) – dam of only one performer during 2016/7 but what a performer. Leading NZ pacer Lazarus was Bethany’s pride and joy, the winner of nine from ten starts (national records shown after relevant races), 1:52.4, $762,700, four group ones including NZ Cup 3200m std (3200m std, 3:53.1/1:57.2), NZFFA (1950mM, 2:16.3/1:52.4 equalled later in season by two year old The Devils Own), Taylor Mile and Messenger with a further NZ record in Ashburton Flying Stakes (2400m std 2:57.4/1:58.9) Mainland Banner (2001 Christian Cullen/Corporate Banner) – former NZ Cup winning mare with two of her three starters the result of embryo transfers in Rocker Band (1:54.9, $40,674), a winner and placed in Northern Breeders Stakes, Queen of Hearts, JLT Futurity and Glenferrie Classic (1:55.9, $31,468), three wins including Winton Equine Stakes and Cromwell Cup [grass]) with Stunin Banner (2) giving this mare six seasonal victories

Trotting Broodmares Another Starlet (1997 Sundon/Lilly The Pink) – dam of star three year old Enghien (twelfth foal, twelfth winner), winner of nine races from ten starts ($234,041) including three Group Ones (NZ/ GN Trotters Derbies, Jewels Ruby) in addition to Sires Stakes/ Yearling Sales Series trots and NZ three year old record for 1950mM (T2:22.2/T1:57.3). Half-brother Ottawa registered two second placings during 2016/7 season Diedre Darling (2001 Sundon/Diedres Pride) – reigning Trotting Broodmare of Year (2016), dam of 2016 Trotter and Harness Horse of Year Monbet who was her only starter in 2016/7 season. His three starts yielded three wins ($197,870), two at Group One level, NZ Trotting FFA (T2:21.7/T1:56.9) and Dominion Hcp (T4:00.7/ T2:01.0) both in NZ record times together with Ashburton Trotters Mile in T1:55.2

Juliana (2001 Sundon/Janettas Pride) – dam of boom Southland four year old trotter Dark Horse (T1:59.9, $57,200), winner of six from ten starts including Uncut Gems and Southland record holder over 2400mM together with Sarah Palin (3), Father Christmas (2) and Monty Python, two wins in Southern Lights Trot and Central Otago Trotting FFA yielding thirteen seasonal wins for this mare Landoras Special (2001 Sundon/Landoras Pride) – Group One performer Eyre I Come whose grand dam was Dominion Hcp and Rowe Cup winner Landoras Pride, was the winner of six from fourteen starts (T1:57.3, $94,702) including NZ Trotting Championship, Addington Summer Trotting FFA and two other FFA’s at Addington being joined by Springbank Eden (2) to give this mare eight wins for 2016/7 season Ten To One (1993 Sundon/Ten Four) – had five starters for two winners in Group One performer Habibti Ivy (T1:58.4, $114,655), five wins in seven starts including Anzac Trotters Cup and NZ Trotters 4/5yo Championship, Lothario (T1:57.4, two wins) producing seven wins for the mare whose other runners were Habibi Inta (second GN Trotters Derby), Habibti and Ten Too

Other trotting mares worthy of mention and unlucky not to be considered as one of the leading candidates for trotting broodmare of 2016/7 season would be Galleons Destiny, dam of Destiny Jones (Sires Stakes Aged Trotters Classic), Deva Jones, Shadow Galleon winners of seven races and Kathy Galleon, dam of Chevron Express (NZ Trotters Oaks, Hambletonian), Thebestlove, Chevrons Sweetheart winners also of eight races. Note – all trotting broodmares mentioned were sired by Sundon. Who would you choose?? Make your selections and see how they stack up on HRNZ Awards night Thursday 3 August 2017. STOP PRESS Bethany - Pacing Mare of the Year Another Starlet - Trotting Mare of the Year

Enjoy the sweet taste of success with

SWEET LOU 1.47. - $3,478,894

Sweet Lou is the second highest earning pacing stallion in US Harness History. Naturally his first down under crop were in high demand at the recent NZ Mixed Aged All Sale, selling for unprecedented prices. Stamped with Sweet Lou’s trademark athleticism, strength and exceptional manners they look to have inherited the right traits to succeed. The likes of Champion trainers Tony Herlihy and Cran Dalgety were eager to purchase weanlings from the #greatwhiteblaze’s inaugeral crop further aiding their chances for sweet success. BOOK EARLY AND SAVE! Book before 1st September 2017 and we’ll give you an early bird discount of $2,000 reducing his service fee to only $4,000 + GST

Page 22

BREEDING MATTERS

Bookings & more info: charlotte@woodlandsstud.co.nz - 021 595 492

woodlandsstud.co.nz

EUROPEAN BREEDING SCENE By Dave Saunders Stallion syndication is big business in France, spurred on by the French breed’s continued success on the European and indeed on world racetracks, including, increasingly Down Under. Four of the top ten stallions currently on the Scandinavian powerhouse Swedish sires table are French, with two others carrying French blood on the maternal line. In Sweden, French sires have topped the premiership for the last five years including Love You (2012-15) who is on track to top the New Zealand sires’ Trotting Premiership for the very first time ending super stallion Sundon’s remarkable 15 year reign at the top of our sire’s rankings. This also will be the first time in history that a French horse has been the leading sire Down Under, continuing a trend in Europe, where the mixing of French and US trotting blood has reached a crescendo. What began as a trickle with the likes of mixed blood stars such as Maharajah (Prix d’Amerique) and Commander Crowe (US Breeders Crown) has been followed by a steady stream of Scandinavian raiders headed by the likes of current Norwegian star Lionel who plunder the “European” races on the French circuit. Throw in the exploits of French stars Timoko and Bold Eagle, both also in-demand stallions, at this year’s Elitloppet and stocks in French stallions have never been higher. But though acquiring a service to any of the couple of dozen top international sires available to New Zealand is as simple as booking a service through any of the major studs or agents, in France, it is very different, with advertised service prices only being a guide for acquiring a service to a stallion of choice. Most trotting stallions in France are syndicated early in their racing careers, through the production line of the French racing system which is geared towards its breeding industry. A top three placing in any of the prestigious French and International Group One races is an instant ticket into the lucrative French breeding programme although others trickle into the 500 plus strong stallion ranks, later in their careers with Group success and gaining eligibility on money earned. The French studbook registers 15,000 broodmares annually for participation in the breeding programme and restricts each stallion to covering no more than 100 mares each.

Page 24

Stallion syndications are based on a “breeding share” which allows the owner a service to the stallion during its lifetime. The share can either be used by the owner or can be “sold” to other breeders for a season’ usage – often through an agent such as Christian Le Barbey, of International Trot Services. “The French system was based a lot on breeders who were also owners and/or trainers, with just 10% of French offspring are mainly produced for yearling sales,” says Le Barbey whose clientele include the likes of Ready Cash trainer and stallion owner Thierry Duvaldestin, and heavyweight Swedish breeders Lutfi Kolgjini and Global Farms. There are plenty of incentives for French breeders. A “Breeders Prime” of 12.5% is added to every race stake in France for distribution to the breeders, in direct proportion to the stakes earned by each of their progeny. But it is no gravy train, with both stallions and mares strictly monitored for their productivity, and face deregistration if they do not produce the requisite number of qualifiers, although the production of a Group 1 winner or top three placegetter guarantees them a lifetime pass. This means plenty of work for M. Le Barbey and the dozen or so commercial agents who handle the countless transactions as broodmare owners search for a suitable well-bred and well performed mate, made harder by the fact that many of the top studs use the majority of their services for their own mares. Le Barbey will broker deals between broodmare owners and the stallion shareholders, while other shares are sold online or at the many public auctions. And while a service fee may be advertised by a stud online, the reality is that breeding to the very top horses is very much subject to market forces. “I know some Ready Cash’s shareholders this season who were able to sell their 2017 breeding for 45,000 euros, paid all at booking. “One client was offered to sell his share for 140,000 euros without the 2017 breeding.... and refused to sell it!“ The French stallion syndications are strictly for breedings to French mares. International sales are a completely separate and are related to the stallion’s ownership, and are conducted on a country by country basis, dependant on each country’s breeding restrictions.

The top French stallions can serve an extra 150 mares in Sweden alone (the booking limit), although it is an extremely competitive market and tough to crack against a steady stream of well credentialed US imports and the increasingly successful Scandinavian sires of mixed blood such as Raja Mirchi, Maharajah and Zola Boko.

He says the legendary Jean-Pierre Dubois, of Love You, Ganymede and Goetmals Wood fame, bred some of his top mares to Prince Gede, for example this year – a stallion who traces his paternal lines back to the old French “Fuschia” line – which in turn descends from the famed thoroughbred progenitator Godolphin Arabian.

So breeders are always chasing the next prospective champion, and the Group racing calendar provides a steady stream of well-bred stallions who have earned their place at the top of the breeding tree.

“But now for some breeders, they try to come back, like a “retro heterosis effect”, now on pure old French blood sires, including sometimes M. Dubois himself who last year bred to Prince Gédé to two sisters of Love You and the first daughter of Mara Bourbon (sister to boom sire Sam Bourbon).”

Racing is strictly on a money-earned basis, with racehorses earning the tickets at any one of the seven provincial circuits. Their lifetime career earnings then allow them to chase the big money at the major tracks, principally Vincennes, which runs about 95 per cent of French Group races although the secondary Paris track of Enghien and several other provincial centres do have special championship level races.

An eye on the future could well be the motto of the French breeding industry. It certainly gives plenty of food for thought elsewhere.

There are also several hundred races between 60-100,000 euros open to horses bred in Europe, as part of European Union regulations, a lifeline for smaller European trotting industries. M. Le Barbey says things are however changing in France, due to a combination of factors, including the competition of Scandinavian-bred horses in “European” group races, and the dominance in France of the Coktail Jet line, of whom Love You is a leading sire of sires with Quaker Jet, Un Amour d’Haufor, Rocklyn, Royal Dream and new star Village Mystic among his increasingly influential new breed. There is even a move among many breeders to once again open the French studbook to American bloodlines, something that was tried with huge success in the 1980s highlighted by Coktail Jet (by a French sire over North American mare). But that book was closed again a decade later, and hasn’t been open since. “It’s more and more discussed because mainly due to the influence of Coktail Jet and sons.”

Love You

But an interesting point, alluded to be M. Le Barbey, himself a fourth generation French breeder, is that the major French breeders always have an eye on the future, and are prepared to give well performed stallions who have an older, or potential outcross a chance.

BREEDING MATTERS

LOVE YOU • World No 1 stallion by earnings in 2012, 13 and 2015 • Leading stallion in Europe 2011, 12, 13 and 2015 and on multiple occasions in France and Sweden

LIVE OR DIE RETIRED FROM STUD DUTIES

• His progeny have won the biggest races in France (Prix d’Amerique), Sweden (Elitloppet), Italy (Derby Italiano) and recently Canada’s Goodtime Stakes

Live Or Die was NZ’s leading pacing sire in 2007 and runner-up a further three times. He also went close to being Australia’s leading sire in the 2009/10 season, finishing a close second to Village Jasper that year.

• From very small numbers his offspring claimed most of NZ’s big races with 7 Grp 1 victories: The Dominion, Anzac Cup, NZ Trotting FFA, 2YO Ruby, 3YO Ruby, NZ Derby, Northern Derby and more than $1.3M

TING NZ TROT N OF STALLIO R THE YEA 7 2016 & 1

LOVE YOU

multiple Australian Oaks winner Dance Of Life, the Australian 3YO Pacing Colt of the Year Scandalman and the $500,000 plus earning Grand Circuit winners Power Of Tara and Bold Cruiser.

He is just the second NZ based sire, after another Nevele R stalwart, Holmes Hanover, to sire 1000 individual winners and to date he is the sire of more than 1230 winners and has progeny earnings of over $60 million. All up Live Or Die is the sire of 18 individual Group 1 winners, including six Grand Circuit winners, eight individual Derby champions and three millionaires.

$8000 + GST

FROZEN SEMEN. PAYABLE ON LIVE FOAL. LIMITED NUMBERS. CONDITIONS APPLY.

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USED TO ME

• Victorian-based Group placed French stallion, from one of France’s greatest sire producing families. • Outstanding types in first two Australian foal crops

USED TO ME

Live or Die

ASSOCIATE SIRES QUAKER JET

$6000 + GST

VILLAGE MYSTIC

$6000 + GST

REPEAT LOVE

$4000 + GST

ORLANDO VICI

$8000 + GST

THE BEST MADRIK

$4000 + GST

Frozen

MULTIPLE MARE DISCOUNTS FOR SELECTED STALLIONS

$2500 + GST

CHILLED SEMEN. PAYABLE ON LIVE FOAL. CONDITIONS APPLY. MULTIPLE MARE DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE

Live Or Die was NZ’s leading pacing sire in 2007 and runner-up a further three times. Nevele R Stud’s grand elder statesman Live Or Die has been retired from stud duties and will not be available this coming harness racing breeding season.

Although retired, Live Or Die’s influence on the Australasian breeding and racing industry will continue to be felt for many years to come with his daughters having already produced close to 20 Group 1 winners to date including the triple NZ Cup winner Terror To Love, the Harness Jewels winners Major Mark, Lizzie Maguire, Elusive Chick and Gotta Go Harmony, the champion WA mare Libertybelle Midfrew and last season’s Australian 3YO Pacing Filly of the Year Rocknroll Magic. One of Australia’s best 3-year-old fillies this season, Shartin, the recent winner of the Queensland Oaks, is also out of a Live Or Die mare. Live Or Die will spend his much deserved retirement at Nevele R Stud’s Canterbury farm.

Despite being perennially under-rated in many quarters, the rising 25-year-old has been a tremendously successful sire for the stud over the years and has achieved far more than many of his higher priced, dual hemisphere rivals. The former world champion 2-year-old was popular with breeders from the outset, serving 100 plus mares for 13 consecutive seasons from 1997 on, peaking at an incredible 435 mares in New Zealand alone in the 2002 season. He was New Zealand’s leading first season sire in 2001 - with that initial foal crop featuring both the champion filly Elect To Live, the 2YO and 3YO Pacing Filly of her Year, as well as New Zealand’s Harness Horse of the Year at three years of age, and the dual NZ Cup winner and 4YO and Aged Pacer of the Year Just An Excuse. Other stand out pacers by him over the years included the likes of the Australian bred four-time Derby and Miracle Mile winner Divisive, the tough as teak Hunter Cup winner Bondy, the

CONTACT DAVE SANDERS (NZL) 64 212 452 584 Page 27

BREEDING MATTERS

It is that time again when you look forward to seeing this year’s foals on the ground and start to make decisions about what Stallion to send a mare to. Making a return on your young stock is of course the reason why you breed. Whether the return is generated as a result of selling the foal as a weanling or yearling or taking it through to racing age, it makes good business sense to protect the considerable investment involved. Any service fee lost within the first year is never made up and always leads to even more costs to get the mare in foal again. Fortunately, Crombie Lockwood Bloodstock can cover your breeding investment from the outset. Our experience is widespread and advice very grounded.

health, provide three (3) scan dates and state that there are no obvious reasons why she would not carry the foetus full term. Confirmation that there is a singleton foetus is also required. Our insurance products are precisely designed for the Standardbred industry and placed through established underwriters at Lloyd’s of London who have a long history in the bloodstock underwriting sector. With over 40 years’ of combined experience Crombie Lockwood Bloodstock knows and proudly supports the industry. Of course, our team are always on call, so you can obtain a no obligation quote on your precious investments. For further details talk to the bloodstock experts:

O ST FF AN ICI D AL AR P D AR BR T ED NER BR TO EE T D HE ER N S EW AS SO ZE C ALA IA N TI D O N

NOT FOALING AROUND

Losses can happen far too easily There are number of health issues that can appear during the first few months of a foal’s life. Disease and illness can jeopardise the future of the foal such as bladder, lung and gut infections. Pneumonia is particularly serious too, especially during the spring with temperature fluctuations. Even if you have a healthy foal you’re not quite out of the woods, injury can also occur and is often unexpected. “Something we’ve encountered many times over the years is a healthy foal being kicked by a mare, resulting in a compound fracture and ultimately leading to the foal being euthanised,” says Liz Smith, Crombie Lockwood’s bloodstock manager. “In our experience when this is the outcome there is an emotional loss as well as a financial one and this is reflected in our conversations with clients – we understand the significant impact this has in every way.” A lot of breeders also try to avoid obtaining a vet cert and IgG (needed to arrange cover with effect from 24 hours of age) due to cost. However, in many cases the IgG taken at 24 hours will indicate if there are underlying issues with the colostrum absorption. “Early identification and treatment normally leads to a healthy foal” says Liz. It also means cover can be secured; a real win-win.

Liz: 021 859 216 liz.smith@crombielockwood.co.nz

Don’t foal around with your insurance Protect your bloodstock investment from day 0. Talk to our dedicated brokers:

Carlene: 021 750 912 carlene.jones@crombielockwood.co.nz or visit www.crombielockwoodbloodstock.co.nz

Liz - 07 958 8633

liz.smith@crombielockwood.co.nz

Don’t forget Foetus Cover which can include Embryo Transfers

Carlene - 07 958 8632

carlene.jones@crombielockwood.co.nz

If you are purchasing a mare in foal and there was a Live Foal Guarantee on the service fee, this generally becomes null and void because at the time of the mare getting in foal you were not the owner and did not pay the service fee.

Or visit:www.crombielockwoodbloodstock.co.nz

Foetus insurance provides cover for the unborn foal from 42 days after last service date to 30 days after birth. This cover can still be put in place up to 30 days before the expected date of birth. A specific proposal form is required together with a veterinary certificate confirming the mare is pregnant on or after inception date. The certificate must also confirm that the mare is in good

Page 28

BREEDING MATTERS

PACER OF THE YEAR AT BOTH 2 & 3

TRIPLE WORLD CHAMPION

p,2,1:49.2; 3,1:47.1 ($3,148,657)

p,2,1:52.6; 3,1:50; 1:47 ($1,985,820)

Somebeachsomewhere–Worldly Treasure–Artsplace

Rocknroll Hanover–Casual Beauty–Artsplace

b.h. 16 hands

CAPTAINTREACHEROUS

PET ROCK

Foals of Distinction

Sire: Captaintreacherous Dam: Always True (Western Hanover)

Sire: Captaintreacherous Dam: Paris Hanover (Camluck)

Sire: Captaintreacherous Dam: Im Sassy (Western Hanover)

Current World Champion & Fastest Pacer in History on a Half-Mile Track – 1:48.2h Rocknroll Hanover’s Fastest Ever Performer – 1:47

North America’s Leading First Crop Sire

From 99 Foals: 70 Starters – 30 Winners – 21 in 2:00 Ohio Sires Stake 2YO Colt Division Winner

Sire: Captaintreacherous Dam: Zellweger Bluechip (American Ideal)

Sire: Captaintreacherous Dam: P Note Blue Chip (Western Ideal)

LETSp,2,1:52.2f ALL ROCK

Sire: Captaintreacherous Dam: It Was Fascination (American Ideal)

PET ROCK – Noseitall – Jenna’s Beach Boy

Service Fee: $11,500 + GST

National Season’s Leader and Track Record Holder at

Discounted Fee Payable April 1, 2018: $10,000 + GST

EMPIRE

STALLIONS (NZ)

Booking Enquiries: Johnny Robinson | Mobile 021 883 713 | john@goharness.co.nz www.empirestallions.com

Scioto Downs – 1:52.2 on a Five-Eighths Mile Track

EMPIRE

Service Fee: $5,500 + GST

Early Booking Discounted Fee

4,400 + GST

STALLIONS (NZ)

Booking Enquiries: Johnny Robinson | Mobile 021 883 713 | john@goharness.co.nz www.empirestallions.com

BUILDING AN EMPIRE | DAVID JAMES & EMPIRE S TA L L I O N S

who was in foal to Meadow Skipper and had a weanling Meadow Skipper colt that was part of the package. The weanling colt was from Meadow Skipper’s first crop. The colt was raised at our Pennsylvania fame and consigned to the Harrisburg Yearling sale, but did not bring the $7,000 reserve so we took him home and put him into work. That colt turned out to be Albatross and the rest they say is history. The story of Albatross is the stuff of legend. The horse nobody wanted was now the hottest property in harness racing.

By Brad Reid Few are poised to make a splash as big in the 2017/18 breeding season as the Victorian based Empire Stallions. Best known for standing one of the greatest horses in the modern era, Somebeachsomewhere, Empire Stallions were the first stud farm to receive a shuttle stallion from Hanover Shoe Farms in their 100+ year history. Since the early 2000’s Empire’s founder David James along with his partner Donna Egan have utilized their vast North American contacts built from a lifetime involvement in harness racing to give Australasian breeders access to many of the world’s most sought after bloodlines. Think Dream Away, Rocknroll Hanover, Albert Albert & now world champions like Betting Line, Captaintreachearous and Well Said. David James’ family had little to do with harness racing until an unusual transaction at the Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac car dealership his father once owned. “It’s a very interesting story” understated James with a laugh. I promised David I would write about his stallions but this ‘small’ snippet was too good to pass up. “Dad was a GM automobile dealer in Windsor, Ontario right across the border from Detroit, Michigan. There was a brand new five eighths mile track that was built in Windsor in the late ‘70’s. It was a tartan, rubber track which was very innovative however there are none left today.” “There was an old trainer racing in Windsor from the province of Quebec who came into the show room with two old vehicles, some cash and three claiming horses and wanted to make a trade for two new pick-ups. Dad took the horses in trade and sent them out to leading driver and trainer at the track by the name of Joe Marsh Jr (USTA Hall of Fame inductee). Joe raced these horses successfully, they earned money and became the love of the family so to speak.” Then it went from there. Dad bought many more horses and raced a large stable in Ontario, Michigan and Ohio. Deciding to try the breeding business, Dad bought many mares to build up a broodmare band of 50+mares. One of his purchases was a Dancer Hanover mare which he bought over the phone in 1968

“He was both the U.S. & Canadian Two-Year-Old Pacer and Horse of the Year and Dad syndicated 70% of him for $1.25 million at the end of his juvenile season. By the end of his three-year-old season in 1971 he was the first Standardbred to win more than $500,000 in a season. He was also the first horse to pace 18 sub two minute miles in a season and he was voted both the U.S. & Canadian 3-Year-Old Pacer and Horse of the Year.

flew to Victoria and found a piece of property owned by Kevin Risely of Lennytheshark fame which they leased. They settled into the Shepperton area and created Empire Stallions at that location for almost four years. “From there we purchased the picturesque property we are at today in Avenel, Victoria. It is a spectacular farm and we are all very happy there – including the stallions. We have large diamond mesh paddocks, a great shed and collection area and our laboratory is state-of-the-art. Donna & I are very hands on and are involved in all the daily aspects of running the farm and the office. Today, David and Donna are responsible for the Southern Hemisphere’s second largest breeding farm in terms of numbers of mares bred annually in Australasia. Their impressive roster of stallions is arguably unmatched by sheer number of ex world champions and North American horses of the year.

He retired at the end of his four-year-old season with a lifetime record of: 71 starts, 59 wins, 8 seconds, 3 thirds with earnings of $1,201,470.

Empire will offer NZ breeders a choice of eight sensational stallions from its powerhouse line-up this season. Five new stallions (Betting Line, Heston Blue Chip, Pet Rock, Well Said and Western Terror) will be available via fresh, chilled semen while three stallions (Somebeachsomewhere, Captaintreacherous and Rocknroll Hanover) will be available via frozen semen.

He retired as the fastest horse of all time with a lifetime mark of 1:54.3, having broken his own world record set as a three-year-old of 1:54.4.

James has selected the stallions that he believes to be the best suited to the New Zealand breeding and racing scene from his roster and has chosen them for quality over quantity.

Albatross was sold to Hanover Shoes Farms for the record price of $2.5 million.

In a coup for Down Under breeding, Double World Champion Betting Line will head to Australia to stand at Empire’s Victorian farm in his debut season at stud. Betting Line just completed his first North American breeding season at the prestigious Hanover Shoe Farms in Pennsylvania breeding a full book of outstanding mares.

His influence as a sire and broodmare sire has been felt the world over. His greatest son in Niatross was the first standardbred to break the 1:52, 1:51 and eventually 1:50 barrier recording a time of 1:49.1 in a time trial in 1980. The Albatross influence is prominent throughout most standardbred pedigrees today with his sons like Soky’s Atom and Holmes Hanover having had huge success on these shores at stud and now as broodmare sires also. David pursued a 45 year career in harness racing and has been responsible for the sale and export of over 120 standardbred stallions to the Southern Hemisphere during the past 30 years including Fake Left, Soky’s Atom & Troublemaker to name a few. In the late 1990’s, Donna & David decided to purchase stallion prospects and proven horses for their own account the first being Albert Albert. They managed the stallion‘s careers remotely from the U.S. leasing the stallions to Southern Hemisphere farms such as Kevin Newbound of Forest Lodge Standardbreds, Stan Walker of Warwick Stud and Graeme & Lyn Ward’s Lynrose Stud to name a few. In 2006, Donna & David had a number of stallion opportunities available and no farm on which to stand the additional stallions as Stan Walker had sold his farm and the Ward’s had retired. They

Betting Line is the fastest 3YO colt and all-age stallion ever sired by Bettor’s Delight. The Little Brown Jug champion and North America Cup winner was voted the North American 3YO Colt and Canadian All-Age Horse of the Year in 2016 finishing his career with a lifetime mark of 1:47.4 and earnings in excess of $2 million dollars. He was trained by the popular Casey Coleman who always believed that he was a very special horse. “Betting Line has an exceptionally good pedigree, a terrific temperament and outstanding conformation. He’s always been a good sound horse. He was an exciting performer on the track with wicked early speed. As a three-year old he won 14 straight races in one of the strongest crops of three year olds in a decade. Being a son of Bettor’s Delight will obviously make him unsuitable for Bettor’s Delight mares. However he is from Western Hanover mare Heathers Western, who was a Pink Bonnet winner. Betting Line already has three well performed siblings from other sires – All Or None (2006 mare, $225,053) by Cams Card Shark, Full Picture (2007 mare, $581,876) by Artsplace, and JK Folly (2011 mare, $176,872) by Art Major.

Donna Egan and David James. Page 32

BREEDING MATTERS

A mare that can produce quality foals like that from a range of sires – two siring lines in common, to be sure – is a sign of a really good broodmare. Betting Line’s grandam is Santastic, a Camtastic mare. If that rings bells, she is the dam of Santastic’s Pan who has stood at stud in Australia for eight years siring 66 foals for 35 starters and 22 winners over 8 seasons at stud.

boot. He could leave the gate like a rocket, and then they would struggle to catch him.”

USA Pacer of the Year Well Said will now be available to NZ breeders via fresh, chilled semen as he will shuttle to Australia in August.

His third dam Katies Lucky Lady (Cam Fella) has left the millionaire and 2003 Dan Patch winner for two-year-old pacing fillies in Kikikatie (Real Artist) who leads a long list of impressive maternal progeny which bodes well for the pedigree page of the young stallion. With his oldest progeny being yearlings in Australia and North America it will be interesting to watch his impact as a sire.

Well Said has been a leading Top Ten U.S. Sire each year since his first crop raced in 2013, He is currently one of NZ’s leading percentage sires from two small frozen semen crops to race. He has already sired both a Meadowlands Pace (Control The Moment) and Breeders Crown Champion (Uffizi Hanover) and 13 faster than 1:50. “He’s a horse that I really did want several years ago but the syndicate that owns him decided at that particular time to not send him. I’m very pleased they have had a change of heart and he’s done a magnificent job in Pennsylvania. You have to take a look at the competition of stallions that stand there to realise you have to be a very nice stallion to even compete with the likes of Somebeachsomewhere for example. “The response has been very, very encouraging. He does put out a very correct great looking horse that will sell very well at the Yearling Sales.” The son of Western Hanover is out of a very well performed Artsplace mare in Must See who was a $487,122 earner herself taking a mark of 1:52. Currently he sits third in the USA two-year-old sires list by progeny earnings and he finished the season in New Zealand as having the highest percentage of Two-Year-Old qualifiers on average albeit from a crop of 16. His crop sizes should be significantly up this year given his well pointed fee at $6,000 and semen being fresh/chilled. “I’d say this is his best siring year ever and it just works out it’s the year he’s coming here so the stars have aligned and everything looks terrific. He’s a young horse and highly fertile too.” Heston Blue Chip was a winner of 25 stakes at 2 & 3 including the Breeders Crown. He is American Ideal’s richest son and was voted the USA 3YO Colt Pacer of the Year over A Rocknroll Dance and Sweet Lou. This year he is available to New Zealand breeders for the first time. “He’s a magnificent looking horse. Just a big, strong, powerful, lovely mannered horse with a great nature who was an absolutely outstanding colt at two and three. He won 25 races in those first two seasons which in itself is a very big feat. He’s 16 hands and a lovely neat compact long barreled horse. The nice thing about him was even with his presence he dominated on four furlong tracks. He wore 63 inch hopples and not a single

Page 34

His dam Shot To Go Bluechip (Cams Card Shark) has left another million dollar colt in full brother Sunfire Blue Chip. The American Ideal cross has worked twice more for the mare producing two more sub 1:52 pacers by the sire.

Triple World Champion Pet Rock has the distinction of being Rockroll Hanover’s fastest son with a record of 1:47 and $1.9 million in earnings. Also, he is the fastest horse in history of any age or sex over a four furlong track with a record of 1:48.1h. Pet Rock is the Leading First Crop Sire in North America in 2017 with 70 starters, 31 winners and 22 in 2:00 from 99 foals after only 40 days of the North American 2YO season and as of July 31, 2017. While he has rising two-year-olds in Australia, this will be the first time he is offered to the New Zealand market. “Pet Rock has served more than 150 mares in each of his three seasons in Australia. He has outstanding fertility and he’s bred full books in each of his four seasons in North America as well. I’ve seen many of his progeny in both countries and they’re very good size with terrific conformation. The US Trainers tell me they are easy to get gaited and they want to be race horses early at two. That’s what you’re going to see about him - he’s a sire of early two and three-year-old speed. He stands in Ohio where they mostly race on four furlong tracks and that’s where his progeny are currently racing and winning. “I think he will cross beautifully with Bettor’s Delight mares. When you look at what he’s crossing with in North America, he has winners out of almost 15 different sired mares. That’s the mark of a very good sire when they can leave them from just about anything and don’t need a predominant line to be successful. The sensational international sire Western Terror has crossed remarkably well with Australasian mares producing the winners of over $13.7 million from only three Down Under crops to race. He has many Group 1 performers to his credit including the twice NZ Horse of the Year Terror to Love p,1:51 ($2,429,978). Western Terror’s worldwide progeny earnings stand at over $90 million. “He only stood in Australia and New Zealand for three seasons and did not return to the Southern Hemisphere for a period of four years. We’ve had him here exclusively available to Australian breeders for the last four seasons where he has attracted full

books of 140-150 mares each year. In his first crop of two year olds in 2017 after so many seasons in which he didn’t shuttle, he’s already sired ten winners this year.” Given he’s been in the top 10 of the two and three-year-old sires by earnings in North America as well as the all aged category every year for the last 10 years, he’s a sire not to be overlooked. “He currently has a three-year-old racing in North America called Agent Q. She is the number one three year old pacing filly in North America earning over $820,000 and taking a mark of 1:48.3 at The Meadowlands in the Mistletoe Shalee.” Empire will again offer frozen semen for North America’s leading sire Somebeachsomewhere, USA Horse of the Year at both 2 & 3 Captaintreacherous and the prolific Rocknroll Hanover who has sired the winners of over $110 million. Somebeachsomewhere continues to dominate in North America and with larger crops in New Zealand in recent seasons we are starting to see his true worth in this part of the world. Bonnie Joan showed she is as fast as she is tough setting blistering mile times and hanging tough to win a Southland Oaks over 2700m. By earnings he is the leading two-year-old sire in Australia this season and he finishes the season in New Zealand at fifth on the same list with only 34 foals. His book is full already if that is any indication as to what the breeders think of his stock and he was once again well supported at the yearling sales in 2017 in both Australia and New Zealand. Captaintreacherous has the maternal pedigree (Romola Hanover line | Art Major, Panspacificflight) and the racetrack credentials to make a huge impact on the worldwide breeding season. “His book of mares in North America has consistently been sensational in each of the last three breeding seasons. I’ve also seen many of his foals who I consider to be spectacular. His first crop will sell this October and his yearlings are expected to sell extremely well. Captain is a magnificent looking individual and I do think he is odds on to be the next superstar stallion in the world.”

Ron has served as general manager of Empire’s New Zealand operations for the past six years. After 47 years of racing, breeding and managing stallion careers, Ron has decided to relocate to the Gold Coast with his wife Lilian to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren and he is looking forward to enjoying their welldeserved retirement. “Ron has been a wonderful friend and asset to Empire” said David James, principle of Empire Stallions. “He is dedicated, loyal and his organizational and accounting skills are second to none. We wish to thank Ron for all his efforts on Empire’s behalf and while he will be greatly missed, we wish him and his family health and happiness in this new phase of their lives. Empire Stallions (NZ) has reached an agreement with Noel Kennard and his experienced sales and management team to act as their New Zealand representatives effective immediately following the decision of Ron Burrell to retire. James stated that “we have found the perfect solution to Ron’s retirement with Noel Kennard’s outstanding team. Noel has been a leading figure in all facets of the New Zealand standardbred breeding industry for many years and with his experience and extensive knowledge of the business, this is a natural fit. We couldn’t be happier moving forward.” Moving forward is what the harness racing industry does best. We breeders continue to peer into the crystal ball and try and determine who might rear their head as the next dominant stallion. We certainly are spoilt for choice thanks to what Empire is adding to this breeding season.

“Obviously he will have to displace his own sire which will be a tough thing to do, but I think he has all of the credentials.” Rocknroll Hanover is one of the world’s greatest and most influential stallions having already sired 830 winners of over $110 million. He has 21 world champions and 10 millionaires to his credit. New Zealand is the only country in world where his frozen semen is available. This is a great opportunity for NZ breeders to take advantage of the export market to Australia as Rockroll Hanover sits second on the 3YO Sires List and his colts and fillies are really making an impact on the Australian racing scene. This year will see a changing of the guard for the New Zealand representation of Empire with the well-known Ron Burrell retiring from his role as NZ Sales Manager.

BREEDING MATTERS

AMERICAN IDEAL’S RICHEST SON

SENSATIONAL INTERNATIONAL SIRE

HESTON BLUE CHIP

WESTERN TERROR

American Ideal–Shot Togo Bluechip–Cam’s Card Shark

Western Hanover–Arterra–Artsplace

b.h. 16 hands

b.h. 15.3 hands

p,2,1:50.8f; 3,1:48f ($1,779,373)

p,2,1:54.4; 3,1:48.6 ($1,289,422)

From Only 3 Australasian Crops Older than 2 to Race, • Sire of 174 Winners of Over $13.7 Million with 37 Winners of Over $100,000 • Sire of Twice NZ Horse of the Year TERROR TO LOVE p,1:51 ($2,429,618) and multiple GR1 Champions incl BABY BLING p,1:50.5 ($854,490), IM CORZIN TERROR p,1:52.2 ($513,219), etc.

Voted USA 3YO Pacing Colt of the Year Over Sweet Lou & A Rocknroll Dance Winner of 11 races at 2 incl Simpson Memorial, Matron Stake, etc. 14 Stakes Wins at 3 Earning $1,025,773 Breeders Crown Champion, Matron Stake, Progress Stake, Empire Breeders Classic, etc. 9 Stakes & Track Records at 2 & 3 Great-Gaited – 63” Hobbles & No Boots Handsome 16 Hands with Outstanding Conformation & Fertility Service Fee: $5,000 + GST

Early Booking Discounted Fee

4,000 + GST

UPDATE

USA 3YO Filly AGENT Q wins Mistletoe Shalee Stake in 1:48.4 – tying Meadowlands track record!

Consistently A Top Ten North American Sire 31 in 1:50, 403 in 1:55 & 249 Winners of Over $100,000 Influential Sire of 12 World Champions & 10 Millionaires Worldwide Progeny Earnings of $89.7 Million Service Fee: $6,000 + GST

Early Booking Discounted Fee

4,800 + GST

EMPIRE

Booking Enquiries: Johnny Robinson | Mobile 021 883 713 | john@goharness.co.nz www.empirestallions.com

STALLIONS (NZ)

STUNIN CULLEN

SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST SOOOO NICE

p3, 1:54.1 $1,493,716

Christian Cullen - Vicario - Soky’s Atom

By John Mooney You know sometimes you meet someone who is perhaps too generous for his own good, whose word is his bond, who can be a soft touch, and who is addicted to his beloved sport. Someone for whom winning can bring more stress than the disappointment of coming second. Terry McDonald likes to win, make no mistake about that, but not at any cost. A couple of weeks back I sat with Terry in the warmth of the afternoon winter sun filling his dining room and sparkling off the wonderful trophies and the photos collected over almost over 50 years of racing standardbreds. But if he could, I suspect that Terry McDonald would give all the trophies away to have back in his life the three people who have passed in recent years who meant so much to him. Bereavements, a prolonged stressful battle over his earthquake settlement and a couple of other issues have left him reflective on family, racing and where to from now? Terry and his good mate Reg Storer had just returned from the Dunedin funeral service for his former business partner Ernie Griffin. He and Ernie owned lots of good horses. Stunin Cullen was the best with the stallion, now owned exclusively by Terry. The tales and stories that this trio could tell would be a book in itself.The sire is about to start his fourth breeding season at Graham Court’s Pinelea Farm. In April his beloved daughter Janine McCann succumbed to her ten years of living with multiple sclerosis. Janine’s smile radiated at us across the dining table in a gorgeous photo. With deep affection and sadness Terry spoke of Janine’s love and empathy with Terror To Love and the champion racehorse’s warmth towards her. “John, he knew she was there when she went out in the van to the stud. He liked to lick her hand and nuzzle her. You can see it in some of the photos in the Addington Birdcage.”

•

3yo Pacing Colt of his Year

•

Won 18 races, 12 at Group or Listed level, and $1,493,716

•

Won 4 Group 1 races including NZSS Final, Northern Derby and the Australian feature, the Hunter Cup

•

Won the Sales Series Final at 2 and also won over 3200m as an older horse in 3.58.3

•

Horse of the Year 2008/09

•

Rated a record 1.54.1 when winning the NZSS Final

•

Your chance to breed a horse that can beat the best in New Zealand and Australia just as he did! Standing at

Pinelea Farm 475 Dawsons Rd West Melton

Graham Court Mobile: 027 415 2502. Phone: 03 341 8650. Email: graham@pineleafarm.co.nz

www.pineleafarm.co.nz

1st crop o f 2 y o’s

from 54 foal s, 6 qualifiers – a filly and a colt both ran their Akl 2Y 2nd in O Youn Guns Races g .

This proud dad reflected with pride on Janine’s dignity and determination. He is especially proud of her massive contributions to rugby league, netball, softball, the deaf and the Keruru Sports and Cultural Club. My friend returned to the theme about how people supported Janine, her husband Stephen, their friend Thomas Hurinui, and him. “People supported me, it has been over-whelming. I suppose you get back what you put in. Janine’s life was full of giving.” “She is still here for me, every day I talk to her,” says Terry. Sharing pride of place with Janine is a photo of Terry’s younger brother Ken who passed three years ago. Ken was also known on both sides of the Tasman as a generous warm hearted man of the highest integrity. The brothers were very close. Warmth and generosity runs deep in the veins of the McDonald family.

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Graham Court, Ricky May, Paul Court, Terry McDonald celebrating another NZ Cup! Terry has a passion and enthusiasm for our sport. He loves the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club and cannot say enough good things about the recently departed CEO Dean McKenzie and the Business and Marketing Manager Keryn McElroy. The increases in stakes across the country provide good reasons for people to breed and race says Terry. The lad who rode a horse to Opawa School for three or four years, the lad who watched his dad break in draught horses is still a lad when it comes to racing and breeding standardbred “it gets into you blood, John and I am finding it hard to slow down. I am a big softy and do not like making hard decisions!” But he is looking to scale scaling back his breeding and racing interests while his commitment as the owner of two stallions is unconditional. With that he rings his friend of 40 years Graham Court so that we can talk about the progeny of Stunin Cullen and Terror To Love. Terry is very close to Graham. He recalls that the first horse he got from Graham was no good. Graham replaced it at his cost. That single gesture of goodwill founded a friendship and a business relationship that Terry continues to support. “Graham is a professional. He has always turned the horses out immaculately. He never did me any harm, and is a friend,” said Terry. Graham’s Pinelea Farm hosts the two stallions and Terry’s 15 mares. Paul Court trains for Terry. Graham bubbles with enthusiasm for the Terror To Love weanlings. “I’m rapped with them. He is stamping them with good confirmation and arrogance. They stand-up and hold up well. Many are stunning animals,’ he said. BREEDING MATTERS

TeRROR TO LOve

Terry is proud of the fact that he is a man of his word. When Terror To Love went to stud he obviously wanted to see this son of Western Terror do very well. Terry set the service fee to make the horse accessible. He also said that no matter what happened the service fee would never exceed $10,000.

p,1:51 $2,429,618

Reg Storer and Peter and Anne Bagrie are going year about with the duel-gaited mare Black Jacky (2006 10 Bl m Falcon Seelster Rare Vintage - Holmes Hanover 1 pacing win, 6 trotting wins and $54,100). Reg bred this year’s foal a stunning black colt by Terror To Love. (pictured). Reg has to decide if the colt goes to the sales or if he is broken-in to race but, whatever he is hoping that once broken in the colt’s ability lives up to his attitude and type. The triple NZ Cup winner, bred by Terry out of the Live or Die mare he bred Love to Live, served 84 mares (61 foals branded) in his first season and 64 last season. Stunnin Cullen has 86 foals on the ground. Seven 2YOs qualified this season with two to race. Eye Candy (2014 2 B f Stunin Cullen - Have A Look) has raced three times for a 2nd in a Young Guns Heat. Royal Tribute 2014 2 B c Stunin Cullen - Ians Choice has two seconds to his name. I leave Terry and his lovely view over the plains to the alps. I cannot help but think, would it not be neat if Terror To Love could produce a champion filly or colt for a man who only wants good things to happen in our sport.

Western Terror - Love To Live - Live Or Die

Reg Storer’s Terror to Love weanling colt out of Black Jacky

Stephen McCann, Terry McDonald, Thomas Hurinui, and Janine McCann

Reg Storer’s Terror to Love weanling colt out of Black Jacky

• TERROR TO LOVE the winner of $2,429,618 retired last year as New Zealand’s best Free For All pacer of the modern era including 3 NZ Cups and an Auckland Cup amongst his 22 Group victories. • His sire Western Terror was 2004 USA 3yo of the Year and has already sired 7 millionaire pacers including 5 mares. • His dam is the multiple award winning Live or Die mare Love To Live (Broodmare of the Year and Broodmare Excellence awards).

Standing at

Pinelea Farm 475 Dawsons Rd West Melton

Page 40

BREEDING MATTERS

Graham Court Mobile: 027 415 2502. Phone: 03 341 8650. Email: graham@pineleafarm.co.nz

www.terrortolove.co.nz

the b e st hor s e deserves th e

b e st

opportunit y!

A stunning Washington VC colt out of the Falcon Seelster mare, Amaretto Bromac fetched a whopping $60,000 after being knocked down to the team at Lincoln Farms. “He was a magic colt, we hadn’t anticipated getting quite that much. But there was a buyer and an under bidder who thought the same. It was still pleasantly surprising. Bromac Lodge also fetched the second highest price for any filly at the two-day Christchurch sale with the Bettor’s Delight daughter out of Te Amo Bromac (Mach Three) going to the barn of Cran Dalgety for $110,000. “Te Amo Bromac was a very nice mare herself and the way the Bettor’s were selling we half hoped to get in that bracket.” “One that probably disappointed me was the Art Major filly out of her sister Tatijana Bromac but I guess sales are averages and if you average them up we were quite happy. With yearling sales nominations due at time of print, Bromac Lodge has no designs on slowing down and will arrive at the 2018 sale with a draft big enough to fill a cup field (plus emergencies). “We have just lodged 19 yearlings for sale the next year and we will have more than that for the following year. “We’ve got a full brother to the Te Amo Bromac colt from this year going through who should attract significant attention.” When pressed if there were any there were any others that had caught his fancy, Bob didn’t hesitate to tell me “all of them” with a chuckle. McArdle is the first to admit it’s not an easy task to take a draft or even a yearling to the sales and return with a profit.

Bob and Denise McArdle with Te Amo Bromac

BOB-TIMISTIC ON BROMAC AND FUTURE OF HARNESS RACING

Having spent a lifetime breeding, buying and selling horses Bob McArdle is quietly optimistic about the industry’s position as he gears up for another busy breeding season. The news of stakes increasing across the board was music to the ears of the man with one of the biggest drafts of yearling’s year in year out come sales time. “Well I guess like a lot of these things we’ve had such a negative gearing for a while and its going to take a while to really see the positive effects of the announcements. The trainers who basically control the yearling market have had nothing to sell. They need a story to go out and tell the potential owner before the sales. When you’re looking at a ten thousand minimum and

Page 42

“It does restrict your options, first with mares and second with the sires you go too because the buyers are largely the trainers and you have got to provide them with what they are looking for rather than what you believe they should have. With the limitation of the stallions it does get difficult at times.” Like everyone else, McArdle has his eye on the next generation of stallions making their way down under is excited with what he sees.

By Brad Reid When you’re a living inductee into the NZ Harness Racing Hall of Fame, there is little you haven’t seen when you’ve been in the industry for a tick over 60 years.

“The whole yearling market has changed and is probably the most difficult aspect of the industry I’ve ever been involved in. You can have theories on breeding but when you go to the yearling sale market you have got to go on what the buyer wants rather than what might be the best cross for your mare etc.”

promises of that going up the year and year after, it’s extremely exciting and the trainers can go out and tell the owner it’s an investment rather then something that might keep him in business. “Instead of racing a mare and selling her afterwards the owner can think about racing her and retaining her to breed from with an eye for the sales. Hopefully the yearling market will respond accordingly and something you are selling today for $20,000 will sell for $30k and $40k in the near future. Bromac Lodge came out of February’s yearling sales with a bit of a mixed bag, but on the whole, McArdle was happy with how it panned out. “Yes, our average was quite good ($36,500) we were probably short on numbers (11 lots) but what we sold we were happy with.

With quality bloodlines making their way into our gene pool McArdle is impressed with the evolution of the ‘Down Under breed’ and can see the North American export market reopening its doors. Recent exports like Nike Franco N and Bit of A Legend N have not only been able to hold their own in the freefor-all ranks at the highest level, they’ve at times dominate some of North America’s finest. “It’s been wonderful to see how Bit Of Legend has done going to America and winning a million dollars and the bigger races up there. In the two and three year olds we may be a little bit behind but the product we are putting on the track these days is comparable to anywhere in the world in terms of quality. The genetics have improved with the very good American blood coming through and we’re starting to see that in the trotters now too.” Bloodlines that are still showing up in our industry despite advancing years are those of the famed Falcon Seelster. The sire of 824 NZ-bred winners is on track to eclipse that mark as a broodmare sire with 605 NZ-bred winners having come from his daughters. Those who fancy breeding to the son of Warm Breeze for their mares will have to be quick with the current supply of the deceased stallion’s semen likely to be gone by year’s end. “We have a little bit we probably have enough to do about 20 mares in New Zealand. I’ve just been over in Australia where I’ve sold enough to do about 30. What I don’t sell here in New Zealand this year I will probably just keep for myself. Genetically he’s probably the only true outcross and while he isn’t a yearling sales type stallion anymore, he can still sire a nice horse, particularly a broodmare prospect” It’s hard to watch a race anywhere in Australasia without the Bromac moniker being called by a commentator. Talking with McArdle it’s clear that even after 60 long years, his passion for seeing his progeny race and compete is something that still drives him to operate at the top end of our sport. “Oh absolutely I get as much thrill seeing someone else racing as I do myself, when you breed them they are a bit like you’re children. The last thing I do at night before I turn the light out is turn on my iPad and see what has won races in Australia or ones that I have missed. I just love it.”

“We’re probably better off than the thoroughbreds now with the options we have stallion wise. The flood gates have opened completely and it’s a different ball game.” “Always B Miki is owned by the person we bought Live or Die off in Michael Jonathon and he’s a superstar horse and you’ve got Captaintreacherous and others. The stallions that are coming today are world champions with perfect pedigrees and are getting full books in America before they come down here.” “Nevele Romeo the initial stallion of Nevele R, he was a supremely average race horse but out of the greatest broodmare of all time in Romola Hanover. Today if Nevele Romeo came Down Under you’d use him as a teaser or only to serve your own mares, you wouldn’t get any outside ones”.

BREEDING MATTERS

N Z S B A R E P R E S E N TAT I V E O N T H E NZ HARNESS RACING BOARD

GEARING UP FOR ANOTHER SHOWING SEASON!

From a harness racing/HRNZ perspective the highlights were:

By Colin Hair | NZSBA Representative on the NZ Harness Racing Board

• Breeding numbers stabilised after declining for a number of years • Standardbred Series shown on Trackside • Maiden winner bonus of $1500 implemented • Implementation of the points based handicapping system that is delivering on its objective of “like for like” fields and more even betting races with fewer short priced favourites • Racing Board committing to increasing distributions to the Codes • PGG Wrightson’s Standardbred division engaging with vendors and the industry generally to look at ways of enhancing the yearling sales

The North Island now has both Inhand and Ridden classes at most shows which carry Standardbred sections with North Island Standardbred Assn (NISA) formed in 2007, instigating their inclusion. However, the In Hand classes in particular were a bit out of sync with what you would expect to see in most other breed or RAS rings.

By Julie De Fillipi NZSBA Ambassador of Life After Racing

Looking ahead to the 17/18 racing season: My personal aims (hopes/dreams) are: I do appreciate the confidence that the three Breeders Associations have in reappointing me as the Breeders’ representative on the Harness Racing New Zealand Board for another 2 year term. I will continue to work hard to ensure that the views of Breeders are heard at the HRNZ Board.

• Looking to qualify both Sundees Son (3yr old) and Woodstone (4yr old) for the Jewels at Cambridge • Uncas winning a “nice/big” race in Australia • Settling on consorts for my mares, in particular for Stardon (mother of Sundees Son and sister of Uncas)

I would also like to acknowledge the work of Brad Reid (Executive Manager) and John Mooney (Chairman – NZ Standardbred Breeders) on delivering on the six key focus areas set out in the Breeders 16/17 Business Plan.

The next racing season - 17/18 - will see the various Racing Board initiatives that have been worked on for a number of years, such as Race Field Legislation, the TAB’s new fixed odds betting platform, and Calendaristion of the Racing Calendar coming into play. These will enable the Racing Board to deliver increased distributions to the racing industry.

With the 2016/17 racing season drawing to close it is timely to look at the highlights of the season and look forward to the next season. From a personal point of view, 16/17 was my successful season ever in over 20 years of breeding and racing horses, highlighted by the following: • Winning 6 races in the season by 3 different horses • Winning races from Mount Gambier to Melton, to Rangiora to Addington • Having my first 2 year old to race – Sundees Son - winning 2 races and starting in the Jewels at Ashburton (This was also the low point of the season with Sundees Son galloping at the start) • Uncas running 3rd in a Group 1 at Menagle on Miracle Mile Night having started from the outside of the second line • Winning a $1500 winners bonus when Woodstone won his 3rd start at Rangiora. • Winning two Breeders’ Bonuses at Addington.

Page 44

These increased distributions will complement the various initiatives implemented by the HRNZ Board in 16/17, such as the payment of all starters, the maiden winner bonus and the new handicapping system. The 10% increase in stakes will result in higher returns to all direct participants – owners, trainers and drivers, and will also flow through to the many support people – the stable workers, farriers, vets, feed suppliers etc. involved in the industry.

As we are slowly travelling through the winter months, those of us who are involved with showing standardbreds (both In Hand and Ridden) are starting to gear up and focus on the upcoming show season. The season commences in October throughout New Zealand, and with many A and P shows now including a Standardbred ring - it is a busy time for ‘showies’. Many of us are working towards the pinnacle event - “Horse Of The Year” (the equal to Cup week for harness racing) which takes place in March in the Hawkes Bay, but before getting there - are many qualifying shows including the likes of The Royal Show held in Hawkes Bay this year, and Canterbury A and P Show in November. At the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) conference to which NZSBA is the Standardbred Affiliate, a minimum schedule of classes was presented and accepted to provide the many A and P shows run throughout the country, a guide of what classes should be run in the Standardbred section .

Breeders will also benefit, a large number directly as some 50% of horses are raced by their breeders, and all breeders indirectly as higher returns from stakes will increase confidence throughout the industry and flow through to a general demand for horses.

As the Standardbred breed had not been affiliated to RAS until a couple of years ago, there was no overseeing body of the standardbred rings at RAS shows. This resulted in two different sets of classes being run in the North Island and the South Island. The South Island had mainly been running ridden classes based on an RAS ridden schedule.

I would like to think that the general air of confidence and optimism that is starting to spread through the industry from all of these positive initiatives encourages breeders to make positive decisions on breeding in the17/18 season.

New Zealand Standardbred Riding Assn (NZSRA), being the association who worked to have classes adopted at South Island shows, are based in Canterbury and who’s aim when formed in 1992 was to promote the ridden Standardbred.

Providing a minimum schedule allows some cohesion in the classes of both Islands, and it ensures the base classes at the shows will be the same - a must while the breed has a place at ‘Horse Of The Year’ so qualifying is fair. Each individual show may add classes that may reflect their area and local competition base. The minimum schedule has been based around the ‘Horse Of The Year’ classes that ran early this year, which were a result of a collaboration of NZSBA, NZSRA and NISA. In addition to this we have been working hard to have In Hand classes added to many of our South Island shows. There has been quite a large contingent of In Hand Standardbreds competing at lower level shows. It would be great to provide these classes & encourage them, so they can achieve the next step up, and also give them a more even playing field to qualify for Horse Of The Year. This hopefully will also help support the ridden classes which have been a little lower in numbers of recent times. Life After Racing (LAR) is providing horses with another life after their racing career has ended. Many owners are pleased to see their horse go on to another chosen career - whether it be competitive showing, dressage, show jumping, pony club or pleasure riding. It has been a learning curve throughout this first year since taking on this role. I’m pleased we are making progress to provide a more inclusive cohesive section for our breed in the RAS showing realm. I wish everyone competing a successful year ahead as we look forward to the upcoming season.

BREEDING MATTERS

W A I E Y R E FA R M | YOUR ONE STOP BROODMARE SHOP Wai Eyre Farm is a name synonymous with the Canterbury Standardbred Breeding Industry. In the 1960’s Mike Brown set up the original farm which comprised some 226 acres of which beef and deer were the primary market. In the 1980’s Mike’s son Darryl Brown took a more pro-active role in the running of the farm and in conjunction with Mike they changed direction into its current equine theme. Having served thousands of mares over the last 30+ years, there was a time when the standing of stallions began to shape a larger focus of the operation. More recently the decision was made to go back to focusing on being more of a broodmare based operation. “It’s been really good just going back to the basics of what we used to do. The stallion market is obviously ultra-competitive and where we used to stand stallions like In The Pocket and Christian Cullen, in recent years we have become more of a preferred semen base for the commercial studs.” Offering breeders a complete package with competitive rates, especially for year round mares has been key to their success. “Last year we served around 250 mares and we have about 130140 mares here year-round. Plenty of mares also come here just to foal but we’ve been offering what we believe to be some really good prices on agistment and that’s reflected in the numbers we attract. “We do a lot weaning of the foals through the winter and we do a bit of race horse grazing also. We have different rates depending on whether they are hard fed and covers on and compared to a lot of other places the rates are really good. The stud is now 800 acres and horses thrive on the lush, fertile pasture. Irrigation means Wai Eyre can provide this all year round. Supplementary feeding is carried out if required as part of their agistment price (excludes hard feed). “Our fully deer fenced property, and purpose built equine facilities ensure we can provide the best of care for your valuable horses. All horses are routinely dewormed and have their feet trimmed regularly. One of the stand out statistics from Wai Eyre was their ability to get mares in foal. “Andrew Bailey of Rangiora Vet Centre is quite key to us, he’s a big part of our success when it comes to conception rates. Last year our frozen in foal rates were exceptionally good and would have been up there with anywhere else in the country being 84%. The previous year was slightly higher being between 88 and 89 percent.

Page 46

The average in foal rate for frozen semen in New Zealand is believed to be closer to 50 percent and while this is increasing all the time, batting close to 90% should be music to the ears of all breeders. Particularly when costs associated with frozen semen can be more prohibitive.

An idyllic 800 acres of lush pasture and quality fencing designed specifically for agisting your valuable broodmares and their progeny, from foals through to racehorses.

Outside of farm life it’s been a great year for the Wai Eyre horses on the race track with Johnny Eyre becoming a prominent feature on the country cup circuit.

• Preferred semen base for all stallions

“Yeah it’s been good fun seeing them race well and I know Dad’s enjoyed it.

• 24 hour supervised foaling

“We’ve cut right back but I think between us we’re breeding four mares, one of which is South Eyre. I’m breeding Landoras Special with Katie Carville and we’ve got a nice colt by Angus Hall out of her going through the sales.” Landoras Special (2015 m Sundon - Landora’s Pride) is the dam of the Open Class trotter Eyre I Come who really came of age this season when winning the Group Three Summer Trotting Free For All last season. He backed that up with his maiden Group One success in the New Zealand Trotting Championships and some solid performances at Auckland’s Rowe Cup meeting. While the Standardbred market is the primary source of horses numbers, the rich North Canterbury soil has also become home to the odd sport horse.

• Excellent infoal rates with fresh and frozen semen • Top class facilities with proven results • Committed to providing the best care for your bloodstock

“Providing the best for the best”

“It’s still in its small stages but its growing all the time”, said Brown. “Nicky Kennedy is the stud manager and does a fantastic job with the team year-round. We’re committed to providing the best possible care for our client’s bloodstock and to meeting their breeding goals. Our experienced, long serving staff, combined with our purpose built equine facilities, means we can provide the perfect breeding base for your mares which enables us to give them every opportunity to be a successful broodmare. “We’ve got plenty pf grass and plenty of scope to give everything plenty of space. “We also extract gravel out of the Eyre River and we supply Christchurch Ready Mix with 80% of it and the rest we turn into crusher dust for horse tracks, arenas and dairy lanes which is for sale to the public should they require any”, said Brown.

49 Harpers Road, East Eyreton, Kaiapoi, RD 2, 7692 Office: 03 312 6338 Fax: 03 312 6337 E: waieyre@xtra.co.nz Darryl Brown: 027 732 250 Nicky Kennedy: 021 865 796 BREEDING MATTERS

LEADING CONTENDERS FOR BREEDER OF YEAR

or a tailored breeding programmE...

Peter Craig

One of the highlights of every commercial breeder’s season would have to be the naming of the Breeder of the Year. The latest season is no different and whilst one can argue that the usual suspects are again in contention, this is no way diminishes from the outstanding efforts of progeny bred by them. It is always interesting to review annually the performances of these breeders’ progeny. The leading contenders as outlined below are only one person’s opinion in an attempt to identify the breeders foremost in the judge’s eyes. In alphabetic order, primary contenders for the Breeder of Year Award include [criteria includes NZ performances only, number of winners/wins, Group race performances, stakes earned and so on). Grice brothers (Bevan and Keith): Among eight trotting winners bred, four represent the Juliana clan of Dark Horse (five wins, Uncut Gems), Sarah Palin (three), Father Christmas (two) and Monty Python (two, Southern Lights Trot) while Cuddly Jess from grand mare Janettas Pride won four trotting and Boomer Bailey won the Waikouaiti Cup

Woodlands Stud: Achieving the most wins of leading breeders contenders which included those of now retired three year old filly Spanish Armada whose eight NZ seasonal wins (four Group Ones) included NZ Sires Stakes, Ladyship Stakes, Yearling Sales Series, Nevele R series, NZ Oaks, Jewels Diamonds with a third in GN Oaks to her stable compatriot Partyon, also bred by Woodlands (two wins in NZ). Speeding Spur registered a solitary victory having been bred by Woodlands Equally a number of other breeders are worthy of mention and indeed some consideration. Among the corporate model breeders these included Spreydon Lodge (the “Franco” bred continues to march on); Breckon Farms (Elle Mac); Small Car World (Chevron Express); Alabar (NZ) Ltd (speedy Ultimate Desire) and Bromac Lodge (Bromac bred and others). Commendable performances among the individual breeders were recorded by Julie Davie, Dan and Peter Cummings (Bonnie Joan); John Green (The Orange Agent); Tony Parker (Kissmeimloaded, Yagunnakissmeornot); Malcom Shinn (Seaswift Joy); Lex and Heather Williams (One Muscle Hill, Mighty Flying Major); Daryl Brown (Eyre I Come) and Charles Roberts (Dream About Me, Maxim). This year’s Breeder of the Year will be announced on HRNZ Awards night, Thursday 3 August 2017.

•

Stonewall Stud: Leading performer for Stonewall Stud as breeders (managed by Gill Stockman) was Better B Amazed with her Premier Mares Championship and Charles Roberts NISBA Stakes victories together with a third in NZ Breeders Stakes. Most of their double figure number of winners bred were raced by the popular Stonewall Stud syndicates including Uncut Gems winner Rocknroll Princess, a five race winner in 2016/7

•

STOP PRESS Winner Brian West of Studholme Park Bloodstock Breeder of the Year

Artificial insemination base (no working fees)

Frozen semen packages

• Embryo transfer • Problem mares

• •

Stallion fertility

• •

Stem cell treatments for lameness

Research in equine reproduction Specialised equine reproduction

...think

Studholme Park Bloodstock Ltd: Standout achievement for Studholme principal Brian West was as breeder of Australasian Grand Circuit champion and multiple group one winning pacer Lazarus - NZ Cup/FFA, Taylor Mile and NZ Messenger among nine victories from ten NZ starts with three in NZ record time. Other leading performers included Jewels Ruby winners Wilmas Mate (4yo), Paramount King (2yo, Cambridge Trotting Stakes, four wins) and Alexandra Park fast class pacing winner Start Dreaming

Dr Lee Morris 399 Parklands Road, RD 1, Te Awamutu 3879 T: 07 870 1845 E: info@equibreed.co.nz

www.equibreed.co.nz Page 48

BREEDING MATTERS

had huge success with Bit Of A Legend, Sell A Bit, Springbank Sam, Mackenzie and Mossdale Conner. More recently he shelled out good money for three-year-old Pacing Major. “It’s just so important to send the right horses to the right areas. Bit Of A Legend is a prime example. He is just so at home on the half-mile track at Yonkers, but he loses some of that advantage when he goes to the bigger tracks.” – agent Peter Larkin. It is the record of von Knoblauch and his trainer, Peter Tritton, that have given other leading stables the confidence to import horses from Down Under, says Larkin. “I think the success Peter and Harry have had has been a bit of an incentive for others to look in to the market.” Larkin says he could sell plenty more horses this week, if he could find the right types, but it’s about patience and not lessening the product with a sale for the sake of a sale. “It’s just so important to send the right horses to the right areas. Bit Of A Legend is a prime example. He is just so at home on the half-mile track at Yonkers, but he loses some of that advantage when he goes to the bigger tracks.

SLOT MONEY FUELING RESURGENT EXPORT MARKET TO AMERICA

Nike Franco

By Garrick Knight Year-on-year export numbers to America have dropped since last season but are still better than every other term since the turn of the decade. And the recent performances of some top former Kiwi horses such as Mossdale Conner, Bit Of A Legend and Christen Me have brought about a new spike in shipments in the past few months. While many tracks in North America have closed, some of those that remain are thriving on the back of slot machine money that boosts stakes. One such track is the half-mile Yonkers circuit in New York, where every Friday and Saturday night the cards are run for between US$25,000 and US$55,000 per race. According to agents that are familiar with the US market, those huge stakes, a smaller American foal crop and the performances of some key exports are all helping the market gain buoyancy. “You couldn’t attribute that rise in exports to any one thing, but definitely they’ve got a shortage of horses like us; it’s a worldwide trend,” says Auckland trainer and agent Peter Blanchard. “There have been a couple of trend-setting horses go up there to promote the New Zealand horses and that has always been the case; Cardigan Bay did it, Young Quinn did it and if you’ve got horses that can compete at the highest level, it’s a big plus. “At a place like Yonkers they race for scary money and that is a big factor as it means they can pay the big dollars for them because the racing is in such good stead.” Page 50

In many respects Bit Of A Legend has done a huge service to the New Zealand industry by ascending to be one of the best horses in North America. Last year, he was the third highest-earning aged male pacer in the United States with US$723,850, putting him behind only the freakish pair of Always B Miki and Wiggle It Jiggleit. So far this year he is fourth in that same category with US$223,420. Other ex-Kiwi big earners in North America so far this year have been Mackenzie (US$217,800), Mossdale Conner (US$126,000), Springbank Sam (US$123,110), Just A Delight (US$113,390) and Nike Franco (US$106,959). The man behind the sale of many of them is Ashburton agent Peter Larkin, who says he is almost an unwilling dispatcher of our best horses. “It would be lovely to see those horses still racing in New Zealand. But the better class of horses are finding themselves in no-man’s land so quickly. “It’s a programming issue; the provisions mean you can create any races you want to and that could have given the likes of Mossdale Conner, Classiesistar and Texican reasons to stay here.” Larkin has been the long-time agent of nonagenarian American owner Harry von Knoblauch, who in the last couple of years has

“The two major factors I find are that they have to be goodgaited and they have to have speed. Another thing I find is very important is that the horse goes to people who are experienced in acclimatising foreign horses.” The stark contrast between summer and winter in the hemispheres means that a horse leaving here in December or January arrives in 0 degree temperatures without a natural coat. Conversely, a horse going this week, like Torrid Bromac, will arrive in hot temperatures with a winter coat.

Bit of A Legend to America, but is more focused on training horses with son Vaughan and selling to Australian clients. “It’s a full-time job, selling to the States; there are lots of phone calls involved and a lot of work. It’s a credit to those guys selling horses up there now that they have managed to resurrect the market.” The second-last flight of the racing season is due to depart this weekend with just a couple of Kiwi pacers, bringing the number for the season to 29, though that will most likely rise to about 32 when one last plane’s data is added in late July. That is down from last season’s decade-long peak of 50, but well above the four seasons that ended in 2014 when the numbers were just 15, 9, 12 and 10 respectively.

It’s a big endeavour, importing a horse from down under, and a lot of trust has to be placed in agents by buyers.

These numbers are still a far cry from the start of the century when anywhere from 150 to 200 horses per season was the norm.

Often, these people have never met and are solicited on recommendations, so when you have to buy the horse and then pay upwards of $30,000 just to freight the horse there, it’s a big risk.

Australia’s export numbers are slightly higher all around, and that has a lot to do with confidence in form from tracks like Menangle and Gloucester Park, which perfectly replicate The Meadowlands and Yonkers respectively.

The pressure of that is one Larkin doesn’t take lightly.

About 38 racehorses have left Australia for North America this season, approximately 25 of them New Zealand-bred. Among them were Sky Major, Quick As A Trick, Cyamach, Five Card Draw, Mr Brightside, Change Stride, Betabcool, Alta Jerome and Blow A Cloud.

“Buying foreign horses sight unseen is a big step for many people, and word can spread from one barn to the next very quickly that foreign horses aren’t much good or aren’t worth the money. You only survive on this week’s results, really.” Blanchard says the American market fluctuates over time and is very much “cyclical”, so it is expected that it will probably rise and then fall once again. “I’ve found recently that the Australian market has gotten a bit quieter and a few horses that would usually be going there are going to America. But that will change. They always do, be it in six months, a year or a few years.” For now, though, he is just happy to see the market with some buoyancy again. “Guys like Peter Larkin and John Curtin are my heroes with the way they have resurrected that market. It’s been great to me in years gone by and these guys have dual-handedly brought it back in to play for New Zealand owners.” Blanchard was a huge player when the market was booming in the late 90s and early 2000s. He still sells the odd horse

Tritton has gone on record as saying Mossdale Conner, who ran third in both the New Zealand and Victoria Cups last season, could be the best import he has trained, and that bodes well for the New Zealand export industry in coming years. Factor in that champion pacer Christen Me is already breaking 1.50 and acquitting himself well, and recently-exported open class trotter Prime Power has just won a US$35,000 trot at Yonkers, and things are looking up. Racehorses exported from New Zealand to North America this season: Nerida Franco, Provocative Prince, Islay, Aquickone, Never Say Never, Mackenzie, Brilliant Strike, Mossdale Conner, Christen Me, Eclipse Me, Le Reveur, Kotare Yael, Idle Bones, Strawb’s Chippie, Pacing Major, Jewel On The Beach, Are You Ready Girl, Tuiz Luck, Toot Toot, Sir Richie, Myidealson, Luciano, Prime Power, On The Rantan, Beyond The Silence, Armabluechipboy, Baileys Rock, Torrid Bromac.

BREEDING MATTERS

A sensational start to his siring career!

T R O T T I N G R O Y A LT Y | S TA L L I O N S A U S T R A L A S I A Stallions Australasia principal Peter O’Rourke has just returned to New Zealand having recently been to Europe and North America where he has taken in some of the best trotting the world has to offer.

Lucky Chucky was another from O’Rourke’s roster to get on the board in New Zealand this year with Aoraki winning on debut at Methven earlier in the season before continuing to run good races in the big two-year-old trots.

“I went to Sweden for the Elitloppet. It was the most fantastic day I think I’ve had in harness racing. The whole carnival was exceptional. I think it’s the first time I’ve been to a harness meeting where there has been more excitement then the New Zealand Cup.”

“It was great to see him sire the first filly home in the Jewels but she’s proven she’s going to be as good as anything and that’s from a tiny crop. His second and third crops have been a bit bigger.”

A stallion providing O’Rourke with plenty excitement early in the North America season is Wishing Stone (1:51.4 | $2,361,099). He raced from two until seven and did so at the highest level in North America as well as Europe where he won Group races in France, Sweden and Denmark to boot. The richest son of the great Conway Hall has sired 10 starters from his first crop who have amassed more the $250,000 in stakes in North America from just 16 foals on the ground. This gives him far and away the highest average earnings by starter of any two-year-old sire let alone first season sire. He was also the sire of the first two-year-old winner of the season in Italy. “Oh, it’s phenomenal and he’s still got the richest two-year-old filly (Princess Marxxx) and richest two-year-old colt (U Need Stones). I don’t expect it to stay that way given how many foals he has on the ground but he’s at least proven he can compete with the best. We couldn’t have been happier really.” His oldest progeny in New Zealand are rising two year olds and although he only has a crop of five, the reports are good and consistent with the early success thus far. Trotting giant Muscle Hill made his presence felt in New Zealand this season siring three two-year-old winners including the Sires Stakes winner and Jewels runner up in One Muscle Hill. “Yeah it was good, he still has relatively low numbers, but because we’re last cab off the rank we will never get bigger amounts then what we currently do. But it just shows his class to be able to get a few running at the top level here.”

This season’s crop of two year olds was a meagre seven and he has 15 rising two year olds to come through this season. His good mare in America called Non Stick (2013 | 1:54.0 | $555,408) went to Sweden to race in Rune Stolts Lopp for four year old mares and ran last so that shows you how tough the travel can be. From four crops of racing age Lucky Chucky is already the sire of 10 six figure earners in North America with his richest colt Dog Gone Lucky ($534,797) having run a 1:54.0 mile at two. In Australia he is doing a good job also with a small first crop, colt Smashthemcalder has this year won the Vic Maori Legend for two year old trotters at Listed level. With a first crop of yearlings in North America, O’Rourke is excited to see the progeny of Trixton be sold in North America this year.

WISHING STONE tr,1:51.4 $2,361,099

Conway Hall - Meadowbranch Magic - Valley Victory

The blue blooded son of Muscle Hill is out of a full sister to Andover, Angus and Cantab Hall in Emilie Cas El. “He’s really stamped his progeny, I’ve seen his yearlings when I was over recently and they are just magnificent looking yearlings. He was an incredible type himself being a $350,000 yearling purchase and everyone in North America is really excited about what his progeny could do.”

• The richest and equal fastest son of the great Conway Hall, the sire of over $80 million to date. • From the richest and most productive sire line in the

winners over nearly $5 million dollars. • From his first crop of only 16 2yos in North America, sired while he was still racing, he has already stamped an indelible mark on the 2yo siring scene.

His yearling sales dominance continued last week where he had the three highest priced lots at the Kolgjini Yearling Sale in Sweden. A colt he sired in Naghamori Hill brought its vendor 3SEK million (US$363,695).

• He is clearly the leading percentage sire on earnings and has proven he can leave super fast early 2yos and major stakes winners.

“The prices are borderline ridiculous what they’re paying but it’s just the way it is, you can’t stop the buyer from bidding.”

still the richest colt and filly in North America. • His most recent qualifier, the filly, the highly touted Wish I Was There, started from 6 on the gate and

USTA stud book. • Out of a Valley Victory mare which has left the

Muscle Hill

• As this advert goes to print his best 2yos to date are

won the qualifier by 29 lengths. • Currently Wishing Stone, from 11 starters to have qualified or raced, is third on the 2yo sires list behind the legendary sires Muscle Hill and Cantab Hall. • We understand that Wishing Stone, with his tiny first crop, will not retain his position on the leading sires list but there is every chance he will retain his position as the leading 2yo percentage sire.

• Sired the first 2yo winner in Italy in 2017 so already an international sire as well.

He currently tops the two and three-year-old sires list by money won in North America and is extremely close to leading the all aged leaderboard having done so in 2016. A remarkable feat given he only had four crops of racing age.

S er vice Fe e

$4 ,0 0 0 +GST For all enquiries please contact: Peter O’Rourke Phone: 03 3326410 Mobile: 021 346401 Email: pjorourke13@gmail.com

Frozen se men. POLF.

www.stallionsaustralasia.com and also follow us on Facebook Page 52

BREEDING MATTERS

Eligible for discount for multiple mares to SAL stallion.

The

Grass Roots Bonus Series

EQUI-GOLD CALCIVITE PLUS

a mineral supplement for optimum bone and muscle development in horses, especially valuable for pregnant mares, foals and performance horses

Designed for NZ conditions to provide a balanced source of Calcium, Phosphorous, Folic Acid, Iron, Iodine and selected Vitamins plus QT® Zinc, Copper, Cobalt and Manganese as organic complexed bio-available trace minerals, on an apple flavoured base.

If you bred to a

HORSE SHOP

Ask for Equi-gold at your nearest veterinarian or equestrian supplier Phoenix Pharm Distributors Ltd | Freephone: 0800 10 55 66 | Email: office@phoenixvet.co.nz | www.phoenixpharm.co.nz Equigold products are exempt from registration being oral nutritional compounds compliant with S4 of the ACVM regulations 2001.

Want to sell your horse? Then check out the new HORSE SHOP on

harnessworld.co.nz We’ve got every category covered:

THE BREEDERS’ FOAL ALERT SERVICE The Breeders (NZSBA) will once again be utilising the highly popular Foal Alert message service for Standardbred breeders in New Zealand. Any breeder who has an orphan foal looking for a foster mare or who has a foster mare available is encouraged to contact The Breeders at their earliest convenience.

Last year we were able to find foster mares for 35+ orphan foals! Simply contact us with your details and we will send a text alert out to all breeders in the region requested in a prompt and timely manner.

TO REGISTER FOR THIS SERVICE: Please contact Brad on 021 683 995 or brad@thebreeders.co.nz

Grass Roots stallion

in Series

(2015/16 Season)

the deadline to pay your foal into Series #1 is July 31, 2017

• Racehorses • Broodmares

No late entries available

And we’ll even help you sell it – everyone who joins our Mailing List (which is 100% free) receives emails about all the New Listings on a regular basis.

grassrootsbonus.co.nz

• Mixed Age stock

HORSE SHOP

Grass Roots ... a real chance to win realistic bonuses – without breeding to really expensive sires!

SPEED, SPEED AND MORE SPEED

TROTTING AGE RECORDS 2016/17

Horse Breeder Track Age Distance Type Sex Time

2017 has been a record season for track records. The 31 pacing age records and 17 trotting age records listed below tell only part of the story as some of these are now the all-comers record. Congratulations to the breeders of this impressive set of quality horses. PACING RECORDS 2016/17

Pacers Breeder Track Age Distance Type Sex Time 2

1609

1.51.9

Auckland Cambridge Addington Addington Timaru Ashburton Forbury

2 2 2 2 2 2 3

1700 1700 1950 1950 2000 2400 1700

M M M M M M M

F M F M F F F

2.01.3 1.59.7 2.21.6 2.16.3 2.26.1 3.02.6 2.00.2

Addington Addington Auckland Winton

3 3 3 3

1950 2000 2200 2400

M S M S

M M M F

2.16.5 2.29.1 2.36.1 2.55.5

Ashburton Addington Addington Addington Invercargill

3 3 3 3 3

2400 2600 2600 2600 2700

S M M S M

M F M M F

2.59.4 3.09.1 3.06.0 3.12.6 3.17.1

Auckland Addington Addington Wairio Addington Addington Addington Addington Winton Addington

3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5

2700 1950 1950 2400 2600 2600 3200 1950 2400 2600

S M M M M S S M M M

M F M M M M M F M F

3.19.6 2.19.0 2.16.3 2.54.1 3.06.3 3.11.4 3.53.1 2.19.1 2.54.1 3.07.4

Addington

2600

3.10.7

Addington Addington Auckland Addington Auckland Ashburton

3 3 3 3 3 4

1950 1950 2200 2600 2700 1609

M M S S S M

F M M M M F

2.21.9 2.22.2 2.49.8 3.19.3 3.27.2 1.55.5

Ashburton

2400

2.59.9

Addington Auckland Ashburton Addington Addington Addington Auckland Addington

5 5 5 5 5 6 7 7

1950 2200 2400 2600 3200 2600 1700 2600

M M M S S M M S

M M M M M M M M

2.21.7 2.41.9 2.58.5 3.14.8 4.00.7 3.12.6 2.03.8 3.14.6

Auckland Addington

7 9

2700 2600

M S

M M

3.19.9 3.16.4

Mile Rates & Black Type From time to time the issue of Black Type pops up on social media. These two tables give a quick comparison of how we have bred speed into the standardbred assisted by cart and track technology. For pacers the facts seem to indicate the ‘standard’ should be better than 1.57 mile rate. PACERS: NUMBER OF HORSES WINNING MR BY YEAR Winning Mile Rate

1993/94 2003/04 2013/14 2015/16

Less than 1.55 1.55 1.56 1.56 1.57 8 1.57 1.58 17 1.58 2.00 76

2 3 18 36 196

23 28 54 95 269

28 36 63 101 334

For trotters the facts seem to indicate the ‘standard’ should be better than 2.00 mile rate. TROTTERS: NUMBER OF HORSES WINNING MR BY YEAR Winning Mile Rate

1993/94 2003/04 2013/14 2015/16

Less than 1.56 2 1.56 1.58 1 5 6 1.58 2.00 1 2 11 17 2.03 2.03 3 4 41 51 v v v

Page 56

Ashburton

v v v v

Ashley Locaz P J Van Beek, Mrs J L Van Beek, J H Van Beek, Mrs L I Van Beek Elle Mac Breckon Farms Ltd Alta Maestro Alta Breeding Co Ltd Elle Mac Breckon Farms Ltd The Devils Own A J Parker Angel Of Harlem R B Ward, Ms A M Ward Kotare Elite Kotare Downs Ltd: Tony & Gay Abell Bonnie Joan Mrs J M Davie, P T Cummings, D J Cummings Ultimate Machete Mrs K J Walsh, G P Walsh Mt Hutt Harry Nevele R Stud Ltd Ultimate Machete Mrs K J Walsh, G P Walsh Delightful Memphis Platinum Breeding Limited, E R Collins Baileys Rock A J Grant Spanish Armada Woodlands Stud (NZ) Ltd Vincent(AUS) Sloys Co Pty Ltd A G’s White Socks P G Laboyrie Bonnie Joan Mrs J M Davie, P T Cummings, D J Cummings Vincent(AUS) Sloys Co Pty Ltd Rocknroll Princess Stonewall Stud Ltd Lazarus G Chin, Studholme Bloodstock Ltd Rocking Robyn S R Wilson Mr Mojito B L Calder, Mrs K E Calder Lazarus G Chin, Studholme Bloodstock Ltd Lazarus G Chin, Studholme Bloodstock Ltd Better B Amazed Stonewall Stud Ltd Robyn’s Bad Boy S R Wilson The Orange Agent Mrs P C Green, J P Green, Mrs M E Green, P C Bult Franco Nelson Spreydon Lodge Ltd

Chevron Express Small Car World Ltd Enghien Millburn Farm Ltd Heavyweight Hero Miss G M Murray BD Khaosan B W Smith Heavyweight Hero Miss G M Murray Wilma’s Mate Kahukuri Bloodstock Limited, Studholme Bloodstock Limited Beg Hall Small Car World Ltd, P J Bailey, Mrs T M Bailey, M C Bailey, Mrs C M Bailey Monbet G P Hope, Mrs N M Hope Habibti Ivy Gaby Maghzal, Julie Maghzal Habibti Ivy Gaby Maghzal, Julie Maghzal Habibti Ivy Gaby Maghzal, Julie Maghzal Monbet G P Hope, Mrs N M Hope Eyre I Come D M Brown Idle Bones D M Brown Doctor Bones B J Ford, Mrs H F Ford, Miss M L Ford, R J Ford Quite A Moment G D Beckett Golden Gate A J Ryan

BREEDING MATTERS

BREEDING BASICS: GETTING IN FOAL By Marvin Pave Reproduced with permission of USTA from January 2017 Hoofbeats magazine. Hoofbeats is available for subscription (print and digital) for US$90 airmail to NZ at www.ustrotting.com Breeding Standardbred racehorses is both an art and a science. For those who aren’t breeding at the commercial level, but would like to optimize the success of their breeding product either in the sales ring or on the racetrack, Hoof Beats presents part three of a seven-part series on breeding basics. This article covers tips on increasing conception rates in broodmares. [In NZ the in foal rate has been around 70 percent for many years. The larger studs often achieve in foal rates around 85 percent. There is no data on conceptions rates in NZ, i.e. the percentage derived from the number of mares that get into foal divided by the total number of inseminations that season.] USTA statistics reveal that each year, the U.S. Standardbred breeding industry shows an approximate 60-percent conception rate. What can we do to raise this figure? Larger breeding operations with veterinarians on staff boast conception rates of 80 percent and above, so gains must be made with smaller breeders. We asked veterinary and breeding experts what they thought were the most important factors in ensuring the best possible outcome, specifically, what steps to take to ensure the mating will produce a healthy and marketable foal. Offering a range of opinions including the importance of the breeder-veterinarian relationship, ensuring good mare health, cycling, uterine health, the timing of breeding and stallion fertility are veterinarian Etta Bradecamp, reproduction specialist at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky.; Richard Arnold, president of Willow Oak Ranch in Tennessee and Montana; and Jim Avritt Sr., an owner and breeder in Lebanon, Ky. Get a Good Veterinarian There are a number of essential components in any successful breeding program, but perhaps none more important than having a good relationship with a qualified veterinarian, especially around breeding time and in foaling season, Arnold said. “When breeding mares, the ability to accurately read sonogram pictures of follicles and having a working knowledge of that mare’s ovulation history is important,” he said. “This can vastly increase the pregnancy percentages in your operation. “All mares are not the same nor do their sonogram readings tell the same story. Only experience with individual mares permits predicting ovulation with confidence.” Since almost all breeders are using shipped semen, Arnold said,

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the assistance of a knowledgeable vet can greatly increase your broodmare band’s pregnancy rate and reduce management time from repeatedly breeding the same cycling mares. There are several things that a breeder can do prior to the breeding season to ensure that their chances for success are maximized, Bradecamp said. Most importantly, establish a relationship with a veterinarian experienced in equine reproduction, which is imperative for maximizing pregnancy rates.

lights at the beginning of December. Mares need to be under lights for approximately 60 days to initiate cyclicity; therefore, if they are placed under lights later, the effects will not be seen until two months after.

When choosing the stallion, the mare owner should research the stallion’s breeding history. It is important to know how many mares the stallion bred the previous season and what the stallion’s per cycle and end of season pregnancy rates were.

“Recently, lighted masks (Equilume) have become available that allow the mares to stay outside and be exposed to a small light installed within the eyecup of the mask,” said Bradecamp. “These masks are as effective as placing mares under lights in the traditional manner.”

“While this information would not be available for a freshman stallion, a breeding soundness exam should be performed on all stallions prior to the season to ensure that there are no apparent problems present,” Bradecamp said. “It is imperative to remember that regardless of the results of a breeding soundness exam, the only true test of a stallion’s fertility is his ability to obtain pregnancies at an acceptable rate.”

“Working with a veterinarian that is familiar with each individual mare’s history allows for specific management strategies to be employed proactively instead of after several unsuccessful cycles of breeding have passed,” she said. “Every unsuccessful cycle is an economic loss for the breeder.”

Get Good Semen

Properly Prepare

“We always check the semen when it arrives after breeding to make sure it is good enough,” said Arnold. “The quality of shipped semen can be influenced by a number of factors, including the fertility of the stallion, the time of the breeding season it is collected and its shipping and handling.”

Bradecamp said that there are several variables to consider to maximize conception: -Ensure that mares are in good body condition and on a good plane of nutrition. -Ensure that mares are cycling. -Ensure good uterine health. -Ensure good timing of breeding and good uterine health post-breeding. -Ensure the stallion has good fertility. According to Bradecamp, breeders should expect a 60-65 percent cycle conception rate with cooled shipped semen and an end-ofseason pregnancy rate between 80-90 percent. “However, these rates can vary greatly depending on the fertility of the stallion and mare,” she said. “Additionally, the effect of human factor in the management of the mare and stallion cannot be dismissed. Even with fertile mares and fertile stallions, poor management can result in reduced pregnancy rates.” Mare owners should also ensure that their mares are properly prepared for the breeding season. All mares--barren, maiden and foaling--should be in good body condition and on a good plane of nutrition as they enter the breeding season. Barren mares, Bradecamp said, should have a complete breeding soundness exam prior to the breeding season to ensure that any potential problems that may affect fertility are identified, treated and resolved prior to the start of the breeding season. “Those mares that presented problems during the prior season should be treated as `problem’ mares and a plan should be developed by the managing veterinarian to maximize that mare’s chance of becoming pregnant,” Bradecamp said. To ensure that barren mares will be cycling at the start of the breeding season, she suggested they should be placed under

At Willow Oak, as at most Standardbred operations, breeding is done through artificial insemination, usually with fresh shipped semen no more than 24 hours old.

Arnold added that it is wise to never presume the quality until checked. “The use of frozen semen requires special handling, usually under the supervision of a reproductive veterinarian,” he said. This is another place, Bradecamp noted, where the human factor can play a significant role in the success of a breeding program. “If a stallion is overbooked and is being bred to more mares than he can achieve acceptable pregnancy rates in based on his sperm production, mares that may have become pregnant if bred with an adequate dose of semen will not become pregnant,” she said. “Every breeding shed and stud farm should know at any given time what their stallions’ per-cycle conception rates are and what size book of mares each individual stallion can serve.” Avritt considered one of the most important factors is to breed to a stallion that is fertile enough to allow the shipment of his semen by Fedex for “next day” insemination. “Otherwise,” he said, “if the semen has to be flown in for “same day” insemination the process becomes more expensive and more time-consuming.” For example, if Avritt breeds to a stallion standing at Hanover Shoe Farms and has to have the semen flown in from their Pennsylvania operation to the airport in Lexington, Ky., it normally will not arrive until almost midnight. “Since the airport is approximately an hour away, this means that my mare will actually be bred between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m.,” he said. “Furthermore, it is fairly common for flights to be delayed, in which event I will not receive my semen until the next day and the purpose for having it flown in is therefore defeated.”

Keep Checking All mares, regardless of their status, should have a trans-rectal ultrasound exam and uterine culture and cytology (as determined by the veterinarian) prior to breeding,” said Bradecamp. Endometritis, or infection within the uterus, results in decreased pregnancy rates. “Early identification and treatment can aid in restoring a mare’s fertility,” said Bradecamp. Mare management also plays an important role in ensuring that maximum pregnancy rates are achieved. Timing of breeding should be planned to ensure that ovulation occurs within 24 hours after breeding. “This can be accomplished by administering an ovulating inducing agent such as deslorelin or hCG 24 hours prior to insemination,” said Bradecamp. “Mares should be monitored for ovulation and fluid accumulation within the uterus the day after breeding and treated appropriately if needed. “Pregnancy rates are decreased in mares that do not ovulate within 24-48 hours post-breeding and in mares that have greater than 2 cm of fluid within the uterine lumen 24 hours after breeding.” Bradecamp said that mares that are identified as susceptible to retaining uterine fluid post-breeding should be treated with uterine lavage and ecbolics to aid in the clearance of fluid and inflammatory debris from the uterus. “With good management, acceptable pregnancy rates can be achieved in these mares,” Bradecamp said. “Both poor timing of breeding and failure to identify problem mares result in significant decreases in pregnancy rates.”

BREEDING MATTERS

By now Always B Miki’s legion of fans were swept up into a frenzy when the stallion’s trainer, Jimmy Takter, stated he rated the horse in a class with best that ever lived. And would make an impact on the sport. Rarely wrong, Takter was proven correct when Always B Miki exploded through his five-year-old season last year. Winning 12 of his 18 races, including the Canadian Gold Cup Invitational Pace, and an elimination and final of the Ben Franklin at Pocono Downs (where he defeated Freaky Feet Pete and Wiggle It Jiggleit). He also would go on to win the William Haughton Memorial Pace and another Breeders Crown Open Pace. He continued to wager war with the duo throughout the open class circuit. But his most important victory came at The Red Mile in Lexington in October of 2016. Entered into the Allerage Farms Open Pace, Takter was initially worried because the horse wasn’t accustomed to racing in day time and had not warmed up well, shying at shadows. But he needn’t have worried. The mighty stallion romped away from a talented field to the roar of race commentator Sam McKee, setting a new world record over one mile of 1.46.0. He and driver David Miller lowering the record held by Somebeachsomewhere, He’s Watching, Warrawee Needy and Holborn Hanover of 1.46.4. It also lowered the time trial record set by Cambest in 1993 of 1.46.1. Always B Miki retired in November of 2016, with a career record of 53 starts, 30 wins, 16 placings and $US2.7 million in stakes. He was named Harness Horse of the Year, Dan Patch Pacer of the Year and Dan Patch Champion Older Pacer.

ALWAYS B MIKI STORY

Miki Racing

Following the retirement to stud of Always B Miki, the interest in the horse was at superstar level.

By Jess Smith

In 2016 the North American harness racing scene was blessed with a story no marketing budget could buy. On a regular basis racing fans were witness to some of the most epic match races between not just two, but three remarkable pacers. Resulting in fan hype and publicity worldwide, and the fastest ever time paced by a Standardbred over one mile. Wiggle It Jiggleit, the Mr Wiggles gelding from Delaware that proved that you didn’t have to be a commercially bred colt to make it on the big stage. Freaky Feet Pete, another fairy tale pacer from Indiana, who had won 30 of his 42 career starts and became an emotional fan favourite when his well-loved trainer and breeder, Larry Rheinheimer, died suddenly in the paddock area at Hoosier Park last September. And perhaps one of the greatest comeback horses of all time, the Jimmy Takter trained stallion, Always B Miki. Always B Miki’s story starts in the state of Pennsylvania, when his breeder Joe Hurley of the Roll The Dice stable, who also bred the horse’s sire Always A Virgin, put his mare Artstopper (an unraced daughter of Artsplace) to the afore mentioned stallion.

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In October of last year Diamond Creek Farm of Pennsylvania purchased a significant share of the stallion with his future stud duties in mind. It is also the home of Sweet Lou, A Rocknroll Dance, Ponder and Father Patrick.

Always B Miki’s two-year-old career produced two victories and seven placings from 12 starts, including his debut win at The Meadowlands. After his first three starts Hurley sold shares of his colt to Bluewood Stable and Val D’Or Farms. And the buying interest in the colt would continue for many years to follow. As a three-year-old Always B Miki blossomed. He finished second in the Meadowlands Pace (won by He’s Watching in 1.46.4) off a horrible draw and won an elimination of the Breeders Crown but had to be scratched from the final when he warmed up lame. Vet inspection found the horse had fractured his pastern in his left hind leg after kicking the wall of his box before the race. Surgery saw four screws inserted into the bone. After rehabilitation, the horse returned to training as a four-yearold but in a bad turn of luck again injured himself. This time fracturing the opposite hind leg when heading out to train, and was forced out again to recover. That was in May of 2015, and remarkably Always B Miki returned to race in October of that year to win an elimination and final of the Breeders Crown Open Pace at Woodbine. He finished the season with four wins from four starts.

Diamond Creek Farm Manager, Anne Santos, is well known to New Zealand stud farms with the relationship her farm has with stallions Sweet Lou and A Rocknroll Dance. Recently visiting New Zealand, Santos was impressed with what she saw. “I actually had the pleasure of visiting Nevele R Stud and Woodlands in November of 2016. I was blown away by the farms down there. The people are amazing, and we really liked the set up. We have a very strong relationship with Nevele R, Woodlands and Alabar with our stallions standing there down under. I really cannot say enough good things about them.” Santos also handles Always B Miki and was overwhelmed by the speed at which he filled his book in his first season. “He literally closed his book of 140 mares two weeks after it opened. And there is a waiting list of about 30 people who are begging us to get them a service to their mare. I have experienced Sweet Lou’s popularity, he’s already fully booked in his third season and his foals haven’t hit the track yet, that’s unheard of. But Miki’s popularity has certainly blown us all away.”

Always B Miki at Woodbine

are some of the high class mares he will be bred with in his first season,” Santos said. And whilst he may not have a Rockstar pedigree on paper, Santos feels the racing public have fallen in love with the horse’s heart and courage. “Miki sold himself on the track. I think he is one of the toughest animals I have met. His look, his size, his speed. He made a name for himself, and I don’t think it would matter who he was by to be honest. People still want to breed to him on his performances alone. To come out after two broken legs, and still be able to set a world record after that. It just shows what a wonderful racehorse he was.” Always B Miki was described during his career by trainer Jimmy Taker as having the biggest heart ever, the biggest lungs ever and the smartest horse ever. A horse who never pulls in his races. Like he was ‘mechanical.’ And the stallion has handled his transition to stud just as diligently. “I have the responsibility of handling Always B Miki in the stallion barn. And right from the start he had a lot of confidence in himself. He’s a really nice animal who has taken his stud duty as seriously as he did his job on the track,” said Santos. With their stallions shuttling down under Santos sees quite a change in them when they return to the United States. “They change each time we see them. Usually by their third or fourth year they turn into themselves. Some will get more confident and a lot easier to handle. Whilst others will get more focused on the job. I am privileged to have the responsibility of caring for these wonderful animals.”

“And it’s not just the fact he has filled his book so quickly, it’s the calibre of mare he has received with it. JK Shesalady (US and Canadian Horse of the Year 2014), Western Montana (dam of Pure Country a Dan Patch winner at two and three) and See You At Peelers (former two and three-year-old pacing filly of the year)

BREEDING MATTERS

WATERLOO SUNSET SUNDON – INSPIRE

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THE SNOW SHOW

“The horses that she has left have felt like good horses. Tetrick (Art Major) was a nice horse but he had soundness problems and we couldn’t get on top of them. I think she’s capable of leaving quite a nice one.” Joe Batters, an eight start maiden by Bettor’s Delight out of It’s Ella, looked promising in his first season of racing and he’s expected to improve when he returns as a four year old in the new season.

By Bruce Stewart

“He’s got a bit of ability. He’s just taken a bit of time to come to it. He’s above average.”

Wyndham trainer driver Brendon “Snow” McLellan has been involved in harness racing since the mid-1980s and it was through his association with the late Jim and Irene Holland that he started to become interested in breeding.

It’s Ella also has a two year old Somebeachsomewhere gelding called Running On Empty. The McLellans are also breeding from one of It’s Ella’s daughters - Falcon Seelster mare Ellakazoo.

“When they came back to Wyndham, Jimmy was jogging up a horse called Boyden’s Beau (Boyden Hanover – Honest Mistress). He’d been up at Terry Mays and had broken down. Jimmy brought him down to the racetrack and I carried on with him. He was the first one,” said McLellan when recounting a long and rewarding friendship with the Hollands.

“She had a couple of starts and could run a bit but just used to get on her knees so we retired her.” She has left three fillies - by Bettor’s Delight, A Rocknroll Dance and Terror To Love. They are also breeding from Holly Patron, a Bettor’s Delight mare out of Shania Patron. Holly Patron won five races. She’s left colts by Mach Three and American Ideal as well as a Sportswriter yearling filly.

Boyden’s Beau won his first race at a Southland OTB Trial dead-heating with Truth. It was McLellan’s fourth training win. Boyden’s Beau ended up winning four races. Honest Mistress was by Honest Master out of Eden’s Pride which was a half-sister to Adios Adieu (11 wins) and Young Beau (5 wins). Also in the pedigree is Air Mail, the foundation mare to the wonderful family developed by Noel Drake.

“I don’t mind the American Ideal two year old.” A full sister to Shania Patron, I’m On My Way is also being bred from. As a racehorse she won once from seventeen starts. As a broodmare she’s left Barrack (Badlands Hanover) which won three of his fifteen starts here and another seven in Australia. She’s also the dam of Sammy The Bull -five New Zealand wins and another six races in America.

But it wasn’t until 2002 that McLellan started breeding in partnership with the Hollands and the legacy continues today for Brendon and his wife Megan as six of the eight mares they’re breeding from descend from the two strands of the Holland breed.

Also on the list of mares they’re breeding from is Lucy Legacy (Pacific Rocket – Some Legacy). She won seven races and also traces back to Exmoot. Some Legacy won the 1990 Group One DB Draught Fillies Series Final at Addington when trained by Terry May. She was by Niatross stallion Silk Legacy and ended up winning five races.

“We started with Shania Patron. I said to Jimmy you send the mare to stud, I’ll pay for the service fee and we’ll go halves in the foal. That’s how we started off.” Shania Patron was by Holmes Hanover out of the El Patron mare Patroness. Patroness also left handy types in No Return (9 wins) and Anna Patron (5 wins). As a racehorse Shania Patron won seven races. At two she won the 2000 Sires Stakes Fillies Championship Final at Addington which was McLellan’s first group winner as a trainer. She also won the New Zealand Sires Stakes Fillies Championship at Alexandra Park that same season. At three she won the 2001 Wayne Francis Memorial New Zealand Oaks beating Sparks A Flyin by a nose. That was McLellan’s first Group One trained winner. But at stud she hasn’t quite left stock that have matched her ability.

Snow

She belongs to the other side of the Holland breed which started with Exmoot (Hi Lo Forbes – Tactwyn). It’s a pedigree that belongs to the much famed First Water family and has left champions Noodlum and Tactile and many other top race horses.

Lucy Legacy is also doing a good job at stud having already left Luciano the winner of five races. He’s recently been exported to America. She’s also left a colt and a filly by Bettor’s Delight.

So as you can see the McLellans have plenty of well - bred youngsters coming on line and because they don’t send them to the yearling sales it’ll be enough to keep Brendon busy at his Wyndham stable. And of the youngsters; which one does he like? “The Bettor’s Delight two year old filly out of It’s Ella. She’s probably the pick of the young ones and the Somebeachsomewhere out of her goes alright too.” And with three times New Zealand Cup winner Terror To Love popping up on the pedigree page a few times he’s one trainer who’ll get an early indication of how this former champion’s progeny will shape up down the track.

“I trained for Bruce early on. We raced Vera Lillian, Vera’s Atom’s mother. It’s a breed that leaves nice consistent horses so we’re just carrying on.” This family has produced quite a few nice racehorses over the years including quality mares Eden’s Joy and Evamay.

The McLellans have a number of unraced stock from the mare so there’s still hope. The mare has a three year old colt by Bettor’s Delight, a two year old filly by Betterthancheddar, A Rocknroll Dance yearling filly and a Terror To Love weanling colt.

“She (It’s Ella) showed a fair bit of ability as an early three year old. She had soundness problems all the way through with her tendons. The swimming pool (at the Wyndham track) prolonged her racing career, we were probably lucky to get what we got out of her to be honest.”

The best of Vera’s Atoms foals to date is Vera’s Delight the winner of six.

They’re also breeding from their quality Washington VC mare It’s Ella. She won sixteen races for Megan and Jimmy and Irene Holland.

It’s Ella’s wins included the $100,000 Group One PGG Wrightson New Zealand Breeders Stakes and the Group Two Caduceus Club of Canterbury Premier Mares Championship (twice).

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Rathbone won nine races here and won a further eleven in America. He’s paced 1-52.1. Happy Patron won nine races in New Zealand with his major win being in the 1986 John Brandon Flying Pace. He also ran third in the New Zealand Derby a week later. He was exported to America in 1998 where he won another nine races. Smart Boy is another from the family. His lifetime record is 92-17-11-12.

Separate from the mares that trace back to the two strands of the Holland breed, the McLellan’s are also breeding from Soky’s Atom mare Vera’s Atom - bred by Bruce Stirling.

Exmoot’s 1984 foal by Son Of Afella was Just Ella which McLellan trained to win six races. Her last foal was It’s Ella.

“She’s been average really. She hasn’t left anything as good as herself.”

Joe Batters

Also on the McLellan breeding CV is the Mach three mare De Bruin which is out of Hilarious Blue Chip. “We’ve had a bit of success with the family. Rathbone, Honiball, Happy Patron, Smart Boy, Not Holm are all out of that breed. She’s the only filly.”

BREEDING MATTERS

SHOEING NEWS: DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

Moving up the leg, severe angular deformities in knees (Fig. 4, which shows an uncorrected adult horse that now is a kneeknocker) or hocks should be addressed early in the foal’s life as it will affect lower leg development. A veterinary surgeon should be consulted in these situations. The maturity stage of knee development is between 18-24 months of age, which could be before a late foal competes in 2-year-old races in May. With bench knees (knees offset behind the feet), the surgeons I have talked with don’t offer much intervention, primarily because there is no angular deformity. Bench knees are a vertical misalignment at the knee joint between the cannon bone below the knee and the radius above it. Both bones are vertical, but the cannon bone is offset laterally from the radius. This stance tends to drive the lower leg into a toe-in (varus) conformation. With offset knees, I will put the widest lateral extension shoe that will fit that hoof to minimize distortion, as in Fig. 1. Racehorses with offset knees often crush the lateral heel of the same hoof inward and bruise the medial heel.

By Steve Stanley

As foals develop into weanlings and then yearlings, it is important to establish and maintain hoof capsule balance. Because of the rapid growth during the early stages of life, it is possible to correct irregular conformation in the foal through a combination of hoof mechanics, surgery, and barn management. At this year’s International Hoof Care Summit, Dr. Scott Morrison of Rood & Riddle Veterinary Clinic stressed the importance of establishing proper hoof capsule proportions early in a foal’s life. As the skeletal base of the horse, development of the lower limb bones is critical to that horse’s success as an adult athlete. The rapid evolution of these foals offers a window of opportunity for correction. Bone growth in the young horse is so prolific that P3 (coffin bone) fractures in foals often have little lasting consequences after they have healed. First, I want to explain the difference between angular and rotational deformities. Angular deformity is referring to the vertical alignment of the bony column, specifically through the fetlock and knee joints. Severe cases require surgical assistance. Rotational deformities are pretty much self-explanatory. Angulation of the fetlock joint is the most time-sensitive area to address. The growth plate of the fetlock joint closes between 90-120 days. Realistically, any changes we try to make should be done before 90 days. If surgery is a consideration, most veterinarians prefer surgery at 45-60 days of age, giving them 3045 days of active growth in that fetlock region to effect changes. When dealing with fetlock angulation of foals, it is always preferable to involve a surgeon in the decision process. As farriers we can add lateral or medial extensions (almost always lateral as most fetlock angulation is varus, or inward). Dr. Morrison cautioned that extensions should not be put on foals less than two weeks old to guard against possible laminar tearing within the hoof capsule due to the leverage forced upon the hoof that extensions create. Also noteworthy is that extension shoes (Fig. 1) disperse that leverage across the entire ground surface of the hoof instead of only one side the way traditional extensions do. With foals, care should be taken not to leave shoes on too long; 2-3 weeks I believe is the maximum time since we are restricting the growth of that hoof during its rapid evolution. Rotational deformity in the lower leg is often influenced by the conformation of the knee. It is a mistake to evaluate lower limb conformation without considering the influence from the upper leg, chest, and overall development or, more often, lack thereof. When a young foal is toeing out in what seems to be severe deformity, it is often from an under-developed chest and knees

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With any conformational issues, the earlier we intercede the better our chances of success. Getting the breeder, farrier, and veterinarian on the same page is key to avoiding problems that could have been prevented. A regular evaluation schedule is the way we find those problems early enough to help. Just like buying or training these animals, it takes a lot of time looking to find those hidden gems.

Fig. 2: A mild flexor contraction of the knees can be treated with leg bandages. Fig. 1: Lateral extension shoes can be used to treat angular deformity of the fetlock.

that rotate away from each other. Horses like this usually selfcorrect as they mature. Surgically or mechanically correcting an early foal with outward (valgus in veterinary terms) deviation could be a huge mistake. Flexor deformities in foals are another situation that often selfcorrects. A mild flexor contraction (Fig. 2; the knees are bucked slightly forward and feet in a mild upright position) can be treated quite effectively with barn management. This foal was treated by alternating leg bandages (12 hours on, 12 hours off) and stall rest with restricted turnout time. Three weeks later, this foal had responded well.

Flexor laxation of the lower hind leg usually corrects on its own with maturity. The caveat to this is protecting the severe cases from injury (Fig. 3). If the back of the fetlock is touching the ground with the toe of the hoof pointing upward and not weightbearing, then intervention is needed to prevent a possible lasting injury. Heel extensions that lock the dorsal hoof wall into the lever effect will help these horses quickly and significantly. Fig. 3: Flexor laxation of the lower hind leg usually corrects itself over time, but a severe case like this can be treated with heel extensions.

Dr. Morrison pointed out that contraction deformities can also be treated by a veterinarian with Oxytetracycline injections in the first two weeks of age, but cautioned that if any other legs show flexor laxation, Oxytetracycline should not be used. The foal in Fig. 2 had mild laxation in the rear legs and was not treated with medication.

Fig. 4: This adult horse had an uncorrected angular deformity in his knees and now interferes while racing.

BREEDING MATTERS

Passion, Pedigree, Performance New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club Inc. New Zealand Standardbred Breeders Association

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Terms and Conditions: 1. A race is defined as any totalisator race conducted by the NZMTC at Addington Raceway (only) from 1 August 2017 excluding any five and six star rated race days (listed below), all Group and Listed Races and all New Zealand Sires Stakes Board (NZSSB) administered races. i.

6 October

ii.

14 November

iii. 17 November iv. 16 February v.

23 March

vi. 6 April vii. 11 May viii. 18 May 2. Group and Listed Races defined as per the list of such approved races published each season by Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) to be conducted by the NZMTC. 3. There is no limit to the number of Bonus payments a horse can earn, subject to the terms and conditions listed. 4. A breeder is the entity as shown on the HRNZ records for that horse as breeder. 5. The breeder will be recognised for reward if the breeding entity/partnership has a 50% or greater NZSBA financial membership. 6. The bonus will be paid to the first name in the registered breeders entity, however if that name is not a paid up member of NZSBA it will be paid to the first name that is.

7. The NZSBA member or member entity must be a fully paid up current member of NZSBA as at 31 August 2017, to be eligible to receive the bonus payment. 8. The winner of a race is defined as a horse who is the declared winner of a race by the New Zealand TAB (NZRB) and who receives the winning stake after the clearance of any swabs. In the event of a dead heat in a race by two qualified horses, the bonus would be shared. 9. The breeder must submit an invoice to NZMTC within 30 days of the win for the bonus to be paid out. The invoice can be emailed to breeders@addington.co.nz or mailed to the Finance Department, Addington Raceway, PO Box 9036, Tower Junction, Christchurch 8149. The $500 (plus GST, if applicable) bonus will be payable on the 20th of the month following invoice, providing swabs have cleared. The total bonus pool per racing season is limited to $80,000, noncumulative from season to season. 10. The bonus is payable in NZ dollars. 11. The decision about if a bonus is to be paid and who it is to be paid to shall be absolutely at the discretion of the CEO NZMTC acting on advice from the HRNZ Keeper of the Studbook and the Executive Manager NZSBA and cannot be reviewed by any person or body. 12. NZMTC reserves the right to review the scheme annually in May of each year and cancel, alter or otherwise amend the scheme in anyway. Notification of such to be made annually to the industry no later than the 31 December 2017. NZMTC will meet all obligations in that current racing season (up to 31 July), should any decision be made to discontinue or alter the terms from the start of the following season. * subject to terms and conditions.

New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club Inc.

Cruz Bromac (Falcon Seelster – Crown Defender)

has paced the 3rd Fastest Ever Mile Rate in Australia in 1.51.6 and continues to impress.

romac Lodge has worked hard

to bring together a band of high class exceptionally well bred broodmares covering a cross section of some of the best classic bred families in Harness Racing. Our Mission is to breed only top quality horses. Bob McArdle has always taken a long-term view of the industry and we value our many long term returning customers and look forward to new and happy buyers.

Tandias Courage with her He’s Watching Colt.

Based in Springs Road, Prebbleton just out of Christchurch, New Zealand, Bromac Lodge is always happy to receive visitors and show off their prized possessions. We welcome any enquires you may have about our operation.

For a full list of our mares and their pedigrees as well as those available for lease, please visit our website or contact us via the details below.

Cozette Bromac with her Sunshine Beach Colt.

75 Jack Hinton Drive, Addington, Christchurch 8024. PO Box 9036, Tower Junction, Christchurch 8149 T 03 338 9094

F 03 338 0557

E info@addington.co.nz

addington.co.nz

www.bromaclodge.com Bob McArdle +64 (0) 274 351 553 • Farm: +64 3 349 6603 OUR YEARLING SALES PEDIGREES ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE

C R E AT I N E TO M U S C L E U P T H E AUSTRALASIAN TROTTING S TA L L I O N R A N K S In what is a major coup for Australasian breeders, Nevele R Stud is excited to announce that the 2015 Breeders Crown Open Trot champion Creatine will be standing at our Canterbury farm this coming season. Boasting career earnings of over $2.1 million and a lifetime mark of 1:51.4 - achieved when defeating the world champion Sebastian K, Creatine will be the richest and fastest trotter ever to shuttle to the Southern Hemisphere. One of champion stallion Andover Hall’s best sons Creatine was a major stakes race winner every season that he raced, and unlike any stallion available in the flesh in Australasia before, in both North America and Europe. Trained for the majority of his career by Bob Stewart (the conditioner of the legendary trio of brothers Andover Hall, Conway Hall and Angus Hall) Creatine won three races at two including a division of the Bluegrass Stakes before being put aside for the season. Bigger and stronger upon his return as a three-year-old in 2013, Creatine was one of the very best of his age group winning the Kentucky Futurity, Carl Erskine Trot, Colonial Invitational, Bluegrass Stakes and a Hambletonian elimination. He was also a hard charging second in the $500,000 Breeders Crown 3YO Final, looking the likely winner with one more stride, as well as runner-up in the American National Stakes. In what is often a difficult transition to make, Creatine more than held his own as a 4-year-old against what was arguably one of the greatest crops of aged trotters ever assembled, with the likes of Sebastian K, Intimidate, Market Share, Bee A Magician, Maven, Modern Family, Wishing Stone, Arch Madness, Archangel and Commander Crowe locking horns in 2014, and was actually the fourth richest older trotter that year behind the first three listed above - a hugely impressive feat for a four-year-old trotter new to the open class ranks. The highlight of his four-year-old season, and one of the best of his career, was his superb performance in the Allerage Farms Open Trot at his favourite hunting ground The Red Mile in Lexington. Starting from post eight Creatine blazed to the lead with a 26.8 opening quarter before finding himself three back on the running rail with first Master Of Law taking the lead and then Sebastian K. With Sebastian K clearing out to a seemingly unassailable lead, Creatine had to first avoid the tiring Master Of Law who galloped approaching the home turn and then make up four lengths on the world’s fastest ever trotter who was in devastating form that year - a seemingly impossible task, but one a very brave Creatine managed to do, despite having been used off the gate and again in the closing stages.

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the RICHEST

&FASTEST

trotter ever to stand at stud in Australasia

He then followed up his career best 1:51.4 Allerage Farm performance with a track record 1:51.6 win in the American National Open Stakes at Balmoral Park less than a week later. Creatine also recorded placings that year in the $500,000 Breeders Crown Final, $500,000 TVG FFA Final, $200,000 Charlie Hill Memorial, Centaur Trotting Classic, Dayton Trotting Derby, a Maple Leaf Trot elimination and the Chip Noble Memorial. Racing predominantly in Europe as a 5-year-old Creatine won at the highest level and defeated some of Europe’s best horses, taking out the Group 1 Hugo Abergs Memorial in Sweden and the St Michel Ajo in Finland. He was also second in the prestigious Group 1 UET Trotting Masters. Brought back to North America for the $1,000,000 International Trot, Creatine was a game third to Papagayo E and two-time Elitlopp winner Timoko, being run down late after leading throughout and being taken on for much of the mile and a quarter trip. He was also, according to new trainer Jimmy Takter, “a little tied up” in the Yonkers feature - underscoring his toughness and making his performance that much more impressive. On the strength of his showing in the International Trot connections opted to pay the $62,500 supplement fee into the $531,250 Breeders Crown Open Trot a fortnight later, with the stallion repaying his owners’ faith with a dominant, and well deserved victory in the end of the season feature and what was to be his last race.

Creatine winning the Hugo Abergs Memorial

CREATINE

All up Creatine was the winner of 17 races and $2,182,138 in stakes-earnings. Reflecting on Creatine’s racing career, Hall of Fame driver Mike Lachance, who piloted him in almost all of his two and threeyear-old starts (and many of his 4-year-old races), declared...

� A Breeders Crown champion

� A multiple stakes race winner in both North America & Europe

“He was a perfect horse. He was a big, strong horse....a beautiful horse” High praise indeed from the driver of some Harness Racing’s greatest horses - Continentalvictory, Matts Scooter, Bettor’s Delight, Camluck, Self Possessed, Goalie Jeff, Magical Mike, Victory Dream etc...

Creatine

A Diamond Creek Farm homebred, Creatine is by the proven sire of sires Andover Hall, and is out of a stakes placed Muscles Yankee mare - making him an attractive proposition for the majority of Australasia’s trotting broodmare population.

� Defeated the world’s fastest ever trotter Sebastian K as a 4-year-old.

A terrific looking individual Creatine arrives on farm in August. His service fee is $4,500 (+ GST) in New Zealand and $4,950 (incl GST) in Australia. He is included in both Nevele R’s multiple mare discount and early bird special.

� One of the best three-year-olds of his year, he won the Kentucky Futurity, Carl Erksine Trot, Bluegrass Stakes and a Hambletonian elimination, whilst finishing runner-up in the Breeders Crown and American National

Creatine winning the Breeders Crown

An outstanding individual – Creatine combines the blood of two of the most influential trotting sires of the past decade – Andover Hall and Muscles Yankee.

Andover Hall - Berry Nice Muscles 1:51.4 $2,182,138 Foaled 2010. Brown Horse. 16hh

SERVICE FEE:

$4,500 + GST MULTIPLE MARE DISCOUNTS APPLY EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT OF 20% if paid for by September 2017

Nevele R Stud Office: P: (03) 349 8627 Ged Mooar: M: 0274 736 753 E: ged@nevelerstud.co.nz

nevelerstud.co.nz SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS

BREEDING MATTERS

BREEDING BASICS | ANIMAL HUSBANDRY Breeding Standardbred racehorses is both an art and a science. For those who aren’t breeding at the commercial level, but would like to optimize the success of their breeding product either in the sales ring or on the racetrack, Hoof Beats presents part six of a seven-part series on breeding basics.

“It is important to get them into a normal environment as soon as possible,” he said. “A normal foal does not need the artificial warmth of the foaling barn and will readily adapt to the outside temperature of the mare barn.” Arnold said that leading the foal and mare requires two people – one to lead the mare and the other to cradle the foal front and back with their arms and move it along with the mare. “When to halter the foal is a much-contested issue,’’ he said. “We halter the foal after a few days, but do not attempt to lead the foal until a couple of weeks when moving the mare and foal from stall to paddock and back.

This month’s topic: care of the foal. We asked veterinary and breeding experts what they thought were the most important factors in ensuring the best possible foaling outcome, specifically, what steps to take to hopefully assure that proper care will produce a healthy and marketable foal. Offering a range of opinions are veterinarian Etta Bradecamp, reproduction specialist at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky.; Richard Arnold, president of Willow Oak Ranch in Tennessee and Montana; and owner and breeder Jim Avritt Sr. of Lebanon, Ky. Begin at Birth Care of a foal begins before birth and continues through and after weaning, as covered previously in this series. Like in most aspects of horse breeding, planning ahead, said Arnold, makes potentially difficult situations more manageable, assuming a normal, uneventful birth, foal management can be processed with some precision while always watching for separation from the norm. “Nursing the foal is the first challenge in a normal birth,” he said. “Assuring successful completion of this important milestone can test your patience and the foal’s strength. Although most foals stand up within an hour of birth and search for their mother’s udder, some foals are slower and this is where patience comes in.” He said a normal foal will take approximately two hours to find the dam’s udder by itself. Some foals may take a little longer. “We assist any eager foal in finding the udder, but we rely on their natural energy to seek nursing,” he said. Arnold said that if the foal has not nursed with guiding assistance within 3-4 hours, it may be weak or compromised and you should get your veterinarian to assist in tube-feeding the foal. Either through their mother or frozen colostrum, all foals should receive colostrum within 3-4 hours of birth. Observation of the foal for the first 4-6 hours is essential, Arnold said.

Page 72

“The exercise is good for both. Rule of thumb: if the weather is above 40 degrees, leave them out for most of the daylight hours. If below 40 degrees, put them out twice for one hour. As the foal grows and becomes stronger, they are integrated into groups with other mares and foals.” “After the foal nurses a couple of times, you wait to see the foal pass its first stool (meconium). If that does not occur in the first few hours after nursing then the foal should have an enema. Specialized enema kits should be on hand and available if needed.” Sometime in the foal’s first 24 hours, it should be examined by a vet and have its blood checked for antibodies (IgG) and levels above 400 to 800 are considered adequate to protect the foal from infection. Bradecamp said once the foal is born and has made it through the first couple days of life, daily monitoring ensures that any illness or developmental problems are detected early and treated as needed.

“Close monitoring of development of the limbs for angular limb deformities that may need corrective trimming, shoeing or surgery can prevent bigger problems down the road,” she said. “Continuously monitor the way the foals/yearlings stand and move and trim feet accordingly; many foals/yearlings that do not stand properly can be helped through proper trimming by a competent farrier.”

When a foal is around six weeks old, it should start eating some of its dam’s grain. “Some foals may even try eating grain much earlier than this,” said Avritt. “If the mother will not permit sharing, you can feed the foal in a foal cup away from the mare and tether her close to her feed to prevent interference. “Continuously monitor the physical condition of foals and feed accordingly; do not allow them to become too fat or too thin.” Arnold said foals should become accustomed to halters within two weeks, after which you should begin handling their feet, which need to be trimmed about every 4-5 weeks. “This ritual will keep the foals growing correctly and develops good habits that will pay dividends for everyone involved with the foal’s career going forward,” he said. “We groom-train and handle the foals each time we trim their hooves and these practices intensify after weaning.”

Bradecamp also noted that increased respiratory rate and/or coughing may indicate respiratory disease such as Rhodacoccal pneumonia and that diarrhea or failure to nurse out the mare are signs of gastrointestinal disturbance.

Bradecamp suggested that maintaining a good health program with regular de-womings and vaccinations prevents many diseases from ever becoming a problem.

Within 24-36 hours of nursing, Arnold said he moves the mare and foal from the foaling barn to her regular stall.

While some conformation faults may correct themselves as the foal matures, others require swift intervention. For more information on this, see the “Shoeing News” article in this issue.

Monitor Health

“Foals are very precocious and may not show signs of illness until they are quite sick,” she said. “Daily monitoring of attitude, appetite, and activity level are important to recognizing the first signs of the most common illnesses that affect foals.”

Get Them Moving

“Any changes in the foal’s normal attitude and behavior warrant taking a closer look at and may require veterinary consultation and care,” she said. “A quick call to your veterinarian at the first signs of illness can make the difference between catching a disease quickly and turning it around and a long, protracted illness if allowed to progress for days before treatment is initiated.”

“Health programs may vary from farm to farm and are most effective when designed specifically for a farm,” she said. “Discuss your health program with your veterinarian to ensure that it meets the needs of your horses. Bradecamp said that lameness and joint effusion are signs of possible septic arthritis (“joint ill”) or other orthopedic problems.

BREEDING MATTERS

DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION

BETTING LINE p,2,1:51.8; 3,1:47.4f ($2,238,518) Bettor’s Delight–Heather’s Western–Western Hanover b.h. 15.3 hands

Fastest 3YO Colt & All-Age Stallion Ever Sired by Bettor’s Delight Current 3YO World Champion on a Half-Mile Track (1:49h) Current 3YO World Champion over a Five-Eighths Mile Track (1:47.4f) 14 Consecutive Wins at 3 including 10 from 1:47.4 – 1:50 Winner of the $1 Million North America Cup (1:47.8m), $577,000 Little Brown Jug (1:50.8h-1:49h), $500,000 Battle of The Brandywine (1:47.4f), $300,000 Milstein Memorial, Simcoe Stake, etc.

North American 3YO Colt & Canadian Horse of the Year in 2016 Service Fee: $10,000 + GST

Early Booking Discounted Fee

8,000 + GST

EMPIRE

STALLIONS (NZ)

Booking Enquiries: Johnny Robinson | Mobile 021 883 713 | john@goharness.co.nz www.empirestallions.com

HE’S RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE 2YO SIRES PREMIERSHIP IN NORTH AMERICA IN 2017

SPORTSWRITER A N E X T R E M E LY P O P U LA R S I R E, HIS BIGGEST AND BEST CROPS A R E S T I L L TO C O M E

A champion racehorse – US 2yo Pacer of the Year and winner of the $1.5 million North America Cup at three. In North America in 2017 vying with Somebeachsomewhere at the top of the 2yo Sires Premiership. He is also a leading sire overall with average earnings per starter of $59,303. A leading sire in Australia - sire of undefeated two-year-old sensation Lumineer (1:52.5) – praised as the greatest two-year-old to come out of Australia in recent years.

A LA B A R ( N Z ) LT D

09 232 1800 alabar@alabar.co.nz a l a b a r. c o . n z South Island Rep, Ivan Behrnes

03 615 6332 / 027 615 6119

Crossing especially well with daughters of Bettor’s Delight and Christian Cullen so perfectly placed to be a leading sire in New Zealand. Set to be a hugely influential sire in New Zealand – in 2016/17 (his first season standing in New Zealand) only Bettor’s Delight served more mares than him.

S E RV I C E F E E $5,000 (P L U S G S T)