Monthly Archives: October 2023

The 2024 Nutrien Yearling Sales in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne catalogues were available on-line last Friday and feature race days at Menangle and Maryborough yesterday proved to be a celebration of the on-line catalogue launch.

No fewer than two of yesterday’s Group One winners have half or full relatives in the catalogue while another two have a yearling out of a half-sister.

In addition there were two winners of NSW Breeders Challenge finals that bettered the 1:50 mark in their wins.

Sensational 2yo filly Lux Aeterna clinched the 2023 Australian 2yo Pacing Filly of the Year title when she covered the mile of her Group One NSW Breeders Challenge win in an Australian Record (all sexes) 1:49.9.

The sensational daughter of Captaintreacherous, trained and driven by Rickie Alchin, remains unbeaten in her nine 2yo starts and the win lifted her season’s earnings to $316,223.

A full-brother to Lux Aeterna will be offered by Brooklyn Lodge as Lot 90 in the 2024 Nutrien Sydney Sale.

The Group One final of the 3yo Colts and Geldings Breeders Challenge at Menangle saw another sub 1:50 performance when the Captaintreacherous colt Captains Knock downed Waratah Lou and Montalbano for trainer/driver Brad Hewitt.

Captains Knock has now won 10 of his 19 career starts and has stakes of $284,870. He was unbeaten in a heat, semi-final and final of the 2yo NSW Breeders Challenge and repeated that feat this season as a 3yo.

Lot 77 in the Nutrien Sydney Sale is being offered by John Rutter and is a three-quarter brother to Captains Knock being by Downbytheseaside from Scarlett Finn.

Sweet Lou filly Eye Keep Smiling, which ran the mile in 1:49.9 when winning her semi-final of the Breeders Challenge last week, wasn’t required to run as fast yesterday when she beat the favourite Major Delight and Sky Blu in the Group One final.

Trained by Belinda McCarthy and driven by Luke McCarthy it was Eye Keep Smiling’s eighth win in ten starts and took her career stakes to $137,103.

Lot 109 in the 2024 Nutrien Sydney Sale is by young sire Bettors Wish from the winning Somebeachsomewhere mare Yes Eye See which is a half-sister to Eye Keep Smiling.

A filly, Lot 109 is being offered by Success Stud and prospective buyers would be well advised to keep an eye out for this particular lot.

The Group One Victoria Trotters Derby was taken out by the Queensland trained and driven gelding Not As Promised which is a son of the pacing bred sire Betting Line.

Not As Promised is trained by Graham Dwyer and driven by Australia’s leading driver this season Nathan Dawson.

Lot 69 in the 2024 Sunshine Stars catalogue is being offered by Monarch Farm and is out of a three-quarter sister to the dam of Not As Promised.

This colt is by the rapidly emerging gun sire Downbytheseaside and is the first foal from the placed Bettors Delight mare Promise Me Please. The grand-dam of the colt is the Queensland and Australian Oaks winner All Promises p,1:56.5 $220,685.

Last week’s Lexington Sales saw the first yearlings by former USTA 2yo Colt Pacer of the Year Tall Dark Stranger offered for sale.

There were 60 lots on offer and they brought a total of $5,549,000 with three of his lots selling for $300,000 or more.

He had more than 30 lots sell for $50,000 or more and 23 sell for $100,000 plus.

Tall Dark Stranger, a son of Bettors Delight, will have his first Australian yearlings offered in 2024 so be sure to check out the Nutrien online catalogue when it it uploaded later this month.

By Peter Wharton

The huge demand for the first crop of world champion three-year-old Papi Rob Hanover at the opening session of the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale was grist for the mill for prominent Newcastle studmaster-breeder Darren Reay.

Reay’s Medowie Lodge is offering a filly by the 1:47.2, $927,000-winning son of the great Somebeachsomewhere out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Glory Daze (1:55.7) at the Nutrien Equine Sydney yearling sale next March.

She’s one of only three Australasian bred foals by the Hanover Shoe Farms-based Papi Rob Hanover.

“She’s a very strongly built filly and very correct,” Reay said. “She’s super intelligent. You show her once and she gets it!”

“She thinks she is the best in the paddock.”

Papi Rob Hanover was one of the success stories of the Lexington sale’s opening day. Eight of his yearlings sold for a gross of $1,205,000, an average of a whopping $150,625 – the third highest average for a pacing sire behind Bettor’s Delight and Captaintreacherous.

Seven of the eight yearlings by Papi Rob Hanover fetched $100,000 or more including a filly, Supermax Contract, which realised $350,000, and a colt, Robber Baron, who sold for $200,000.

Papi Rob Hanover was one of the best two-year-olds of his year, winning six of his 12 starts and $754,774 and taking a mile record of 1:50. Among his successes were the Governor’s Cup, Matron Stake and Pennsylvania Sires Stake Final, while he was placed in the Breeders Crown Final and the Metro Pace.

He set his world record of 1:47.2 winning an elimination of the Adios at The Meadows’ five-eighths track by 10 lengths.

Glory Daze, the dam of the Nutrien sale entry, produced other winners in the smart Tasmanian pacer Sharmey ($96,185) and the multiple Albion Park winner Khulan Kid.

Glory Daze’s dam, Dazed And Confused, was a Group 1 winner of $172,444 and, at the stud, has so far left six sub 1:57 winners from eight foals including the Group 2 winner Roll With It.

Watch Pabi Rob hanover winning his elimination of the 2020 Adios Stake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I4BF5bMDeg

Heats for the 2023 Victoria Derby are set down to be run at Melton on Saturday night with the Group One final a week later.

Twelve months ago and fans were salivating at the prospect of star Queensland colt Leap To Fame clashing with the Victorian duo of Catch A Wave and Captain Ravishing.

Captain Ravishing started a $1.55 favourite in his Derby heat and beat Leap To Fame that night and earned favouritism for the $200,000 final on the back of that win.

It is history now that Leap To Fame leapt to fame and into the national psyche in the Victoria Derby final with a slashing win and the commencement of a eight race winning streak.

This streak saw him elevated in the minds of some to the status of Australia’s best pacer and become a millionaire and win the title of Australian 3yo Colt/Gelding in the process.

Leap To Fame is still regarded as Australia’s best pacer as we head into the heats of the 2024 Victoria Derby this week.

The 2024 Nutrien Yearling Sales provide two opportunities for yearling buyers to purchase close relatives to Leap To Fame.

The Nutrien Melbourne Sale will see Justin Kahlefeldt offer an American Ideal half-sister to Leap To Fame and the filly is sure to attract a huge amount of interest.

This filly is also a half-sister to Swayzee p,1:52.0 $369,364 which brought Leap To Fame’s eight race winning streak to an end in the Group One Blacks A Fame Championship at Albion Park.

The filly’s full-brother Maximus Red has won 30 races and $333,026 in Australia and the USA.

Her dam, the Art Major mare Lettucereason, took a record of 1:55.9 and her 17 wins saw her earn stakes of $180,073.

She is a full-sister to Australian 3yo Pacer of the Year For A Reason p,1:49.4 $1,111,470.

A full-sister to For A Reason and Lettucereason in the four-time 3yo winner Deadly Woman is the dam of another American Ideal filly which will be offered by Sloys Company Pty Ltd in the 2024 Nutrien Sydney yearling sale.

Deadly Woman is already the dam of four winners including the Bathurst Gold Tiara runner-up Hot Shot Woman p,1:52.1 $170,263 and Mondooley Mach p,1:58.5 $103,740.

Be sure to check out the pedigrees when the catalogues for the 2024 Nutrien Yearling Sales go on-line later this month.