Last Saturday night at Melton two of Australia’s three representatives in the $600,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge in New Zealand clashed in the $24,000 Uncle Petrika Free-For-All and, aided by a better draw, rising star Arcee Phoenix downed the established star Just Believe.
Both trotters have confirmed slots in the rich New Zealand race where they will be joined by a third Australian-owned representative in the champion French-bred trotter Callmethebreeze as the trio take on the cream of New Zealand’s trotters.
On Easter Saturday Muscle Mountain won his second Group One New Zealand Trotting Championship from Mystic Max and Midnight Dash and that trio will be joined in the Night of Champions race by three-time Group One winning stallion Oscar Bonavena.
The race will be run on April 12th and the Nutrien Melbourne Yearling Sale gets under way the next day with inspections and the sale on Sunday April 14th.
The good news for fans of trotters the Nutrien Sale features close relatives of all three Australian bred slot holders.
Lot 242, on account of Yabby Dam Farms, is a colt by Australian 2yo Trotter of the Year Always Ready from a Majestic Son half-sister to the millionaire Just Believe in Heavenly Sister.
The truly remarkable Just Believe has won 28 races including two Inter Dominions and a total of six wins at Group One level on his way to earnings of $1,131,523 and a record of tr,1:54.9.
Heavenly Sister included the Group Three RC Freestone Trotters Cup among her 11 wins and she took a record of tr,1:56.5 on her way to earnings of $129,745.
Lot 242 is her second foal and her first was the 2023 3yo winning filly Keep Believing.
This colt can be inspected by contacting Yabby Dam Farms on 0428 792 834.
Lot 294 is also on account of Yabby Dam Farms and this filly is out of a seven race winning half-sister to the imported star Callmethebreeze which won at Group One level as a 2yo, 3yo and 4yo in Italy and in the past couple of months has become a multiple Group One winner in Australia.
Possessed of a blistering turn of foot, Callmethebreeze has run sub 1:54 times at each of his three wins in Australia since January.
Lot 294 is out of the Italian bred Cantab Hall mare Onestar LB whose seven European wins earned $144,271 and her yearling filly is a half-sister to the Scotch Notch Mile winner Courmayeur which won six races as a 3yo including a heat of the Need For Speed in 1:58.4.
Lot 255, on account of Robert Ashley Haynes and Christopher Anthony Shaw, is a colt by Australia’s and New Zealand’s Leading Sire of Trotters in Majestic Son from the four time winning Sundon mare Justa Phoenix.
This colt is a half-brother to a rising star in the trotting ranks in Arcee Phoenix which led throughout at Melton last Saturday night to down a gallant Just Believe and rating a career best 1:53.5 over the 1720 metres.
Arcee Phoenix has now won 11 of his 33 starts and has a further 11 placings for earnings of $271,805.
As if that isn’t enough credentials, this colt is bred on the same cross as 29 $100,000 earners including the millionaire Sundees Son tr,1:56.4 $1,401,248.
Benstud Victoria is preparing Lot 255 and they can be contacted on 0429 950 055 to arrange inspection.
An Aussie owned trifecta in the $600,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge two days before the Nutrien Sale would not only be a dream come true for the owners but for the vendors nervously awaiting the yearling sale.
For full details and catalogued yearlings in the Melbourne Nutrien Standardbred 2024 Yearling Sales, click here.
By Alan Parker