This is the four and final in a series of four articles. It will look at his administrative contribution to harness racing and review Middleton’s breeding successes/theories.
ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS –
Carl Middleton gave his time and knowledge back to the industry in a number of ways. These included a period on the Committee of his local club, the Methven Trotting Club (1993 – 2000) as well as Mt Hutt Trotting Club from 1984. He was involved on the Committee of the Horseman’s Association from around 1984 also. He was the NZ Trotting Trainers and Drivers Association representative on the NZ Sires Stakes Board from November 1993 until March 2007. This was during a period of considerable growth in Sires Stakes racing, most pleasing of which was the establishment of races for 2 and 3-year-old trotters in the late nineties. A big push was made for Sires Stakes trotting races that were warranted based on the number of trotting foals produced, something Middleton argued long and hard about to get these races off the ground. The 2yo series commenced in 1997, followed by the 3yo series in 1998. Middleton had some success in these races himself over the years.
BREEDING SUCCESS –
Middleton’s earliest breeding exploits revolved around borrowed mares and those stallions he was standing at the time and it quickly became obvious that he needed to upgrade to a better class of mare if success was to be found in the yearling sales ring and/or on the racetrack.
The first real success came when breeding alternate foals from the Truant Hanover mare Winter Gold with his brother in law Noel Lowe. Winter Gold, the winner of two races produced 13 foals for 10 qualifiers and eight winners – Acapulco (6 wins), Gold Fella, Olso (3 wins), Helsinki (2 wins), Farm Kiss (3 wins/dam of five winners for Noel Lowe), Winter Gem (4 wins/dam of 1 winner for Millburn Farm Ltd), Butler Billy (4 wins) were seven who all won for Middleton.
Perilly, the dam of Fraggle Rock (see earlier) was the next major success. She produced nine live foals which all qualified, leaving 7 winners. Apart from Fraggle Rock, Malmo won four races as a pacer before sale to Australia where he won another four; Little Rock made open class trotting ranks before trotting T1:55.3 in the United States and her final foal was Uppsala who won three for Middleton. Non winner Chrystal Rock went onto leave 4 winners including Kristalvagen (T1:55.2US, 6 NZ wins, 4 USA wins) and Saybia (T2:03.0, 1 NZ win; South Australian FFA/Open trot winner).
Lilly the Pink, the unraced all American bred trotter by 1982 USA Trotter of the Year Jazz Cosmos was purchased from National Bloodstock Corporation (Dave Phillips) in the late 80’s after she was advertised for sale in the Market Place section of the NZ Harness Racing Weekly. She was to prove a worthy race mare for Middleton and also a productive matron, leaving ten foals for three winners and two qualifiers. None quite matched her quality, with Jazz Legend (ID Consolation winner for Australian owners) being the best of them.
Her second foal Another Starlet bred on well, having left thirteen foals to date, the first ten of which have raced and won with Enghein (prior to Jewels, T1:59.3 1m, T2:00.1 1950m, 3 wins/5 starts, $44,375; NZYSS – 3T), a recent 2yo winner being the eleventh. Of the eleven winners, seven raced and won for Middleton. They included Millburn Michael (T1:58.8), Gammel Damsk (SA Trotters Cup), Pink Diamond (T1:57.3), Another Love plus Silver Star, Cochin and Ottawa. Another foal Brylin Crescent (T1:57.5) won once in NZ for Jamie Gameson together with 13 VIC/SA wins.
Millburn Segil (Armbro Invasion) is a further example of an outside influence purchased into the Middleton broodmare band having been acquired from the estate of Murray Lawson. She was from the first crop of Armbro Invasion; her dam Preface was a member of Bill Doyle’s trotting breed tracing back to a fifth dam in Mae Wynne, winner of the inaugural Reta Peter Hcp Trot (see Classic Families – www.classicfamilies.net) and was also placed second in a Dominion Handicap. So Millburn Segil was trotting bred through and through and after a six win career, thirds in Canterbury Park Trotting Cup and Kaikoura Trotters Cup – and a sub two minute time in the 1999 Ashburton Trotters Mile – she was more successful in the breeding barn. To date, five of her 12 foals have been winners including Damian Carlos (T1:55.2US), NZ 2YO Trotting Stakes runner-up Lady Segil (T1:57.1US, dam of Lavros Segil, T1:58.5) and well performed trotter Savona (T1:55.4 Menangle, fourth fastest trotting mare in Australasia, T1:57.5TT in NZ, NSW Trotters Championship).
Millburn Carolyn, bred from father Gordon’s pacing mare Fancy Robyn, was a good bread and butter mare by Farm Timer who left ten foals for Middleton, for 9 qualifiers and seven winners (5 in better than 2:00). Time wise her best performer was Camtastic colt Slightly Wild (1:53.4US), Diggers Rest won most races (6) whilst Montreal and Millburn Operative won two each for Middleton himself. Holmes Hanover mare Millburn Robyn, a six race winner in NZ/Aust bred on well having left 6 winners with 3 in 2:00 in Australia, the fastest being Way of Life 1:53.4US. Non winning daughter Bunny Time has left four winners (three in two minutes in Australia).
Pride of Dee was a further acquisition by Middleton, this mare being bred by among others John Dickie from the outstanding trotting mare and former NZ mile record holder Thriller Dee Tr.1:57.8TT (NZ/GN Trotters Derby, Trotting FFA). Pride of Dee’s first foal Milburn Thriller whilst unraced left Bergen, a winner of five for Middleton and dam of Miss Adelade (placed NSW and Victoria Trotters Oaks). Pride of Dee produced 11 foals for Middleton for seven qualifiers and five winners. The best of the remainder being Purple Passion with five wins (only winner from nine foals being Solrun); (Oh) Yes Indeed a winner of 1 in NZ/7 in Australia and dam of five winners including her first three foals with The Boss Man (T1:58.6) winner of Coulter Crown, Central Victorian Trotting C/S, both at Group Three; Aces Noble, winner of 10 in WA/VIC and Lady Odette bred by Millburn Farm Ltd, the winner of three for Mike Berger and Warren Rich and dam of Charlemagne (T1:55.9, 14 wins, Harness Jewels 4yo and 5yo Ruby, third Lyell Creek Stakes), Continental Pride (3 NZ/5 NSW wins, T1:59.7) and Ode to Success (3 NZ/3 QLD wins, T1:59.1) among her five winners from ten foals.
Another purchase of an all American bred horse was that of No Nukes/Sea Quick mare Bullville Nucleus, she being is a half-sister to PB Bullville, who was in turn a world record holder and the fastest 3yo of 2000 when he clocked 1.48.0US at the Red Mile, Lexington, Kentucky. PB Bullville after a very successful career in Queensland (Egmont Park Stud) then stood at Mick Lombardo’s Concorde Park Stud in Victoria. Whilst Bullville Nucleus won a couple of races and time trialled in 1:55.8 around Ashburton, she didn’t prove an overly successful breeder (2 winners, 5 qualifiers) and was sold but one of the foals (King Kruger) that Middleton, did breed from her provided him with his most successful financial return from a PGG Yearling Sales – $50,000.
For a number of years, Middleton did not send any of his foals to yearling sales, however, in earlier years when he did, they all were for sale. There were never any buy backs, only a few on which no bids were received returned to home base. This was a necessary plan to reduce stock numbers to allow the next crop to be handled etc. In the past couple of years, Middleton returned to offering his horses at the NZ Premier Yearling Sales in Christchurch.
As was the case throughout his involvement with horses, he was a seller to both Australia and the United States. As with many in the industry, this proved at times to be of necessity to stay afloat, because horses had reached their mark in NZ and at other times because the offers being received were too good to bypass. This policy can be seen with a number of his better performed horses in New Zealand having raced up to expectations overseas after receiving the Middleton polish first.
INDUSTRY MUSINGS
Like a number of others, Middleton had some concerns with the number of mares being bred to an individual stallion and also how we are limiting the gene pool particularly with respect to USA families. His opinion was that a limit of 100 mares per individual stallion would greatly assist the gene pool and would (1) make yearlings more valuable (supply and demand) (2) breed away from American blood and (3) breed to French stallions. Why breed to French stallions??
He believed that it would expand the gene pool and that the times French bred horses have recorded over distance are often quicker than pacers on the whole in Southern Hemisphere. French stallions from earlier years did not leave many top horses, exceptions were NZ Trotter of the Year David Moss by Gekoj (thanks to Norwegian Oddvar Anderson) but they did leave a few tough mares bred to French stallions who have gone on to leave some of our better trotters of recent years e.g. following all had Gekoj as their dam sire – Stig (Dominion Handicap), Speculate (NZ Trotting FFA), Some Direction (Canterbury Park Trot Cup), Now Another Look (Hambletonian 3YO Classic); all horses known for doing it hard during their races and fighting on well.
The better bred and performed French stallions now available are only likely to improve on those of the past. Breeding to available French stallions such as Love You was an instance of continuous improvement sought by Middleton with his broodmare band, together with other leading European and North American stallions. Examples of this philosophy can be seen from his breeding choices for 2010 – Middleton bred seven mares to the likes of Love You (FRA), Repeat Love (FRA), Sam Bourbon (FRA), Revenue (SWE) and CR Commando (USA). As for the 2013 season, they included Superfast Stuart (CAN), Repeat Love (FRA), Majestic Son (CAN, Dream Vacation (USA). The 2014 season saw multiple servings by Repeat Love (FRA) as well Majestic Son (USA), Dream Vacation (USA).
Middleton not surprisingly saw trotters as the future especially with the larger percentage of trotting mares being bred from in recent years. In his case, the old saying of man living for three score and ten years, possibly needs to be adjusted for the horse breeder to nearer 150 years, so as to be able to see the fruits of ones breeding labours.
DISPERSAL SALE
With Carl’s health issues, a decision was made mid 2015 to dispose of the majority of his racing and breeding stock, part of a process to get his affairs in order. PGG Wrightson’s were contracted to organise the Millburn Farm dispersal sale which was held at Ashburton racecourse on Thursday 3 September 2015.
The sale consisted of 10 broodmares, 3 yearlings and 6 raced/unraced stock. The sale standouts were :
- SAVONA (Dream Vacation/Millburn Segil mare) – sold to Fiona Robson, Sydney for $33,000
- ANOTHER LOVE (Love You/Another Starlet mare) – sold to Aldebaran Lodge, Australia (Duncan McPherson) for $30,000
- LOUIS MOSS (Repeat Love/Sunny Moss gelding) – sold to Premier Stables, West Melton (Tim Butt), for $32,000
- BOURBON AND DRY (Sam Bourbon/Sunny Moss gelding) – sold to Alan Neumann, Ashburton for $10,500
- TORPEDO RUN (CR Commando/Another Starlet gelding) – sold to Allan Brown, Palmerston North for $8,500. Torpedo Run was to win at his sixth start for Brown at the Manawatu HRC club‘s meeting on Sunday 29 November 2015
Carl Middleton passed away while watching the dispersal sale via a digital video link. He was proud of the breeding stock he had built up over the years and was keen to watch their sale even though he was very ill.
Bruce Barlass of Pynes commented that “”We read a message from Carl before the sale thanking all the people he had been involved with” and a minutes silence was observed at the conclusion of the sale.
The 2016 NZ Premier Yearling Sales at Christchurch included the final Millburn Farm draft of six youngsters. Prepared by Stacey Markham, the five colts and a filly represented stallions Repeat Love (four), Majestic Son and Dream Vacation. These youngsters were :
- MARGIE’S LOVER (Repeat Love/Margie D colt), sold to Paul Nairn
- UNBRIDLED PASSION (Repeat Love/Millburn Segil filly), sold to Heidi Richardson, Te Awamutu
- VALLONIA (Majestic Son/Savona colt), sold to Robert Dunn, Christchurch for $32.000
- CRUISE ALSAKA (Dream Vacation/Violette colt), sold to Heidi Richardson, Te Awamutu
- LOVE INDEED (Repeat Love/Who Indeed colt), sold to PGW as agent, Christchurch
- LAPLANDER (Repeat Love/Another Starlet colt), sold to Andrew and Lyn Neal, Cambridge for $15,000
Heather Middleton and family will continue farming the Millburn Farm property at Highbank where Carl trained his horses.
The Millburn Farm dispersal sale and the 2016 Yearling Sales brought to an end the era of Middleton involvement in harness racing. Carl’s influence will continue for some time to come, as will be seen in a number of trotters he bred currently on the track plus the continuation of bloodlines established by his band of trotting mares and their progeny.
A genuine horseman, one that was particularly adept with a trotter, well respected by his peers and an example for any budding young horseperson to follow, that was Carl Francis Middleton.
This completes our look at the outstanding lifelong career in harness racing of CARL MIDDLETON.
Peter Craig
23 June 2016
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
