A BAKERS DOZEN OF AUSTRALASIA’S LEADING FAMILIES

In early 2018, we provided you with a six part series reviewing the ten leading North American families.

Ascertaining these leading families was a relatively simple task utlilising Classic Families (CF) as they stand out from the others owing to their millionaire performers, 1:48 pacers/1:51 trotters, multiple classic winners etc. In nearly twenty years from the original CF numbering system for North American families devised by Ron Groves, the top twenty have remained the same, although the order is now slightly different.

Order of achievement has changed little over the past few years with some rearrangement among mid top ten table performers such as U5 Sally Sovereign, U3 Mambrino Beauty, U4 Jesse Pepper. It is possible to see those families that are achieving most in the modern era, some of which are more pacing or trotting orientated than others. An example is of Miss Duvall’s (U7) predominantly pacing bred family which has been more prominent recently with 1:48 pacers and 1:50 2yo Pacers.

CF numbering U1-199 are the current performing families, U200-299 those that had not performed since the 1980’s (alive with only some having performed again in the last few years) while U300-399 are families that had largely been exported to Australia or NZ and are still active in Australasia but not so much in America. New Zealand and Australian families numbering system follows similar principles. It is notable that there are fewer current winning NA families than the hundreds of smaller families represented in Australasian winning families. This makes determination of the leading Australasian families a little more difficult as they include New Zealand, Australian and North American families (represented by mares imported prior to the Second World War and again in numbers in more recent years).

In order to give perspective to the leading Australasian families, there are a number of statistical comparisons that came be reviewed. A table of classic winners for each of the leading maternal families in Australasia as well as the number of classic races their progeny have won as at 3 March 2019 appears below (comparative stats for earlier years shown). It includes ten NZ foundation mares, two from Australia and four from North America.

LEADING AUSTRALASIAN FAMILIES (CLASSIC WINNERS/WINS)

(As at early March 2019 [to 31 December 2015 in brackets/U series to 31 Dec 2014] for comparison purposes)    

Two other criteria can be assessed when determining the leading Australasian families – speed and earnings. Looking at speed first, a number of tables follow showing how these leading Australasian families rate using various time based levels of achievement.

Pacers –

Two minute and 1:55 include first one hundred performers to record times bred in each of NZ and Australia as per Classic Families data :

1:50 and 1:48 based on first one hundred collectively bred in NZ and Australia. The five Australasian 1:48 performers are (My) Field Marshal (1:46.9), Have Faith In Me (1:47.5), Adore Me/Spankem (1:47.7) and Nike Franco (1:48.0US):

** USA bred performers State Treasurer (1:47.0), Capozzo (1:48.0) – U30

Trotters – 1:55 performers including first (45 collectively bred in NZ and Australia :

Two year old Pacers – first one hundred performers in Australasia :

Moving onto earnings, we can see that for pacers and trotters in Australasia for $100,000 performers, first 100 stake earners in each of NZ and Australia :

There are numerous (nine) families with two performers in the first two hundred Australasian $100k horses.

Millionaire Australasian pacers and trotters :

** five additional millionaires bred and raced in North America.

A number of families have two millionaires : A2 Lady Ajax, A4 Lady Ostic, N3 Red Diamond,   N4 Millie C, N6 Harolds Rest, N30 McDonalds Rothschild mare, N41 Lady Clare, N69 Fashion Queen and N88 Lady Agnes.

There are only seven Australasian bred  trotting millionaires – these are Lyell Creek (N145 Mavis Logan), Take A Moment (N1 Pride of Lincoln), Stent (N116 Coronella), One Over Kenny (N184 Reyden), Sundons Gift (N235 Dora Parrish), I Can Doosit (U14 Ab) and Keystone Del (U312 Ella Chieftain).

Based on the above, we have come up with a baker’s dozen (thirteen) of leading Australasian maternal families to review in the coming months. They are :

The families of Lady Ajax (A2), Polly (N8) and Jessie B (N9) could consider themselves unlucky not to be considered in my “bakers dozen” as their stats are little inferior to a couple of those included in my selections.

Peter Craig

6 March 2019

Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com

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