By David Aldred
When there’s blue blood oozing through a pedigree that has been dotted with champions for more than half a century there is an expectation that the horse will be good when it eventually makes it to the racetrack.
But like many things in life and particularly in the world of harness racing a good pedigree many times is not enough, especially when the ‘king’ of the family tree was a champion pacer and the branch of the family your horse belongs to is from the trotting gait.
Jimboomba trainer Doug Lee’s family have been lucky enough to race decendents of the famous family for four decades. Lee knows the trotting side of the family better than anyone and his face lights up when he thinks of the trotting stars that the family has produced.
“Look at the great trotters in this family, there’s plenty of them,” Lee said.
Yesterday at Albion Park, that trot breeding certainly came to the fore in the 3yo+ Handicap at with two of Lee’s trotters, three-year-old Justabitnoisy and his older 4yo half-sister Justabitcoco completing the quinella.
Justabitnoisy and sister Justabitcoco are from the same maternal family as one of our greatest ever standardbreds, the 1963 Inter Dominion Pacing Grand Final winner Cardigan Bay, the first pacer in the southern hemisphere to win over $1 million, but they are also directly related to one of the best trotters of his era in the early to mid-seventies, the 1976 Inter Dominion Trotting Grand Final winner Bay Johnny.
Lee’s grandfather, the late ‘Snowy’ Finn was the trainer of Bay Johnny who won his Inter Dominion in Adelaide three years after finishing third in the 1973 Grand Final.
Lee and his wife Joedy race Justabitnoisy and Justabitcoco which they bred from their multiple Harold Park trot and Ararat Trot Cup winner, Justabitlooney.
Lee was very happy with the result and he was glowing in his admiration for his trotters.
“They have both been up since last October and done a great job,” Lee said. “We took Justabitnoisy down south and he has just got better and better in recent months.”
The victory was the fourth success for Justabitnoisy a son of Lawman which has earned $24,000 in its debut season.
Gary Whittaker drove the $1.40 favourite which despite having to work forward from a 30 metre handicap, had control of the race most of the way. Four-year-old Bacardi Lindy mare Justabitcoco, driven by Lee came from a 40 metre handicap and settled back in the field, spotting Jutabitnoisy about 100 metres start at one point before laying down a late challenge to her little brother. Justabitnoisy held a 10.7 metre winning break at the finish and rated 2.03.5, breaking his own 3yo track record for the journey.
A pedigree search reveals pages of black type in Justabitnoisy and Justabitcoco’s maternal family.
Second dam Sally Anns Future was also a Harold Park winner who also produced the Lee’s outstanding trotter Red Samauri ($230,722). Her mother Tolileas produced five winners including multiple Moonee valley winning brothers Pauls Future and Pontiff and also Winnies Rage the mother of top Victorian trotter West Texas Crude ($260,503). The top class pacers Apre Ski ($415,498), No Equal, Vulcan Bay, Scotch Goose, Preferred Bay, Franco Nester and Franco Nelson are some of the other stars from the same maternal line.
Lee said Justabitnoisy and Justabitcoco will race in the heats of the Kevin & Kay Seymour Gold Rush T0/T3 Trot at Albion Park on Friday night before hopefully both contesting the $12,000 Final the following week.
“Joedy and I are off on a holiday in America next month so the horses will go for a rest and when we come back Justabitnoisy will be ‘a couple of stone’ lighter and maybe an even better trotter,” Lee said, referring to colt Justabitnoisy’s booking to be gelded before his next race preparation.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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