The fifth in a series of articles reviewing the top ten of North American maternal families. Family numbers are as shown on the Classic Families (CF) database. Due to the extensive size of these families, only brief mention can be made of some of the more prominent family members and/or items likely to be of interest to Australasian readers.
U9 Midnight (Emily Ellen)
One of two foundation mares by Pilot Jr. both born in 1865, (other is Kathleen) with a thoroughbred maternal line, Midnight is the dam of the first horse to become world champion at both gaits, gelding Jay Eye See (T2:10.0, 2:06¼US). Of the five daughters that Midnight left, only two branches, half-sisters Lady Kerner though Fan Patch and Noontide through Emily Ellen continue today.
The branch through Fan Patch has not had as much success, although it can claim one hundred and thirty Classic Winners that include Triple Crown champion Ayres and world champion trotting gelding Lucky Jim. This branch has also had significant success in Europe with over twenty Classic Winners. The best of these is millionaire Coktail Jet, an Elitloppet winner and six time leading sire of France.
Family descendants of Fan Patch through granddaughter Little Lie include :
- Ayres : Trotting Triple Crown, successful sire : Christopher T (Hambletonian), Timothy T (Hambletonian, Kentucky Futurity, Elitloppet twice) and exports to Italy in multiple Gp1 winners The Last Hurrah and Top Hanover
- Elma, who shares grand dam Goddess Hanover with Ayres won Elitloppet and full sister Sug Is third dam of Coktail Jet
- Western Graduate, millionaire, Jugette
- Lucky Jim, Nat Ray, Breeders Crown, $1.9m, T1:50.1 (WR 4yo gelding trotter 2009)
- Texas, Kentucky Futurity, sire of Copied (Elitloppet twice, European Grand Circuit champion), Grades Singing ($2.6m, multiple group winner NA/Europe, European Grand Circuit champion)
- Coktail Jet, millionaire, Prix d’Amerique, Elitloppet, six time leading sire (stakes) in France; sire of Love You (prominent European/leading Australasian sire)
- Quaker Jet, millionaire trotter in France
- Scenic Regal (millionaire, three time US 4yo and older trotting mare of year)
Sires from the family to have stood in NZ include Jersey Hanover; Truant Hanover (trotters Hano Direct – ID G/F, Dullard Cup and El Cordobies; Truant Armagh – Hunter Cup, dam sire of multiple Gp1 winner Poplar Alm, Bee Bee Cee – NZ Cup/FFA); Count Bay (trotter Bay Talent, dam sire of ID Trot winner Uncle Petrika), and in Australia leading sire Thor Hanover (Messenger Stakes; sire of Gammalite, Rip Van Winkle, Roma Hanover; dam sire of Hyperstat, Karamea Duplicity, Yeronga Songbird); John Street North while Sandman Hanover and Dr Ronerail, sire of Keystone Del (millionaire, Glenferrie Challenge twice, Great Southern Star, Bill Collins Mile, Dullard Cup twice, ,Aust Trotting Grand Prix, Knight Pistol Trotters Cup, T1:53.7 [1720m], third fastest Southern Hemisphere trotter), Dr Hook (T1:56.2) stood in both countries.
Noontide won nine races before leaving two daughters that made significant contributions to the breed. The first of these, Rosie Morn, was bred 3×3 to Hambletonian 10 with three lines of Abdallah and an infusion of the best brood mare of her day, Alma Mater by Mambrino Chief. Her daughter Morning Bells (by Todd) added a further leading broodmare in Beautiful Bells while her granddaughter Emily Ellen infused two lines to Green Mountain Maid.
The pedigree of Emily Ellen carried a number of lines to several of the most outstanding broodmares of the Foundation Era. She was bred by David M. Look of Castleton Farm in 1907 and lived until the age of thirty eight. Emily Ellen is a USA Hall of Fame Immortal. She raced for one season then became the foundation mare of Castleton Farm, known as “Queen of Castleton“. Her offspring were quite remarkable. She produced fourteen foals in sixteen years by eight different sires with all but one becoming Standard Performers, eight making the 2:10 list and three the 2:05 list. In addition, four of her sons were represented as sires of the first twenty two minute performers. Two of her descendants won the Hambletonian (Spencer Scott, Emilys Pride) and another family member was also successful (Ayres).
Emily Ellen’s female progeny left a few pacers but it is their trotting progeny that were most prominent :
- Emily Guy – descendants in recent years have included :
- Idyllic, millionaire mare, multiple Gp1’s including Jugette
- Rocklamation, double millionaire, older multiple Gp1 winning mare,1:48.3US
- millionaire geldings Annieswesterncard and Fox Valley Tribal
- Stand By, who among many others is dam of All Alert (Jugette); grand dam of Snug Feeling (Lady Maud); 3rd dam of Mattaponi (USA Sweetheart); 4th dam of Rocklamation (see above), Belovedangel (Breeders Crown – 3f), Beach Ray (CAN Provincial Cup); 5th dam Major Bombay (Woodrow Wilson), Fear The Dragon (NA Cup, Tattersalls Pace); 6th dam of Annieswesterncard (see above)
Sires tracing to Emily Guy to have stood in Australia include millionaire Village Jasper (Confederation Cup, Breeders Crown; successful sire : Broadways Best, Blatant Lie, Villagem, Viva La Fever; dam sire of four time Oaks winner Fight for Glory (NZ/NSW/QLD/Gold Coast) and briefly Alert Bret
- Guyellen – descendants include :
- Spencer Scott (Kentucky Futurity, Hambletonian; born and retired initially to Castleton Farm, early Hanover Shoe Farm siring champion of Rodney (winner 47 of 69, leading sire for Walnut Hall – Duke Rodney [Hambletonian, Kentucky Futurity], Elaine Rodney, Porterhouse, Tie Silk), Egan Hanover (Hambletonian); dam sire of Super Bowl (Triple Crown, sire of 170 $100k winners, winners of in excess of $75m, 367 in 2:00 and 17 in 1:55), BF Coaltown (dam sire of Sundon), Lindys Pride (Triple Crown, dam sire of Hambletonian winner Burgomeister). Rodney leads ultimately to likes of Speedy Crown, Pine Chip etc
- Florida Pro, T1:55.0, successful sire at Hanover Shoe Farms before export to Sweden – siring Sugarcane Hanover in USA ($1.7m, multiple Gp1 winner in NA/Europe, Kentucky Futurity, Nat Ray, Breeders Crowns; sire of Kramer Boy [multiple group winner NA/Europe], dam sire of Revenue [multiple Gp1 winner Nat Ray, Copenhagen Cup, sire], Our Real Force [ID Trot G/F])
- Noble Victory ($½m, won 37/54 starts, Yonkers Trot, as sire stood at Lana Lobell Farms, leading dam sire a) Napoletano – grand sire and grand dam line bred to Volomite, won close to $2.5m, T1:53.2US, Kentucky Futurity, World Trotting Derby, Elitloppet, Super Bowl’s leading money winner; b) Sierra Kosmos (dam sire of Lucky Jim T1:50.1US, $1.9m; Master Lavros, Dominion Hcp, Rowe Cup, Trotting C/S); c) dam sire of pacing sensation Direct Scooter, a pedigree full of trotting blood. Stanley Dancer handled Noble Victory when setting fastest trotting race mile in history (T1:55.3US) in 1965 at DuQuoin
- Emilys Pride, owned by Castleton and Walnut Hall Farms, 1958 Horse of Year winning 16 and second on four occasions from 23 starts at three (Hambletonian, Kentucky Futurity); dam of Noble Victory
- millionaires Classic Photo (multiple Gp 1 winner, sire of Classic Martine 2014 WR mare on 5/8 track T1:51.2, equal mile T1:51.1); Keystone Patriot (multiple group winner in Europe); Keystone Pioneer (multiple Gp 1 winner including Hambletonian Oaks); Quite A Sensation (NA Cup); Housethatruthbuilt (Kentucky Futurity, Breeders Crown)
- Resolve, T1:50.2US, $2.6m, International Trot, Maple Leaf Trot, two Cutler/John Cashman Jr Memorials, second and third in Elitloppet finals
In New Zealand, Catharine The Great, exported from USA, features Guyellen as her eighth dam. Catherine the Great‘s progeny include Last Sunset (T1:55.1US, NZ Trotting FFA, 2 ID heats, number feature juvenile trots), Real Deal Yankee, Great Getaway and Galleons Dream, the dam of Galleons Sunset (Bill Collins Mile, ID Trot G/F), Kathy Galleon (2yoF Trotter of Year, dam of The Best Love) and The Ultimate Galleon (2yo C&G Trotter of Year).
Calamity Gal (Green Lane Cup, dam of Great Things Happen T1:55.4, Ashburton Trotters Mile, NZ Trotting FFA) traces to Guyellen.
- Trudy – leading descendants include :
- World champion Pine Chip (by Arndon, sire of Sundon both bred by Sir Roy McKenzie), T1:51.0USTT driven by John Campbell at Red Mile, Lexington, $1.7m, Gp1 wins included World Trotting Derby, Kentucky Futurity, Nat Ray, Breeders Crown – OT, leading sire/broodmare sire of 2/3yo trotting winners in US of numerous occasions – sire of Chip Chip Hooray (Hambletonian), Sumthingaboutmaori (ID Trot G/F); dam sire of Muscle Massive (Hambletonian), Kinscaslough (Summer Trotting FFA), Snow White ($1.4m, WR 2T ½m track, T1:52.4US (2007), winner 14/19 races prior to early death)
- Space Shuttle, 1:47.4, 5 wins in 1:50 (Oliver Wendell Holmes, US Pacing C/S)
- Burning Point, $2.8m, 1:49.2US, leading NA female pacer at three and four
Sires and racehorses tracing to Trudy to have stood/raced in Australasia include : sires Apollos Way, New York Motoring (sire of Brabham, Motoring Magic, Stars and Stipes and the “Master”, Master Musician, $1.9m, 1:54.0, 7 Gp1’s – Hunter/Auckland/Victoria/ Easter Cups; dam sire of Elsu, Lanercost, Likmesiah, Mah Sish) and racehorses Butlers First (NZ) and Mach Beauty (1:50.9 AUS).
The Midnight family was the sixth best producer of two minute speed in 1976 and in 2014 ranked eighth in the production of 1:53 trotters while it now boasts three in 1:51 (Lucky Jim, Resolve, Pine Chip). The fastest trotter in the family is millionaire Lucky Jim (T1:50.1) while Kit Lobell was a world champion trotting mare. The family also has three pacers in the 1:48 list with the fastest being Space Shuttle (1:47.4).
The family is fifth equal as a source of millionaire trotters (17) led by Fools Gold with earnings exceeding three million dollars while the wealthiest pacer, Burning Point, earned just less than three million. Although not a prolific source of Triple Crown leg winners, Ayres was the third trotter to win the coveted Trotting Triple Crown prize. The clan is currently ranked eighth as a source of Classic Winners with the most prolific being world champion Noble Victory with twenty one, Keystone Patriot eighteen, Burning Point twelve and Ayres eleven.
Next Edition : Final in series covering Jane Hunt/Kathleen (Ethelwyn).
Peter Craig
7 March 2018
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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