NZ BREEDERS STAKES – FIFTY YEARS OF WINNERS BREEDING DECADE BY DECADE

The previous article on fifty years of the NZ Breeders Stakes provided a statistical feast of facts and figures with mention of many of the great winners of the race. This article will be a specific look at the breeding of the winners of the NZ Breeders Stakes decade by decade commencing with the period 1973 – 1982.

1973 – 1982 :

1973 ROYAL BELMER : 1:59.2, $29,375, twelve wins, ten places; from Lady Belfield, a lightly raced sister of outstanding race mare Lady Belmer and grand dam of GN Oaks winner Harvest Gold. Royal Belmer was dam of five winners including NZ Derby winner Sovereign and Royal Decision, ten wins, $49,995. Royal Belmer’s immediate family branch includes NZ Messenger winner OK Royal; five time Group One winner A Piccadilly Princess 1:50.4, $733,842, GN/Victoria Oaks, two Harness Jewels, Ladyship Mile; Selby Bromac, SA Cup and unraced multiple winner producing mare Sabrina Bromac.

1974 VAN GLORY : 1:59.6, $36,850, eleven wins, twenty one places; by a NZ Cup winner in Van Dieman from a NZ Oaks place getter in Malabella (five wins). Van Glory was the dam of three winners and unraced mare Vain Franco who was an outstanding breeder notably leaving Australasian/North American winner Under Cover Lover 1:51.4US, $864,923, GN/NZ/NSW Oaks, Nevele R Fillies among numerous others. Van Glory is grand dam of millionaire pacer Bettor Cover Lover, 1:53.8, $1,026,427, whose six Group Ones included 2013 NZ Breeders Stakes; Mon Poppy Day, WA/TAS Derbies, WA Golden Nugget; Parthenon WA Oaks. There are many other outstanding pacing relations of Van Glory.

1975 MARIE GIBBINS : 1:59.1US, 1:59.3NZ, $81,271, eleven NZ wins, twelve places; her unraced U Scott dam Scotch Marie was from 1954 NZ Oaks winner Earl Marie who also placed third in the NZ Derby. The Ripple family includes notables such as Young Rufus, trotter Breton Abbe and earlier stars Great Evander, Golden Shadow, Ahuriri and Taraire. Marie Gibbins was successful at her third attempt in the Breeders Stakes having placed fourth to Royal Belmer in the inaugural edition in 1973 and a close second to Van Glory in 1974.

1976 IN OR OUT : 1:59.7, $48,570, twelve wins, nineteen places; her unraced dam Parusa was by the lightly used Light Brigade stallion Arusa with her third dam being Tondeleyo from the famous Estella Amos branch of the family of Brown Lancet. Parusa was a half-sister to Paranova 1:59.4US and dam of Undercheck, six wins; Reincheck 1:58.3US, four NZ wins and Smooth Shelia (five wins), dam of good Australian winner Smooth Crusa. In Or Out was dam of six winners including 3yo DB Fillies heat and Triple Crown Classic winner Laudit, dam of numerous winners including Golden Slipper Stakes performer In The Way. WA Derby and ID heat winner Seel N Print 1:50.2, $676,568 boasts Laudit as his third dam and In Or Out his fourth.

1977 HELEN OF TARA : 2:01.3, $33,805, ten wins, eleven places; her dam Queensway won the Queens Birthday 3yo Stakes at Ashburton while her third dam Star Ace, winner of six races produced Star Rosa, a winner of ten including the NZ Champion Stakes at three and the Easter Cup predecessor, the Easter Hcp. Breeding on once exported to Australia, Helen Of Tara produced four winners.

1978 CLASSIEBAWN : 2:00.8, $30,415, ten wins, nine places; a fine stayer typical of Scottish Hanover’s stock, her dam Heathmount was the winner of six. Heathmount left nine winners, apart from Classiebawn these included Montrose twice placed second in the NZ Breeders Stakes including 1:57.4, seven wins and Blair Logie 2:00.3US, seven NZ wins. Third dam Lady Ardee was an unraced sister to fine trotter Mountain Range and produced NZ Trotting Stakes third place getters in Van Ardee and Guiliano. Classiebawn had the perfect record of nine winners from nine starters – family branch performers include her colt foal Braedoon, NZ 3yo Championship; grand dam of Stroma NSW Breeders Plate; third dam of SA Derby winner Glengowan and fourth dam of Nek Time, Southland/Queensland/Gold Coast Oaks.

1979 WESTERN VUE : 1:58.5, $33,870, ten wins, twelve places, overall NZ mile record holder, 1:58.5 set in 1979 NZ Breeders Stakes. Her breeding from Axworthy line stallions (Lumber Dream) over dam sires from the Peter The Great line (Flying Song, Light Brigade, Dillon Hall) represented outcross breeding. Westburn Vue comes from the Bonilene branch of the Black Betty family. Her dam Belle Vue was the winner of six races with Westburn Vue her only winner. Unraced grand dam Jan Corena produced seven winners (four NZ, three AUS) tracing to Wrack mare St Helena, a daughter of Bonilene. Bred in Australia to a son of Meadow Skipper in Land Grant resulted in Westburn Vue leaving one of Australia’s greatest ever pacers in dual millionaire Westburn Grant, 1:55.6, $2,074,916. An Interdominion Pacing Final, two Miracle Miles, NZ/NSW/VIC Derbies featured among fifteen Group One successes together with NZ 3yo triple crown at Addington – NZ 3yo Championship, Flying Stakes and NZ Derby in March 1989.

1980 DELIGHTFUL LADY : 1:58.7, $ 472,705, forty seven wins, forty places; among New Zealand’s greatest ever race mares, her dam was broodmare gem Desilu voted NZ Broodmare of Year in consecutive years. Desilu’s eleven winners produced eight black type performers including Delightful Lady; GN Derby winner First Batch; Delightful Pal 1:57.3US, $195,936; USA winner Top Cash ($148,066) and ten win trotter Daveys Jill. Desilu was from Mischevious (dam of Tobias) by Dillon Hall from Monaive by Logan Pointer tracing back to foundation mare Rita Bell. Desilu is a full sister to Desiree, dam of Elias, Josais, Mathais and third dam of Abdias, NZ Messenger, Taylor Mile and West Australian Buck The Odds.

Delightful Lady recorded thirty eight of her victories at Alexandra Park including five consecutive NI Breeders Stakes wins 1979 – 1983, two Auckland Cups 1980, 1981 and third in another, an ID heat while placing third in the 1983 Auckland Pacers Grand Final to Gammalite and Poplar Alm. Her only Addington win was the NZ Standardbred Breeders Stakes together with an epic length of straight tussle with Hands Down before finishing second in the 1980 NZ Cup.

Delightful Lady was 1980/81 NZ Harness Horse of the Year, nine of her wins came at one mile and she established a number of NZ records over varying distances during her lengthy career from 1976/7 – 1984/5 seasons. She received the ultimate accolade being elected the eleventh member of the NZ Trotting Hall of Fame. A replica of her in full race trim is located in the NZ Trotting Hall of Fame Museum and the Delightful Lady Lounge at Alexandra Park is named after her. She proved unable to conceive due to a chromosome abnormality.

1981 ROYAL ILLUSION : 2:03.0, $37,800, ten wins, six places; from the Jeannie Tracey branch (exported to NZ) of the Lutie Rodger family. Her unraced dam Princess Melody produced fourteen foals including Impressario 1:56.0US (final foal); Almeley, grand dam of Derby king Rufus Young Blood, SA/NSW/AUST/QLD Derbies, VICSS 3c and 4h; Queens Song, dam of Cardinal Star (nine wins), was the third dam of ID winner Our Maestro, $849,313, WA Golden Nugget, Miracle Mile and fourth dam of Sparkling Melody QLD Oaks.  Royal Illusion was unsuccessful as a broodmare leaving no winners.

1982 BONNIES CHANCE : 1:56.2, $355,000, thirty two wins, sixteen places; another among the greats of NZ broodmares of the past five decades, Bonnies Chance was the first multiple winner of the Breeders Stakes – three consecutive editions in 1982 and twice in 1993 (January and December – effectively 1984 edition). She was by Adios stallion Adios Butler from the unraced Aksarben (Light Brigade) mare Bonnie Countess herself from outstanding mare Countess Ada (Stormyway). Half-sisters to Bonnie Countess included Gliding Princess, 2:00.4AUS, NSW Oaks/Derby; Gliding Star, 1:59.2US; Gliding Light, six wins; Gliding Dawn, dam of Franco Glide and third dam of Our Major Mark 1:53.6, $720,180 Welcome Stakes, NZSS – 2c, Jewels – 2c. Third dam Ada Scott won an ID heat at Addington in 1951.

Major race wins for Bonnies Chance included NZ Cup/FFA (also second in both; third NZ Cup), Pan Am mile twice. two ID heats with seconds in Auckland/Easter Cups. NZ mare’s mile record holder 1:56.2, Pacer and Harness Horse of Year, NZ Trotting Hall of Fame inductee. Dam of a solitary winner.

Next Time : Decade 1983 – 1992

Peter Craig

5 January 2022

Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com

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