Delphyne turning back the time

It’s now 40 years since a young Arndon colt first entered the world, and just over a decade since he left us. But there is no doubt Sundon was a very special horse.

As a two-year-old, Sundon set tongues wagging by winning 11 of his 11 starts in brilliant fashion and was beaten just once as a three-year-old. He went on to win 27 races from 60 starts, including the Group One Dominion Handicap, and banked $264,000 in stakes along the way.

He then set out to become arguably the greatest trotting sire of the modern era. Such was the success of his progeny that Sundon became champion sire overall, outpointing the most dominant pacing stallions of the time in the process.

That year was 2005, when he topped all stallions, heading off the likes of Holmes Hanover and Live Or Die. His 209 starters that season earned just under $2 million in New Zealand prizemoney. From 2001 through to 2012, he was consistently ranked among the top five sires overall (pacers included) based on money won.

Like all great sires, Sundon has gone on to become a very good broodmare sire. In 2024, he was the leading broodmare sire of five-year-old and older trotters in both New Zealand and Australia.

In the 2024 season, he had just six of his progeny go to the races and, naturally, the current sires’ tables no longer show any Sundons to the fore, remembering he has now been deceased for more than ten years.

So how did Delphyne come about?

The story circulating suggests that Southern stud Macca Lodge was having a bit of a clean-up when they came across some frozen semen from the ‘old boy’. Deciding to use it over one of their mares, Majestic Way (Majestic Son – No Way), the mare duly produced a filly now trained by Phil Williamson.

That filly, Delphyne, was a stylish winner at Addington last Friday night, scoring at just her fifth start and showing the promise of much more to come.

Majestic Way, now being leased by Central Otago identity Rusty Nevill, has some staunch breeding behind her. Although unraced, her first foal Huckleberry (by The Pres) has already been a winner for trainer Lauren Pearson. Macca Lodge also bred two En Solitaire progeny from the mare, both of which are unraced to date. Delphyne is her fourth foal, and Nevill, who stands One Over Da Moon this breeding season at his Central Otago farm, also has two young fillies from the mare by Elite Stride and Father Patrick respectively.

No Way (Armbro Invasion – Whizz Way) won just the once but left a very good trotter in Alley Way (11 wins and $174,000 in stakes), trained mostly by Colin De Filippi, and Only One Way, a full brother to Majestic Way, who won eight races.

Their dam Whizz Way won four races and at stud left Appian Way (six wins in New Zealand before recording 1:56.2 in the USA) for Tony Barron, and open class trotter Idid It Myway (14 New Zealand wins and $199,000 in stakes), who was trained in the latter part of his career by Paul Nairn.

Interestingly, both of those trotters were by Sundon, who was renowned for injecting speed into his progeny.

Whizz Way was one of six winners left by Princess Way, with the standout among them undoubtedly being the Mark Purdon-trained Sundon’s Way. As the name suggests, he too was by the great sire and, after campaigning on both sides of the Tasman at the highest level during the late 1990s, he retired with 15 wins, 30 placings and $316,000 in stakes. That tally would have been considerably higher had it not been for repeatedly finishing behind champion Lyell Creek at Group level.

Princess Way produced 14 foals, four of which were fillies, but only Whizz Way was bred from. The family clearly had a strong affinity for the blood of Sundon, and now through Delphyne, that family may yet turn back the years and enjoy another spell in the racing spotlight.