One Man’s Opinion: Colonial Sires Doing a Job… But What If?

What if the New Zealand harness racing fields could only be filled with colonial-sired, NZ-bred racehorses? Can one imagine that?

Ever since “Adam was a cowboy”, New Zealand breeders have tended to favour imported American sires rather than support the local stallions on offer. Yet as the summer circuit has kicked in, a number of those NZ-breds have been scoring repeatedly, perhaps suggesting that had they attracted a stronger quality of mare, their winning ratios might have looked a whole lot better.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that the Harness 5000 raceday concept will continue into 2026, the 2025 edition delivered a notable result for three-time NZ Cup winner Terror To Love (31 wins, $2.4 million).

Little Spike (eight wins, $158,000), Amass (seven wins, $98,000) and Amaretto Franco (five wins, $95,000) all went under 1:55 for the 1700 metres around Ashburton, doing the son of Western Terror proud.

Matai Harry won his sixth race at Westport to take his earnings to $62,000, while Bryce’s Meddle (eight wins, $131,000 to date) was placed on both days of the Westport meeting.

However, the efforts of such progeny have done little to sway breeders, with bookings of 12, 10, 12 and 15 mares over the last four seasons. In the end, it is a numbers game in the stallion business, and from this vantage point, the chances of this great pacer slipping into obscurity appear increasingly likely.

JR Tolkien won his second race at Motukarara on December 29, becoming the fourth NZ winner for his sire Locharburn. The former NZ Derby winner, by Christian Cullen, has left just 40 foals across six seasons of availability, many of them bred by his former trainer Kevin Chapman.

Bannockburn was one such horse, finishing third behind Little Spike at Ashburton and, prior to that, recording a six-length win at Oamaru. He too has won twice, but from just eight career starts.

Lochdarragh looked very promising when winning in May before going amiss, yet still appeared capable of more if able to make it back to the track.

The oldest progeny of Locharburn are about to turn five in 2026, but with no season of visiting mares exceeding 20, his future in the breeding barn — and therefore his broader impact on the racing scene — would appear uncertain.

Sky Major (15 wins, $796,000), the only horse ever to win three Jewels crowns, has fared better in terms of progeny numbers. However, after seven seasons at stud and a peak of 89 mares served in the 2020–21 season, the writing was on the wall as numbers dropped sharply over the last two seasons. So much so that the son of Art Major has since been exported to continue his stallion career overseas.

Sargent Harry and Jack’s Eyre (Westport), along with Mike’s Eyre (Reefton), recorded their maiden wins on the Coast circuit, with the latter becoming the 26th individual winner for his sire. Notably, 27 percent of those winners have been produced from Bettor’s Delight mares, which brings us back to the question posed at the beginning of this article.

Former champion pacer Lazarus (37 wins, $4.1 million) sired a smart winning two-year-old filly in Little Lily at Cambridge on Christmas Eve. Quicker Than Quick also won his fifth race at Motukarara on December 29, lifting his earnings to $66,000.

Despite ongoing fertility challenges, the son of Bettor’s Delight has managed to sire a millionaire pacer in America in Voukefalas, a Group 1 winner in Australia, and of course a very smart local performer in The Lazarus Effect (eight wins, $153,000 to date).

Yet his breeding numbers — excluding the current season — are trending downwards, as is the case with other colonial sires such as Vincent (Greased Lightning), Raging Bull (King Hit), One Over Da Moon (Mor Moonlight) and Gold Ace (Dover Terrace), even though all have left impressive winners in recent weeks.

So where does that leave an outstandingly bred young stallion like Krug (Bettor’s Delight – Champagne Princess)?

A multiple Group winner who won 20 races and just over $813,000 in stakes, Krug has served just 30 mares across his first two seasons at stud.

It’s raining outside and this writer had some time to ponder what the breeding landscape might look like if only colonial-bred sires filled our stallion tables.

Racing is racing, isn’t it? And it would still be exciting — especially if you had a connection to the winning horse.

Just a thought as the year comes to an end and another breeding season draws to a close.