Petite Armour a promising filly with a pedigree

The Dunn-trained two-year-old trotter looks full of promise, now the winner of two of her four raceday appearances (with a placing) to date. The What The Hill – Another Love filly boasts the kind of pedigree that suggests she will only continue to develop and “go on with the job.”

Petite Armour is by What The Hill out of Another Love, a mare who won five races for the late Carl Middleton, who also bred her. Following Carl’s passing, several of the Millburn Farm mares were dispersed through auction, and Another Love was quickly acquired by Australian trotting and breeding heavyweight Aldebaran Lodge.

At stud, Another Love made an immediate impact. Her first five foals were all winners, including the now Canterbury-based colonial stallion Carlton, Aldebaran Keepa (10 wins, $175,000), and Aldebaran Floss (5 wins, $70,000). The latter two both recorded sub-2:00 performances and are now embarking on broodmare careers of their own.
This level of production in the breeding barn was enough to see Another Love crowned 2016/17 Trotting Broodmare of the Year.

The Love You mares have certainly proven their worth, and when crossed with the blood of Muscle Hill, the results have often been spectacular.

With three fillies among her first five foals, Aldebaran Lodge were eventually prepared to move Another Love on — and the beneficiaries were the Kingsbury family of North Otago. Mel Kingsbury, daughter of Tardina Stud founders Tony and Anne Parker, bred Petite Armour as the mare’s first foal under their ownership.

A second filly — this time by Creatine — was sold through the 2025 Christchurch Yearling Sale to Blenheim trainer Don Morrison. Purchased rather cheaply at the time, she may now prove a very sound investment in hindsight.

The dam of Another Love, Another Starlet (Sundon – Lilly The Pink), left the exciting young trotter Enghien (16 wins, Group 1 winner, $407,000) along with another 10 winners — tough, genuine racehorses across the board.

Lilly The Pink, an American import, was an open-class trotter for Middleton who won 13 races and famously placed third in an Interdominion Trotting Championship. Beyond Another Starlet, the best of Lilly’s progeny was Jazz Legend, a 22-race winner on both sides of the Tasman who banked $224,000.

One of Lilly The Pink’s unraced daughters, Groovy Baby, also made her mark as the granddam of another Dunn-trained trotter of note — three-year-old Ya Rite Darl, already a seven-race winner with $175,000 in earnings. Fittingly, she too is by What The Hill.

Lilly The Pink was by Jazz Cosmos from Working Girl, a family line with deep roots at Tardina Stud. It is no surprise the Kingsburys secured Another Love given Mel’s father Tony Parker once owned close relation Miss Whiplash (Gee Whiz II – Working Girl) in partnership with legendary horseman Peter Wolfenden. Miss Whiplash won 13 races, was placed in a Rowe Cup, and then left nine winners — many of her daughters going on to breed successfully.

Arguably the best of them was another Love You mare, Yagunnakissmeornot, a 17-race winner who is now producing well in her own right. Tardina Stud have sold top-quality yearlings from this family for decades through the Karaka and Auckland sales rings.

Now 16, Another Love is in foal to Oscar Bonavena, who continues to juggle stud duties with an active racing career. In the meantime, Mark and Mel Kingsbury have a talented young filly to enjoy in Petite Armour — one deeply rooted in a stud-book family their own has cultivated and celebrated for generations.