Slyx Bringing His Family Back into the Limelight

The great thing about this racing game is that winners can come from anywhere — and as the late Jim Dalgety once told this writer, the good families can have a ‘quiet period’ but always have the ability to come back.

The win of Slyx in the Anne Thompson Graduation Final at Rangiora last Sunday put both horse and human families back in the spotlight after long absences from that platform.

Officially bred by Judy May, trained by Terry May, and driven by son Ricky, Slyx, having only his third start, was a gritty winner in the smart time of 3:13.2 (on an easy track). It was the first win for the stable since June 2022 — although it's acknowledged that the ‘team’ is no longer the size it once was during its heyday in the 70s and 80s.

That last winner, The Terrorfier, was by three-time New Zealand Cup winner Terror To Love — ironically the same sire as their latest Rangiora success.

His dam, Fraud (Mach Three – Buyerbeware), couldn’t quite break through in 59 starts, but did place 11 times and earned nearly $20,000 along the way. Slyx is her one and only foal.

Buyerbeware (Courage Under Fire – Az Gold) did manage a win, and her three live foals all made it to the races, with Texas Red (by Washington VC) clearly the best — winning four and taking a best mile rate of 1:55.3 in Australia.

Az Gold, by Malaz (a Lordship stallion), was placed three times from seven starts. Bred by Southland legend Colin Baynes, she produced eight foals for three minor winners across the Swain and Pope families.

Malaz was a top horse for the Hunter family right from his two-year-old debut, but as a homebred stallion, lacked the commercial opportunities of the imported variety.

Az Gold (from Brahmaputra Gold) had eight further siblings. While all eight made it to the races, only two managed to secure wins.

On further investigation, a few things stand out.

During the 1950s through to the 1970s, Southland’s Colin Baynes was a prolific breeder of standardbreds.

Brahmaputra Gold was the 19th (and last) foal of her dam Brahmaputra (Brahman – Riviera), part of a leading stud book family of its time, established by another harness racing legend — Ben Grice.

Riviera (U Scott – Single Star) only had 15 starts but won seven of them. At stud, she left Ruling Caste, who bred on commercially, and Glamour, who was a standout youngster of her era.

And for those who might complain about modern stakes levels…
Ruling Caste won four races and placed eight times from 53 starts for total earnings of just $2,800.

Riviera was a full sister to New Zealand Oaks winner Petro Star, who in turn produced Hindu Star, the dam of Sakuntala and Canis Minor (11 wins).

Once the late Father Dan Cummings and his family got hold of Sakuntala, she produced Tuapeka Star (by Knowing Bret) — and it’s fair to say this family was elevated to one of the most commercial branches in the New Zealand stud book throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Names like Ermis and Iraklis come to mind.

The family was further embellished by the involvement of the Whitelock family of Palmerston North, who secured Tuapeka Star later in her broodmare career and bred a number of high-quality “Braeside” horses.

Kayla Marie (5 wins, $201k) and O’Baby (9 wins, $378k) are just two recent examples continuing to carry this family line forward into the modern era.