Tracy trotting up a storm for Pat

Victorian trotting aficionado Pat Driscoll’s unwavering faith in New Zealand bloodlines was rewarded when the homebred filly Tracy The Jet downed a top-class field in the $500,000 The Ascent slot race at the Show Day meeting at Addington.

It was her seventh win on end and her ninth success from 14 starts, lifting her stake tally to $406,668. “I was pretty excited. It was a really great moment for Jess Tubbs and James Herbertson and her owner Domenic Martello, who puts an enormous amount into the sport,” Driscoll, whose name is etched into the sport’s history as the breeder-owner of the mighty Just Believe, said.

The winner of four Group and Listed races this season, Tracy The Jet looks almost certain to be crowned Australian 3YO Trotting Filly of the Year for 2025. “She is probably the first horse in Australia I think that would be capable of racing at Vincennes. I think she could actually do well in France,” Pat stated. “She’s got speed and she’s strong and she’s a good beginner. She’s a big, powerful filly and you need that to be successful over there.”

The Tracy The Jet story actually began 12 years ago when Driscoll, then in the formative stages of building his Yabby Dam Farms breeding and racing enterprise, travelled to the Auckland weanling sale and purchased Cyclone Jeter from North Island breeders Aaron Lowe and Todd Macfarlane. A daughter of Majestic Son, Cyclone Jeter won 10 races in a brief but sparkling career, including the G3 Chris Howe Trotters Cup and the Lightfoot Laurels at Melton.

“She had a lot of speed but was a bit weak,” Driscoll recalled. “The two foals she’s produced are by Volstead and Love You, who have put a lot of strength into them.” Her first foal, Derek The Jet, was unbeaten in nine 3YO starts, sweeping The Holmfield, Need For Speed, Nutrien Equine Classic and Lunar Lass Classic. Tracy The Jet followed as the second foal.

Both youngsters sold strongly when offered at the Nutrien Melbourne Yearling Sales — Tracy The Jet for $70,000 and Derek The Jet for $37,500. Cyclone Jeter has since produced a yearling filly by the exciting American import E L Titan, nominated for next April’s Nutrien Sale, and this week foaled a filly by Face Time Bourbon. “She will now most likely be bred to Callmethebreeze now that he is back in action and doing well with his pregnancies,” Driscoll said.

Cyclone Jeter hails from one of the most potent trotting families in the New Zealand Stud Book. Out of the grand Safely Kept mare Cyclone Vance, she is a sibling to Great Southern Star champion Glenferrie Typhoon ($561,169), dual Jewels winner and former NZ trotting mile record holder Cyclone U Bolt ($230,225), NSW Trotting Championship winner Cyclone Jake ($175,552), Cyclone Dream ($124,134), and Trotters Cup victors Cyclone S Adams and Cyclone Lucky Seven.

Tracy The Jet’s Show Day heroics — following the deeds of Just Believe at Addington 12 months earlier — have been the icing on the cake for Driscoll’s growing New Zealand interests. Last August he sent a team of trotters to Auckland trainers Bernie Hackett and Michelle Wallis, including Belle Neige, who has reached a new level since arriving, winning seven races in rapid succession at Alexandra Park. Courmayeur and Iron Love have also been successful, while Val Thorens has been placed.

In February, Driscoll made an eye-catching entrance to the NZ yearling sales when offering a colt by the French titan Face Time Bourbon from dual Australian Trotting Mare of the Year Dance Craze at Karaka. The colt, Duke Of Bourbon, topped the trotting division at $240,000.

More recently, he has taken his first steps toward expanding his breeding footprint in New Zealand, relocating stallions On A Streak and All Cashed Up — along with 15 broodmares — from Victoria to Darryl Brown’s Wai Eyre Farm in mid-Canterbury. “I love what is happening in NZ at the moment,” Pat said.

On A Streak, a son of Cantab Hall from a Muscles Yankee mare, earned $852,284 as a 2YO, winning the USA Breeders Crown Final and the William Wellwood Memorial. All Cashed Up, by Ready Cash from a daughter of Kadabra, earned $226,921 and placed in multiple Group 1s across both sides of the Tasman.

“I am now in partnership in the 15 mares with Darryl. Most of the mares I sent across were in foal to E L Titan, as we didn’t get the early patronage with him in NZ that I thought we would,” Driscoll said. “I think he’s going to be a good sire here. He’s already doing a great job in America. Several of the mares are being bred to On A Streak and All Cashed Up. I have learned that I have got to support my own stallions.”

The broodmare band includes Bouttemont (by Ready Cash), dam of Nutrien Classic winner Jilliby Aura; Norquay ($120,000); dual Vicbred champion Aldebaran Eve ($158,000); Riviera Queen; and Eternity, a French-bred daughter of Ready Cash and half-sister to Used To Me and G1 winner Gardena Ronda.

Driscoll’s stallion roster now spans Europe, North America and Australia, with frozen semen from American champion Walner, Winner’s Bet, and Back Of The Neck; and leading Europeans Face Time Bourbon, Classic Connection, Ecurie D, Nad Al Sheba and Dimitri Ferm. The French-bred Callmethebreeze, 2024 Great Southern Star champion; Classic Connection; and E L Titan are standing in Victoria, while Always Ready and Used To Me are based at Somerset Farms in Queensland.

Driscoll currently owns around 50 broodmares in Victoria. “I’ll probably look to move on 15 mares this year. I want to help set up trotting in southern NSW. I want to use those mares to help achieve that.”

The Pat Driscoll story knows no bounds.