Where Are They Now: Adore Me | The Legacy Of A Queen

There are few mares who have captured the imagination of a racing nation quite like Adore Me. Nearly ten years on from her unforgettable triumph in the 2014 New Zealand Trotting Cup, the daughter of Bettor’s Delight continues to cast a long and luminous shadow across both the track and the breeding barn.

For co-owner Paul Kenny, that day at Addington remains etched forever in memory — a moment of euphoria, legacy, and vindication for the late, great Dr. Charles Roberts and the family that continues to nurture one of the most powerful maternal lines in the modern studbook.

“She’s not the sort of mare or the sort of moment you ever forget,” reflects Paul Kenny. “We went into the Cup encouraged by the run she’d had at Ashburton, but with no illusions about how hard it is for a mare to win the race — particularly given that standing starts weren’t her favourite occupation. But Mark being a genius, he got her away to a really good start, and the rest fell into place. We hadn’t gone along with any expectations whatsoever.”

Kenny still recalls sitting in the Addington stands beside his wife Mary, unable to tell whether they had won. “We didn’t even know we’d won until someone said, ‘you’ve got it’. It was just incredible.” It was a victory that meant more than most, not only for the mare’s connections but for Roberts himself, whose lifelong devotion to breeding excellence had found its purest expression in Adore Me.

“Yes, Charlie was alive when she won, but he wasn’t able to travel,” says Kenny. “It was an achievement of a lifetime for him — the culmination of years of effort. We’ve still got all the newspaper clippings and photos from that week; it was marvellous. We were wrapped for him, principally.”

That moment was decades in the making. Roberts’ friendship with American horseman Harry Harvey had been instrumental in bringing Scuse Me (by BG’s Bunny) back from the United States. “Harry rang and told him that ‘Scuse Me’ was for sale and could be purchased. It became a whole family effort — and Charlie being Charlie, he wasn’t going to bring her home empty. From memory, he sent her to Life Sign before she got on the plane.” That decision began a dynasty, producing a broodmare line that would go on to shape New Zealand’s pacing landscape through the likes of Imagine Me, Have Faith In Me, and ultimately Adore Me herself.

At her peak, Adore Me was simply unstoppable. From her 36 starts she recorded 26 wins, four seconds, and three thirds, earning $1.67 million in stakes and setting national records across multiple distances. Her 1:47.7 mile in the 2015 Ladyship Mile at Menangle shattered Australasian benchmarks. “Mary and I missed only one of her starts — her debut. We were there for everything else, even some of her trials. I’d turn up at Rangiora in an Uber just to watch her go around! When she clocked that 1:47.7, the crowd went silent. It was surreal.”

Her glittering résumé included the G1 New Zealand Cup, G1 Breeders Stakes, G1 Queen of Hearts, and the NSW Ladyship Mile. She was twice named New Zealand Mare of the Year and the 2014 Pacer of the Year. Yet, as Kenny notes, her greatest chapter may have only just begun.

Few mares of her calibre manage to leave an equal mark as broodmares, but Adore Me has defied that convention. Her first six foals were all fillies — and all winners.

Her first foal, Sweet On Me (Sweet Lou) won six of her seven starts before injury curtailed her career, collecting the G1 Harness Jewels 2YO Diamond, the G1 NZ Sires Stakes Championship, and the Delightful Lady Classic. Named NZ 2YO Filly of the Year, she tragically passed away earlier this year after leaving two foals: Infamee (Captaintreacherous) and Indulge Me (Downbytheseaside). The latter was purchased by Price Bloodstock and has already won a $30,000 Sires Stakes Fillies Heat and placed twice from three starts. “We were thrilled with her — it was huge, getting that result with the first foal. Charlie had wanted to send her to Christian Cullen originally, but the semen wasn’t fertile enough. So we switched to Sweet Lou, Woodlands’ new stallion at the time, and we were delighted to get that filly. She was outstanding.” Sadly, Sweet On Me’s story ended abruptly when a piece of barberry hedge caused an infection in her foot. “She ended up with an infection in the coffin bone. We tried everything, but she was suffering, and we couldn’t bear that. It was heartbreaking.”

The second foal, Darling Me (Sweet Lou) won 13 races and over $230,000, with multiple Group placings and Listed wins in the Uncut Gems and Sires Stakes Southern Mares Classic. “Darling Me was a big mare, a strong type who ruled the roost. Amanda Telfer did a wonderful job with her.” She has since gone to stud, producing a Captaintreacherous filly for the estate of Charles Roberts and is now owned by Todd and Fleur Anderson of Taffy Ltd.

The third filly, Remember Me (Captaintreacherous), was G1 placed behind True Fantasy and won the G2 Raith Memorial in Australia, but her career — and life — were cut short. “She developed a rare form of cancer and had to be put down. You can have wonderful luck, but it’s always balanced by bad luck too.”

The fourth, Forever Me (Sweet Lou), was a G2 Delightful Lady Classic winner at just her fourth start for Steve and Amanda Telfer, and has since retired to stud after leaving a Captaintreacherous colt.

Then came All You Need Is Me (Captaintreacherous), who turned heads with six wins and $194,000 in stakes, including the G2 Ladyship Stakes and G1 Great Northern Oaks for Kentuckiana Lodge and the Kennys. “She’s been retired too after suffering a small pastern fracture that required three screws. She’s been served by Sweet Lou this season and is in foal.”

Her sixth foal, Cherish Me (Downbytheseaside), is a 2YO in training with Kentuckiana Lodge. “She’s a lovely filly, but she’ll take time. We’re being patient with her.”

Her 2023 yearling colt Captain Me (Captaintreacherous) sold for $360,000 and, according to Kenny, “was probably the nicest colt we’ve bred — the perfect horse.” The 2024 weanling colt, also by Captaintreacherous, is being prepped for the sales and “coming along nicely.”

From 2018 onward, Adore Me has conceived exclusively by embryo transfer — a decision driven by health management rather than convenience. “She gets terribly sick in the early stages of pregnancy, so we use surrogates. We’re lucky in Standardbred breeding that ET allows us to protect mares like her.”

The mare’s 2025 campaign produced a heartbreak of its own when her surrogate delivered a dead Sweet Lou colt, but she has since been successfully served again by the same sire and confirmed in foal.

For Kenny, the pride is shared with humility and gratitude for the breeding foundation laid by Mary’s father. “We’re terribly fortunate. Mary’s father worked so hard to assemble the broodmare band he did, and that’s what’s enabled all this.” That same sense of stewardship extends to others now carrying the family banner. “We’ve been pleased to sell to people like the Andersons and the Prices — they’re friends, and you know they’ll do the right job. The happiest people on course when Indulge Me won at Addington were Mary and I, other than John and Katrina.”

It’s a fitting testament to the spirit of sharing and continuity that defines the Roberts–Kenny dynasty. From Scuse Me to Adore Me and beyond, the family continues to shape the Standardbred landscape across generations. “Downbytheseaside is proving a phenomenal success for Woodlands — he’s leading the two-year-old sires in North America. Charlie always preached speed, fertility, and numbers — those were the three keys. Bettor’s Delight was the great example of that, and now Sweet Lou and Downbytheseaside are doing the same.”

As Cup Week rolls around once again, Adore Me’s name will be invoked with reverence — the last mare to conquer the great race, and the matriarch of a dynasty still expanding its reach. Her story, much like the family that created her, is one of brilliance, belief, and enduring legacy.