By Peter Wharton
The first progeny of exciting, young sires Betting Line, Racing Hill and Guaranteed underpin the 2020 Tasmanian Harness Sale, to be held at Carrick Park on Saturday, February 15.
Betting Line, the 2016 Little Brown Jug and North America Cup winner, has a single entry, Lot 20, a filly out of Western Cheater, a Western Terror mare from the family of Risen Star, Punt Road Disco, Vande Velde and Vinokourov.
Racing Hill, the USA Breeders Crown 3YO champion, and the colonial bred Guaranteed, a four-time Group 1 winner, are represented by colts as Lots 1 and 10 respectively, both bred by northern breeder Shane Hawes.
The Racing Hill colt is the first produce of the Granny Smith winner Ark Breeze, a half-sister to four winners including Drifting West (Tas. Sires Produce) and Frankie Falzoni, while the Guaranteed colt is out of the Shadow Play mare Flightofthedragon, whose dam, Penny’s Dragon, won eight races including the Matron Stakes.
Of the 18 lots in the catalogue, 13 different sires are represented.
Rock N Roll Heaven, the sire of the Ballarat Cup winner A G’s White Socks and champion filly Shez All Rock, has the biggest entry with three lots.
World champion Sunshine Beach has two fillies nominated, one a lovely skewbald filly and the other from a star-studded New Zealand family.
Sweet Lou and the defunct Hurrikane Kingcole, the leading first-crop sires in Australia last season, both have single entries.
Other well-credentialled sires are Well Said, Modern Art, Metropolitan, Tell All, Village Jolt, Sutter Hanover, Major Bronski and Caribbean Blaster.
The on-line catalogue, with photos of the yearlings, can be viewed here.