My trotter that I purchased out of the classified adds in NZ in 1978 was a 2yo Colt by Great Evander who was the top NZ stallion for years. He was a pacer who won as a 2yo, went to stud and left 90 percent trotters. I noticed all the top Great Evander's has the stallion Light Brigade in the mother's pedigree. Petite Evander raced here and did great as well as 2 or 3 countries in Europe.
Light Brigade was one of the foundation trotting sires in New Zealand harness racing. He was imported from the United States and became enormously influential in the 1940s–1960s, especially through his daughters and grand-progeny. His bloodlines appear repeatedly in many of the great New Zealand trotters.
Light Brigade was a son of the famous American sire Volomite, and he helped inject more speed into New Zealand trotting bloodlines at a time when stamina and toughness were highly valued. His influence became especially important through broodmare lines rather than just direct sons.
My horse was inbred as his mother's Father was by Junior Royal by Fallacy by Light Brigade (Junior Royal was a pacer who was famous for dead heating with Cardigan Bay, the first millionaire standardbred. And his Mother's mother was also by Fallacy making half brother and half sister mating (Yikes)
I knew a well known trainer over there who also believed if you put a pacing bred stallion to a trotting mare, you would get more stamina and bred quite a few.
Anyway, My horse won 24 races there and was NZ trotter of the year two years in a row and he won most every feature they have over there and in one race he won over 2600 meters (1 mile 5/8) breaking the trotter's time by 4 full seconds and going faster than any pacer had gone. I believe he is the only trotter there to ever go faster than any pacer ever.
He was nothing to look at, was battle scarred from getting caught in fences before i got him and has 3 suspect legs including missing over a year with a broken splint bone (removed). I would have loved to have kept him a stud but he was not sound and the vet said just geld him which we did.
Funny story, when he came out to the farm to geld him, he gave him the anesthetic and he stood there and would not go down, He gave him a bit more, and nothing, then more and he finally went down. Before he could finish the horse woke up.
The vet said, This fucker must have a set of lungs and a heart in him, I have never had to give a horse that much ever and then for him to wake up. He broke stride a lot and it took 10 starts for him to win a race He had a hitch in behind and would sometimes trot rough. When he went the world record he threw a hind shoe and was trotting rough coming around the home turn
Here is a race from 42 years ago, I am getting old, just turned 65 now but what a first horse to own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC7G9Y8g92w&t=201sWe took care of that guy, he was skin and bone when he came from the North Island to the South, he had hooves that had not been trimmed in months and had curbed hocks, bone splints (bone splints were famous form the Stallion Fallacy and he had that double strain which was the incest part. I know when i got him he would be a project but we fixed him up and he did not race until a late 5yo but boy was it worth the wait.
He only got his maiden win in his 1st ever behind the gate in start 10. The secretary said he would not make the field and I said, we he just beat FFA pacers over a mile and a half from behind the gate in a workout. I said call up your friend at my home track and he will verify it. He got his start and won
Bottom line is I am a proponent of mixed gait breeding. Look at Googoo Gaagaa and his son Captain Corey
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