Perfect timing

Bruce Stewart Contributor

The NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales less than four weeks away. Timing is important and breeders hope their mare’s progeny will win as close to sale time as possible to help their sales prices.

The win yesterday by Perfect Potion (Captaintreacherous) at the Forbury Park meeting at Oamaru was perfect for Brian West of Studholme Bloodstock as he’s preparing a half-brother to the mare by Lazarus for the Sales.

The Lazarus - Secret Potion colt (Lot 282)

Driver Blair Orange gave Perfect Potion the perfect trip and the four year old mare came away from a tidy field to win by two and a half lengths.

Perfect Potion is out of the ten win Courage Under Fire mare Secret Potion and is trained by Amber Hoffman. Yesterday’s win was the mare’s second in just nine starts.

Perfect Potion was bred by West and was initially in the Rolleston barn of Mark and Nathan Purdon.

“Mark said to me after a couple of trials that she would have a problem with her joints and suggested she was sent to Amber Hoffman. She looks like a smart filly and I’ll retain her as a broodmare,” West said.

Brian West has had a lot of success with this family and it doesn’t look like ending.

As a yearling West decided to retain Secret Potion and race her out of Mark Purdon’s barn. The same year he purchased Lancome (Courage Under Fire), and the pair raced together.

“I booked them both into Marie Price to break in and she rang me and told me that the two fillies were Mark Purdon fillies. Mark had recently landed in Canterbury and I knew he was quite expensive and you kind of think twice.”

Both fillies did go to Purdon and his training partner Grant Payne and Lancome won thirteen races and $461,277 including the Group One Four Year Old Diamond, while Secret Potion won the G1 Northern Oaks and the G1 Nevele R Fillies Final plus eight other races.

“I sent Secret Potion and Lancome to Captaintreacherous in the early days when he was about ten grand, and luckily I got two fillies which I’ve retained as central breeding stock.”

Lancome’s filly Mon Lancome has won four of her ten starts for Mark and Nathan Purdon.

West is taking seventeen yearlings to February’s NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales and he says the full brother to Don’t Stop Dreaming (Bettor’s Delight) named No More Dreaming, (Lot 301) is the standout in the draft.

“The only word I can say is he’s just perfect and those that have seen him have said the same thing. It’s an opportunity for us to have our best ever sales price. It’s the mare’s final foal. We don’t know what happened but she had him, bled out and five days later she was dead.”

No More Dreaming (Bettor's Delight - Start Dreaming) Lot 301

There are no fillies out of Start Dreaming to continue the bloodline.

“What we did last year was put the granddam of No More Dreaming, Simply Devine, (In The Pocket) in foal to American Ideal. She’s (Simply Devine) only small and twenty two. I said to a mate of mine that I’d put her back to American Ideal and hope like heck we get a filly and fortunately we did, so we’ve got the bloodline back. That’s the most exciting thing. It’s more important than having a colt that we hope is going to make a bit of money.”

West says the standout filly from his draft is by Bettor’s Wish out of Blah Blah Blah. Named Zip Ya Lip (Lot 371) this filly is a half to Please Shuddup (Auckland Reactor), Motor Mouth (Sportswriter) and Soapbox (Santanna Blue Chip). Please Shuddup won five races for Invercargill trainer Murray Brown and a further nine in Australia.