A ‘Supa Dupa Luca’ win for the Racks

By Duane Ranger

Hunua dry stock farmer, Gladwyn (Glad) Rack, is delighted he bought two unraced mares at a broodmares sale in Auckland in 1998.

He paid about $5,000 for Our Super Soky (1989 Soky’s Atom – Our Super Gift) and Belle Nuit (1988 Lordship – Belle Fillette).

Gladwyn and Sharon Rack with little grandson Luca, whom Supa Dupa Luca is named after.

The former proved the better broodmare of the two leaving the 2009 Group Three North Island Breeders Stakes place-getter, Little Big Sister .

That now 17-year-old Christian Cullen mare has left Rack and his wife, Sharon, six foals since October 2012.

“She’s the best horse that we have bred. She won more than $220,000 in stakes. I was very proud of her son on Friday. I thought he was coming to the end of it this campaign.

“In fact, we have tipped him out for a couple of months. I’ll be off to Barry’s to get him tomorrow (Monday) and I’ll bring him back to our Hunua property (125 acres) to fatten him up.

“He’s got a bit of talent, but I’m not sure if he’s the best one Little Big Sister has left,” said Rack, who also owns the bay with his wife.

The Auckland breeder was referring to the Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan trained Supa Dupa Luca ( Rocknroll Dance) who won race four in Zac Butcher’s hands at Alexandra Park last Friday.

Supa Dupa Luca is the fourth foal out of Little Big Sister. The 3-year-old gelding has now won two of his nine starts and placed in six others ($24,445).

Rack said he could comment more on Supa Dupa Luca’s ability once he returned from his current spell and competed as a late 3-year-old.

“At the moment I think he’s just a nice horse, who could be better than Mr Euroman who is the most successful foal from Little Big Sister so far,” Rack said.

Mr Euroman, a 2012 Art Major gelding won five races here and several more (19 more and $215,447) in Australia the United States where he went 1:50.1 second-up.

The Greenkeeper (2014 Auckland Reactor gelding) and Sheffield Spark (2015 Art Major gelding) were the next two foals out of Little Big Sister. They one won and two races respectively.

Rack said Supa Dupa Luca came next, followed by a 2-year-old Vincent mare, named Stacey Marie.

“We are delighted with her. Not only because she’s the first filly out of Little Big Sister, and we can breed on from her, but she’s also a really nice pacer.

“She qualified well at Pukekohe in late April and we have also tipped her out. I think the way she’s been going she could make a late 2-year-old,” Rack said.

Last September Little Big Sister gave birth to what Rack termed a “stunning” Bettor’s Delight filly.

“She was a wonderful specimen, but sadly she was dead in her paddock when I went to feed her one morning. She was perfect the night before and dead the next morning.  That was gut-wrenching because she was a stunning filly – and one we could have bred from one day.”

Rack said Little Big Sister was currently in foal to Bettor’s Delight.

“I’m so proud of Little Big Sister. Each one of her foals has won at least one race. It’s important to me that she maintains that 100 per cent winning record,” Rack said.

Little Big Sister won four races here but from October 2009 to February 2012 she also won eight races in Western Australia, including the Group Three WASBA Breeders Stakes and The Race For The Roses – both at Gloucester Park.

Little Big Sister ended her career with 12 wins from 76 starts. She also placed 27 times for $226,721 in stakes.

Rack said the very first horse he owned was Our Super Soky’s first foal, the 1994 OK Bye gelding, Supa Express.

“He won a race for us and then a couple of years later I went and bought his mother at the Broodmares Sale. That’s how it all started,” Rack said.

The Racks were on track to watch Supa Dupa Luca’s victory.

Rack also raced Our Super Soky’s fourth foal – Our Super Operative (by Armbro Operative) – who won four races in a row at Alexandra Park and Cambridge Raceway before getting injured soon after he was exported to Canada (July 2008).

For the record: The best horse that the Rack’s unraced mare Belle Nuit left was the 1999 Fake Left gelding Myson Dylan, who won five races and $63,921.