Gift mare leaves star Victorian trotter
By Peter Wharton
A friendship formed more than a decade ago between respected Amberley breeder, trainer and studmaster Kevin Chapman and owner Michael Bowden paved the way for the breeding of the star Victorian square-gaiter Ollivici.
Ollivici as a yearling
“I first got involved with Michael through a mare called Twilight Rascal. He was looking for a nice horse and the other people that were in her wanted out, so I suggested to him that he should buy a share of her,” Chapman said.
Twilight Rascal, a Presidential Ball mare, won nine races including the Timaru Trotting Cup and the Canterbury Mares’ Speed Series and $67,868 in stakes. At the stud she left the NZ Cup hopeful Beach Ball (1:54), a winner of 11 races to date including the Group 3 NZ Summer Cup and $288,455, and Heroes Square (1:55.3), who won three of his four starts.
Ollivici striding towards victory at winning at Melton
Photography: Stuart McCormick
Another smart mare Chapman trained for Bowden was Tamanisha (by Courage Under Fire).
“She won four races for us and later went to Australia and did a good job over there,” Kevin said.
Bowden and the 2020 NZ Breeder of the Year Trevor Casey raced and bred from the bonny Sundon mare Belle Galleon, trained by Bruce Negus.
She won 11 races and $116,144 and was the NZ 3YO Filly Trotter of the Year in 2003.
The pair bred the first three foals from Belle Galleon in the mighty Stent, a winner of 10 Group 1’s and $1.1 million, the dual Oaks victor Arya ($302,477) and Belle’s Son ($127,058), a NZ Listed winner.
“Michael unfortunately passed away in 2016 and his family gifted me his half share of Belle Galleon,” Chapman said. “I went a year about breeding from her with Trevor.”
“I’ve bred three out of her. The first one I bred was Izmok, who won the South Australian Trotters Cup and the Tontine in Victoria.”
The second foal Chapman bred from Belle Galleon was Daisy Hill.
“I sent her up to John Dickie at Auckland because she couldn’t go left-handed and he won four with her. She set a NZ record one night. John said she was an open class mare but she had problems with her knees,” he said.
Chapman and his wife Barbara are now breeding from Daisy Hill.
“Her first foal is Splash Hill, a yearling colt by Bold Eagle. He’s with John Dickie and at this stage he likes him.
Daisy Hill in 2022 with her Bold Eagle
“Daisy Hill is due to foal to Volstead in November.”
The next foal that Chapman bred from Belle Galleon was Ollivici.
“I sold him for $51,000 at the National Yearling Sales at Christchurch to Chris Lang. He was undervalued at the time because Orlando Vici wasn’t that popular,” Kevin said.
Ollivici has totted up 18 wins and 14 placings from 46 starts for $276,885 and is ranked among the top bracket of trotters in Australia. Numbered among his successes have been the Kilmore Trotters Cup, Victoria Winter Trotters Cup and two heats of the Inter Dominion.
“He’s a nice horse and being an Orlando Vici he’ll get better with age,” Kevin said.
Since producing Ollivici in 2017, Belle Galleon has left What The Bell, an Addington winner as a three-year-old, and Tinkerbelle, a lightly raced placegetter.
In all, Belle Galleon, who died last year, left nine live foals for eight winners and they won 89 races and a whopping $2,128,547 in stakes between them.
She was recognised for her deeds in the breeding barn with the NZ Standardbred Breeders Association’s Trotting Broodmare Excellence Award in 2022.