Go on Yougoodthing!
By Peter Wharton
Semi-retired Central Otago businessman John Harley saved his best for last in respect of breeding standardbred horses.
Goyougoodthing, who is proving one of the ‘finds’ of the season in Victoria – he has won three of his last five starts – was the second last foal ever bred by the Clyde travel agent.
Hey Goyougoodthing (2)
(c) photography: Stuart McCormick
Harley bred the promising A Rocknroll Dance five-year-old gelding with close friend John Cutler, a Wanaka real estate agent, and Waikouaiti professional horsewoman Amber Hoffman.
The gelding was broken in by Rolleston trainer Robert Anderson and spent the early part of his life at Syd and Shona Brown’s property at Mosgiel.
Harley and Cutler had earlier been involved in two or three horses with Syd including Soncerre (by Christian Cullen), a winner of two races for Tim Butt and Phil Anderson.
“Syd told me he was impressed with the way he (Goyougoodthing) was going along as a yearling,” Harley recalled.
Trained by Hoffman, Goyougoodthing won at his first start at Gore over 2400 metres as a three-year-old.
‘’He toughed it out to win that day. We had a good offer from Australia and we accepted it,” Harley said.
Goyougoodthing was bought by well known Perth standardbred agent and owner Frank Ranaldi in September 2022.
The gelding has since won five races including two at Melton with 10 placings from 36 starts and lifted his stake tally to just over $40,000.
Tiz A Cullen, the dam of Goyougoodthing, was one of two Christian Cullen mares raced by a syndicate including Messrs Harley and Butler. The other mare was Trunk Music.
“We bought Tiz A Cullen at the Christchurch yearling sales in 2004. She won a couple of races for us,” Harley said.
“The syndicate bred a couple of foals out of her and then the other guys lost interest in breeding, so John and I decided to go ahead ourselves.”
In all, Tiz A Cullen produced seven foals, of which five were successful – all inside 2:00.
Besides Goyougoodthing – her sixth foal – she left the good Menangle winners Look And Listen (1:52.7) and Real Intentions (1:55.1), the Melton winner Fusion (1:59.6) and the NSW provincial winner Dancemeoutside (1:59.9). Tiz A Cullen figures as the second dam of the thrice Menangle victor Lookatthebeach (1:53.1).
Her last foal, Molly O’Toole, a sister to Goyougoodthing, unfortunately died last December.
Goyougoodthing belongs to a powerful family founded by the Dale Axworthy mare Estella Amos, who was imported to New Zealand by legendary studmaster and trainer Freeman Holmes in 1923. She became the dam of the three-time NZ Cup winner and one-time mile record holder Indianapolis, the dual Inter Dominion heat winner Miraculous and the NZ Derby winner Imperial Jade.
Tiz A Cullen was a half-sister to the cup class pacers Percy The Punter ($332,067) and All The Way ($118,675) and Bizzie Girl, dam of the NSW Pink Bonnet winner Eliza Dushku ($234,949) and the grand-dam of the millionairess Encipher, winner of the inaugural The Eureka.
Another half-sister in Run To Vegas left four winners including Shanlou (1:50.7) and Viva Las Vegas ($190,845).