Melton winner Terry traces to top racemare Arania
By Peter Wharton
The convincing end-to-end success of the Terror To Love gelding Terry at Melton recently has revived memories of that great New Zealand racemare of yesteryear Arania.
The daughter of U Scott won 12 races in a glittering career including the 1959 NZ Oaks, 1961 Dunedin Cup and two heats of the 1961 Inter Dominion at Addington and finished third in the Grand Final.
Terry (3)
Photography (c) Stuart McCormick
Arania’s influence on the breeding industry almost outweighs her racetrack accomplishments. Among the myriad of her descendants are horses the calibre of General Frost, Hurrania, Newsbreaker, Ananz, Swing Out Sister, Nandolo (1:48.6), Just Cala, Let’s Thank Heaven and Khan’s Thunder, all Group 1 winners.
Terry, who has won nine races to date – seven in NZ and two in Victoria – for earnings of $105,816 and is proving a capable pacer in his own right, is five times removed from Arania.
The gelding was bred by Christchurch market gardener Michael Case and his parents Gavin and Margaret.
“We bought his grand-dam Silky Princess for $5,250 off Roydon Lodge at the Christchurch yearling sale in 1992. She was the first horse we ever bought,” Michael stated.
Silky Princess (by Smooth Fella) never raced but has made quite an impact on the breeding shed.
Her first foal, Smooth Trickster (by Cam’s Trickster) won 12 races in NZ including the 2001 Kurow Pacing Cup and contested the NZ Cup in 2001 before being sold to America where he finished up with a stake tally of $156,873.
“He was plagued with leg problems throughout his career,” Michael said.
Silky Princess’s second issue, Carania, also to the cover of Cam’s Trickster, won in restricted company at Greymouth as a three-year-old. Retired to the stud, Carania has left eight foals of racing age so far and Terry is her only winner.
“His younger brother Terry’s Brother was just a good as Terry but had suspensory trouble,” Michael said.
Shine All Over Me, a four-year-old mare by Sunshine Beach from Carania, is being trained by Woodend Beach conditioners Greg and Nina Hope and will shortly be headed to the qualifiers.
Silky Princess produced another winner in Black Regal Princess (by Stonebridge Regal), who won seven races and $51,918 and took a mile mark of 1:58.6. One of only two fillies left by Silky Princess, she is now being bred from by the Case family.
The breeding record of the Case’s is unique in NZ standardbred breeding. They have bred only 16 foals of racing age for four winners and two have qualified for the NZ Trotting Cup – Smooth Trickster (2001) and Terry (2021).
That’s a record that will take some beating!
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