Unraced mare leaving her mark at stud

By Peter Wharton

Pull The Pin, an unraced mare by the Artsplace horse Art Major and from a family with deep roots in North America, has produced a capable pacer in Pull The Other Leg with her first foal.

Pull The Other Leg wins at Melton – Stuart McCormick photo

The five-year-old, who won six races including the 2021 Thames Pacing Cup under the tutelage of Cambridge horseman Mike Berger, has won three of his four starts at Melton so far – he sat parked throughout at his other appearance.

He beat seasoned fields on each occasion, winning at a career-best 1:53.9 rate over 1720 metres and scoring twice over 2240 metres in 1:54.6 and 1:55.9.

The gelding has now earned almost $90,000.

Pull The Pin, bred by Breckon Bloodstock, was bought by a syndicate comprising Berger’s wife Brenda, Tracey Cort, Mary Corboy and Glen Rowe for $18,000 at the Karaka yearling sale in 2013.

“We took her to the Cambridge trials but she got interfered with and damaged a tendon,” Mike said. “She still managed to qualify.

“We brought her back into work a couple of times later but she didn’t stand up. She was a lovely gaited mare.”

Joined to the Auckland Cup winner Sir Lincoln as a four-year-old, Pull The Pin’s first issue was Pull The Other Leg.

Then, four years later, she produced a filly by Sweet Lou named Pull The Plugs.

“She’s been broken in and is now spelling. We gave the mare away to Alabar Bloodstock last year,” Mike said.

Pull The Pin was out of the Badlands Hanover mare Neat Franco, whose dam, the American-bred No Paba (1:58.3) was by the great Abercrombie from the Armbro Nesbit mare Sunburn (1:58.6), dam of the Little Brown Jug and Meadowlands Pace winner Beach Towel ($2.5 million), a leading sire and broodmare sire in America, Australia and NZ.

No Paba became the dam of the Harness Jewels and Kaikoura Cup winner Nearea Franco, the WA Listed winner Runaway Three and Franco Nevada (1:56.1) and the grand-dam of a champion racemare in Nike Franco (1:48), a winner of 32 races and $913,870 including the Queensland Oaks, Queen of the Pacific and Raith Memorial in Australia and the Allerage Farms Pace and Golden Girls in America.