PG . 50
FEATURE ~ BREEDERS CUP
The concept for the Breeders cup was based on program successfully running elsewhere in the world and funded by breeders who nominated their stallions to allow the progeny to qualify for entry . In Australia , given the shortage of running bred horses , the progeny of non-nominated stallions have initially been accepted at a higher fee until such time as more of the progeny of the nominated sires are old enough to race . The remainder of the prizemoney is raised by funds generated from a horse sale , the Merrie Elliott Online Performance Auction held through AuctionsPlus , as well as sponsorship from Richmond Bush Sprints and Chris Wallin of Strategic Minerals , a major sponsor of the Richmond Bush Sprints meetings which features the Merrie Elliott Breeders Cup . Today the Merrie Elliott Breeders Cup is the richest Quarter Horse race in Australia with prizemoney at $ 20,000 .
2023 MERRIE ELLIOTT BREEDERS CUP RESULTS - 1st Sullivans Diamond Dream ( Captain Courage x Sullivans Diamond ) Owner – Allan Sullivan Trainer – Tony Smith Jockey – Lee Bowker Breeder – Allan Sullivan 2nd Sullivans Fleetwood ( Wagon Tales x Sullivans Diamond ) Owner – Allan Sullivan Trainer – Tony Smith Jockey – Steve McCann Breeder – Allan Sullivan 3rd Merriallan ( Sullivans Run x Red Hot Mama ) Owner / Trainer – Paul Edwards Jockey -Justin Esser Breeder – Merrie Elliott
Dedicated breeders who valued the speed in the Quarter Horse nominated 12 stallions to get this idea off the ground . They were - Eyesa Sensation , JB Eyesa Hunch , Winning Deck , Chick Ching Cash , Sullivans Fast Man , VLR Outback Jess , First Down Under , GF Illusion , Like A Rock , Kellys Star , Sullivans Run and Sullivans Rocket . These stallion owners and the owners of the 22 runners nominated for the initial Merrie Elliott Breeders Cup all banded together for the promotion of sprint horse racing in this country . They have now been joined by more nominated sires - Instant Reaction , Eastern Eagle , Cool McCue , Wingara Jetstream , Wagon Tales , Sullivans Gatekeeper , Lil Kool Wagon , Go Kelly Go , Hez Our Secret , Ambassadors Jet , Cosmic Dash , Carters Cartel , Jess Lips , One Valiant Hero and Mighty B Valiant .
Following the running of heats , seven horses faced the starter for the final of the inaugural Merrie Elliott Breeders Cup in 2021 . Seductive Sniper , a son of Seductive Fame and out of Gunna Excel , was the ultimate champion ridden to a clean finish by Eli Toby .
2021 MERRIE ELLIOTT BREEDERS CUP RESULTS - 1st Seductive Sniper ( Seductive Fame x Gunna Excel ) Owner / Trainer – John Wharton Jockey – Eli Toby Breeder – Bek Knudsen 2nd Go Kelly Go ( Kellys Star x Lets Go Girl ) Owner – Steve & Sanae McCann Trainer – Steve Mc Cann Jockey – Gemma Hogg Breeder – Dave McCann 3rd Steal The Thunder ( Seductive Fame x Bymyside ) Owner / Trainer – Tony Smith Jockey – Tahlia Dower Breeder – Tony Smith 2022 Merrie Elliott Breeders Cup Results - 1st Go Kelly Go ( Kellys Star x Lets Go Girl ) Owner – Steve & Sanae McCann Trainer / Jockey – Steve McCann Breeder – Dave McCann 2nd Steal The Thunder ( Seductive Fame x Bymyside ) Owner / Trainer – Tony Smith Jockey – Tahlia Dower Breeder – Tony Smith 3rd Merriallan ( Sullivans Run x Red Hot Mama ) Owner / Trainer – Paul Edwards Jockey -Justin Esser Breeder – Merrie Elliott
Many people in the Quarter Horse and Sprint Racing Industries will remember Merrie Elliott ( nee Mattner ) from her years as Stud Manager at Noel and Joan Fennell ’ s Willomurra Quarter Horse Stud established in 1968 in Kersbrook , SA . Twenty years later Merrie married Barry ( BJ ) Elliott and departed from the Stud to start a new chapter of her life . Merrie adds “ Willomurra had three exceptional stallions - Jet Master AAA , Warning Flag AA and Go Far Bob AAAT . Their speed , all round ability , disposition , toughness , and powers of concentration made them , to my way of thinking , the epitome of what a proper Quarter Horse should be . The great sprinters produced at Willomurra such as Tweed , Donegal , Finnigan AAA , In Flight AAA , Fantail AA and Katy Bar etc . consistently demonstrated the versatility of the running horse once they left the track . Barry and I never deviated from the ideal of those Willomurra horses and although the stallions we used - Ole Sugar Daddy , Great Stuff , Tamale and Winning Deck were unable to prove themselves on the tracks due to the cessation of racing , the speed was bred in them , and the other qualities were there in full measure .”
For decades the Elliotts withstood pressure to breed their running mares to stallions of non-speed lines , using their homebred stallions and Mr Fitzjester TB in preference , until purchasing Winning Deck from Steve Hogno . Merrie explains , “ It was never an option for us to abandon our herd of pure speed horses who ’ d always stepped up to the mark in whatever we asked of them and who could withstand the hard work Barry expected .”
Horses bred by the Elliotts over the ensuing 35 years went on to excel in every discipline their new owners set them to - from campdrafting , roping , steer wrestling , barrel racing , polocrosse , mounted games to show jumping and everything else in between . And with great racing opportunities like the Breeders Cup growing in strength and numbers the opportunities for breeders of these speed horses will bring them to the fore once again .
“ At first , I was aghast to learn that Allan Sullivan had hung my name on the Breeders Cup , but it was a done deal before I knew about it . So , I decided to view it as an honour . The fact that I regard speed as an essential component of the Quarter Horse made it easier to come to terms with my name becoming public ” added Merrie . “ Allan has really stepped out of his comfort zone in developing and promoting the Breeders Cup . It is my sincere hope that the racing people of North Queensland can come together , keeping lines of communication open , losing no opportunity for discussion and for ever keeping the big picture in front of them
AUSTRALIAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION - www . aqha . com . au