Title: Celebrating Excellence: Winners of the 2024 Victorian Breeder Awards Announced
The final winners in Harness Breeders Victoria’s 2024 season awards program were announced at the Victorian Horse of the Year event at Melton on Saturday, and we wish to again congratulate the winners and nominees in the Woodlands Stud Victorian Breeder of the Year, the Benstud Standardbreds Victorian Pacing Broodmare of the Year, and the Aldebaran Park Victorian Trotting Broodmare of the Year. For the full set of 2024 Victorian Breeder Awards results, click here.
In the Woodlands Stud Victorian Breeder of the Year, Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms took honours. Based in the Ballarat district, Yabby Dam Farms’ Vicbred-eligible 96 starters captured 169 wins, including The Locomotive and Just Believe, with total stakes of over $3.08m.
The results for breeders this year were close, and nominees included Peter Gleeson with 46 wins by 16 starters and an average of $65,000, and Adam Cahill’s Cahillio, whose 16 Vicbred starters collected 30 wins and average earnings of $104,000.
HBV also recognises smaller breeders Redbank Lodge, Breckon Farms, Ash Haynes, Peter Hayes, Ian Stanley, and Burwood Stud who also had terrific results from the 2024 season.
The winner of the Benstud Standardbreds Victorian Pacing Broodmare of the Year for two years running was the late Coppagoodone (bred by Benstud Standardbreds), who had the two starters in Victorian 5YO Pacing Entire of the Year, Catch A Wave, and Yambukian, who together collected over $852,000 in stakes.
The other nominees to have seen a brilliant season were Delightful Jade for Robert Watson’s Soho Standardbred (Soho Spectre & Soho Rhapsody) and Peter Gleeson’s Our Celebrity (Always Hot & Our Rocker).
The winner of the Aldebaran Park Victorian Trotting Broodmare of the Year was Heavens Above (bred by Yabby Dam Farms), who is the dam of Just Believe, who banked over $974,000 in stakes for the season.
Also nominated were Ash Hayne’s Justa Phoenix (Arcee Phoenix & In Redwhiteandblue) and for Yabby Dam Farms, La Coocaracha (The Locomotive).
Congratulations to the Pangrazio family whose contribution through Cottonwood and later Staffordshire Park to the Victorian breeding industry has been recognised with the 2024 Metro Printing Ian Daff Memorial Trophy. Michael and Denis’ interest in harness racing began in their hometown of Heathcote in the 1970s and started their breeding journey with Hunter Cup place-getter Sheffield Thor. They have built an impressive broodmare band which has influenced breeding in both pacing and trotting gaits over time and have been strong supporters of the Vicbred scheme since its inception in 1983.
Victorian Horses of the Year 2024
As always, we greatly appreciate the ongoing support of industry sponsors for our annual Breeder Awards program.
