The old adage that it takes a few decades to become an overnight success was borne out with Undera grazier and hobby breeder Ray Sellwood, whose terrific season got even better when the exciting two-year-old filly Arrhythmia beat a star-studded field in the $100,000 Breeders Crown Final at Melton on Saturday night.
In doing so, the pint-sized Vincent filly became the 27th winner bred and part-owned by Sellwood this season.
“I’ve been in the game for 40-odd years and I can’t believe that we’ve bred this number of winners off the farm in one season,” Sellwood said.
“We bred 18 winners last year, but before that it was probably only one every two years. It has turned around pretty quickly.”
Sellwood’s rise to glory and fame has been on the back of Arrhythmia and her close relative, the boom four-year-old Miki To Success.
“We’ve won the Vicbred Super Series two years running and the Bonanza, Discovery and SA Pacing Cup with ‘Miki’, and the Breeders Crown and Vicbred with Arrhythmia,” Ray said.
Sellwood’s success stems mainly from the Elsu mare Jo Louleonie, who he purchased for $14,000 at the Victorian Yearling Sales back in 2008.
“She won six races but had a breathing problem,” he said.
Jo Louleonie produced Jo An Leonie (by Somebeachsomewhere) as her first foal.
“We offered her at the yearling sale and she was bought by Danny Zavitsanos for $27,000,” Ray said. “I hadn’t met nor heard of Danny at the time.”
“When she finished racing, Danny offered me a half share if I was willing to take her back to breed from.
“After a while, I told Danny that I would take a third share. The best decision I’ve ever made was to take a third, and the worst decision that I’ve ever made was not to take a half!”
A Group 2 winner herself, Jo An Leonie has left four winners from four foals of racing age, including the Listed winner Jo An Jo and Arrhythmia.
Sellwood is currently breeding from only two mares, Jo An Jo and Jo Louleonie, the dam of seven winners including Miki To Success.
“We lost Jo An Leonie due to colic about 15 months ago. We’ve just bred Jo An Jo to King Of Swing,” Sellwood said.
“I’ve got some first-time owners in Miki To Success and it’s a real joy to see the thrill they get out of it. They’re absolute addicts now.”
Ray followed his late father Jim Sellwood into the sport.
“Dad won with horses trained by Alf Simons, Jack Mark, Peter Ward, Geoff Hill, Ian Chambers, Barry Key and himself. His best horses were Mandinka Man, who won 10 races at Moonee Valley, and Twin Track, a good winner at the Melbourne Showgrounds,” he said.
- Captain Perfect, winner of the Breeders Crown Final for the three-year-old boys, became his sire Captaintreacherous’s third winner of the classic in the last four years, joining Perfect Class (2023) and Captain Ravishing (2022)
- Adelaide Red, who won the Breeders Crown for two-year-old trotting fillies, was bred by David and Ann Jack and is a member of the same family as the 2013 Crown champion Im Stately
- The siblings Ultimaction (Mother of Pearl) and Miki Sing, who both won on the same card at Launceston on Sunday, were bred by Victorians Geoff Dodd and Marc Panton and are out of the good racemare Powerful Princess
