Harness Racing Victoria’s new $2.75 million Vicbred Vouchers program, which kicked off at Terang on Monday night, has already earned high praise from industry participants.
Lexton breeder-owner trainer Ashleigh Herbertson, who brought out Maxy Bomber to win the first of 150 maiden races carrying a $5,000 Vicbred voucher over the next 14 months, said the new scheme is ‘magnificent’.
“It’s ticked a box in my regard. A lot more needs to be done but it’s a big start,” Herbertson said.
Herbertson bred Maxy Bomber out of the former smart racemare Vapar Raine.
“I trained his mother. She raced in the Group 1 Vicbred and Oaks but unfortunately she got her back leg over a fence in the yard one day and she was never as good after that,” Ashleigh said.
“We ended up pulling up on her and she went to an Alabar mixed sale and was sold to Tasmania.
“A few years later a good mate of mine Jayson Finnis from South Australia rang me to say that he saw that Vapar Raine had been entered for a clearance sale. She’d been such a good mare to us that we ended up buying her back for $400.
“We’ve had three foals from her and she’s in foal again now to Cannibal.”
The first foal bred by Herbertson out of Vapar Raine was Hope’s Choice.
“She won three races but suffered a heart attack at Melton and died on the track,” Ashleigh said.
“The next one is Maxy Bomber.”
Herbertson is planning to use the $5,000 voucher towards breeding to a Victorian registered sire this season.
“John Vagg, who owned the ‘Vapar’ horses, rang me a couple of weeks ago and told me that he wants to get rid of all the horses off the property and one of his good mares is Vapar Grin.
“I am going to take Vapar Grin and put her in foal as part of this bonus,” Ashleigh said.
The second Vicbred voucher race, run at Swan Hill on Tuesday night, fell the way of the very smart racemare Ruby Wingate, who sat parked throughout to win a heat of the Heidi George Mares Classic.
It was her 17th success and boosted her stake total to $186,245.
“She’s been a really good filly. I’ve had a lot of trouble over her career with bad quarter cracks,” owner-trainer Adam Stephens said. “Now we can keep on top of it she’s a lot better.”
“I’ve got Ruby Wingate’s sister Union Belle here and I’d like to get her in foal.”
The Allendale-based Stephens said the Vicbred Vouchers program is a ‘’great scheme.”
The next Vicbred voucher race will be conducted at Ballarat on Thursday night.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON THE VICBRED VOUCHER SCHEME
- Trotting stalwarts Nick Hooper and Paul Graydon bred winners on consecutive nights last weekend in Dichotomy (Melton) and Rarity Rock (Cranbourne)
- Victorian bred stallions were represented by three winners at Melton last Saturday in Cigano (by Poster Boy), Storms Collide (by The Storm Inside) and Nephew Of Sonoko (Danny Bouchea)
- On the subject of Nephew Sonoko, his half-brother Against The Bridle won his eighth race at Bendigo three nights earlier. Both were bred by Bendigo horseman Leigh Graham
PHOTO: TERANG HARNESS RACING CLUB
