Reigning Inter Dominion champion and international trotting star Just Believe's bold escape into a fillies' paddock has left a valuable legacy unbeknownst to lucky horse owners.

Gelded at age two before he had raced, a career at stud was never on the cards but his breeder, Yabby Dam Farms' Pat Driscoll, has revealed the plucky Swedish Group 1 placegetter has left a surprise family tree.

Fresh from Just Believe's outstanding European campaign, in which he bounced back from breaking gait in the Elitlopp to place at Ostersund and Boden, Driscoll has reflected on when the Just Believe story began.

The principal of Cardigan's Yabby Dam Farms bought his dam, the American-bred mare Heavens Above, for a modest $10,000 at a dispersal sale of prominent breeder-owner Kevin Riseley in 2009.

Looking for a suitable match for his new acquisition, Driscoll consulted French trotting supremo Yves Abouaf, the owner of Orlando Vici, then available from Driscoll’s Haras Des Trotteurs’ stud for the first time.

“I asked Yves what worked well with Orlando Vici in Europe, particularly outside of France. He said American mares - hence the Franco/American cross - and mares with Speedy Crown in their pedigree, the ultimate being mares that have both,” Driscoll said.

It was to prove sound advice as the multiple Group 1 winners Just Believe and Cravache Dor were both bred on this cross.

Bred and raised at Yabby Dam Farms, the horse affectionately known as Harry, for whatever reason, perhaps being on the smaller side as a weanling, was left in the fillies’ group after weaning.

“As time progressed, like a lot of the Orlando Vici stock, it wasn’t long before he started to let everyone know he was a boy,” Driscoll said.

“Transferred to the colts’ group, although smaller than most, he more than held his own in paddock contests with other colts. So even at a very early age he displayed that fighting spirit.

“I’m not sure if it was leaving him in with the fillies’ group initially or that Orlando Vici offspring coltish traits, but he was to escape from the colts’ paddock and found his way into the fillies’ paddock. Within one day, before he was returned to the colts’ paddock, he had successfully bred two yearling fillies.

“Given his siring ‘credentials’ at the time neither foal was registered, but they are out there somewhere at pony club or trail riding land, unaware of there now famous dad."

Harry was scheduled to be part of the Yabby Dam Farm’s initial venture into syndication.

“He was part of four groups of yearling trotters that (Yabby Dam) planned to syndicate. A syndications manager was employed and parades, et cetera were held, but unfortunately for a myriad of reasons the syndications didn’t proceed,” Driscoll said.

Harry was later broken in by Nathan Cahir, who was employed by Yabby Dam at that time, and educated by the farm's leading trainer Anton Golino.

“He was named Just Believe due to his dam’s name of Heavens Above (a Like A Prayer mare), but I think the turmoil at the time with the syndications may also had something to do with his name as well, with a bit of me thinking, just believe in the farm and trotting and things will work out,” Driscoll said.

As a result, the Yabby Dam model changed from breeding and syndicating to breeding and selling and just racing a few. In the transition to the new model many young trotters were leased out by the farm.

Although showing very good potential, the now very ‘coltish’ Orlando Vici two-year-old was gelded and turned out for a good spell.

“Anton had admired the training skills of Mick Hughes and approached him to see if he could facilitate a lease with himself as the trainer. Mick agreed via his then clients the Iona Syndicate Group and so Just Believe was leased for a three-year period from March 2019 to March 2022,” Driscoll said.

“As is the (Yabby Dam) philosophy of leasing geldings and bringing home previously leased fillies, Just Believe was leased to the Iona Syndicate Group for a further three years from June 2022 to June 2025.”

Unraced at two and only sparingly raced through the initial three-year lease, Just Believe from around 30 starts amassed well over $100,000 in stakes between three and six years.

Following Hughes’s retirement last year, the gelding was transferred to Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars, and, well, the rest is history.

“From a breeders’ prospective Harry had some extremely well-skilled people play their part along the way from Nathan and Anton to Mick and the Iona Syndicate Group to now Jess and Greg, who had dared to dream and had the courage take on the world with their Harry," Driscoll said.

“It’s not often that all the stars align all the way through a horse's racing life, but as a breeder you just believe they will.”

Driscoll said that people often ask him where Just Believe ranks among the best horses bred off his farm.

“It’s an easy answer as the farm has been fortunate to breed a number of good trotters including Arboe, Dance Craze, I’m Ready Jet and Cravache Dor, and Just Believe sits comfortably within that group,” he said.

Driscoll said that after speaking with Duncan McPherson and Golino over the last 12 months, the consensus was that there are a number of Australian trotters who would hold their own on the international stage, particularly if they displayed versatility in their racing styles.

“I guess the world is just starting to realize the same now,” he said. “We’re hoping Harry’s eighth year will be his best. Well, as a breeder I just believe it will be.”

Sew What, the brilliant winner of the Allied Express Cinderella Stakes at Melton last Saturday, was bred and is raced by a group of well known Melbourne trotting identities in John Hawke, Rob Merola and Sam Godino. The mare is also part-owned and is trained by Dianne Giles.

Aldebaran Park principal Duncan McPherson won races in three different countries last week.

Talented three-year-old fillies Aldebaran Miley and Aldebaran Pippi won at Melton and Auckland respectively, while the four-year-old Aldebaran Acrux scored in a career-best 1:55 at Pocono Downs, Pennsylvania.

Lather Up (1:46), the former co-fastest pacer of all-time who is now standing at Kath McIntosh’s Llowalong Farms in Kyabram, was represented by four two-year-old winners at the qualifiers at Harrah’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday.

Buslin Brody, a trotting winner at Bendigo recently, was bred by former Harness Racing Australia boss the late Rod Pollock and his wife, Ann.

Have Victorian breeding news for The Forum? Email whartonp@bigpond.net.au

The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.