The performance of the Worthy Queen Handicap Trot in Addington last Friday evening further highlighted the great achievements of Pegasus Spur across Australasia.
I Dream Of Jeannie, runner-up to winner Mighty Logan, is one of the few Pegasus Spurs still racing, while third-place Muscle Mountain is out of a Pegasus Spur mare.
Pegasus Spur was at Woodland Stud between 2007 and 2020 and was well supported in the mid-2000s. He submitted his largest book in 2007 with 91 mares.
In New Zealand he sired 410 foals for 174 winners (42.4%), while in Australia 52 of his 155 foals were winners (33.5%).
His colts down under earned just over $14 million and he left twenty-nine $100,000 plus winners and another fifty-five $50,000 plus winners.
His best offspring were: Speeding Spur 28 wins for $1,304,992-28, Flying Isa – 26 wins and $520,242, Māori Time 24 and $421,840, Paramount Geegee-14 and $357,236, Wilma’s Mate-14 and $343,257, Mr (Sir) Fahrenheit-24 and $ 300,325, Zealous Spur-20 and $269,844 and I Dream Of Jeannie-14 and $262,904.
Paramount Geegee was his first New Zealand winner, on a two-year-old trot at Addington in January 2010.
“I trained his mother Paramount Star. Studholme (Stud) sent me a brochure of all the yearlings they had for sale that year. There was a picture of Paramount Geegee, and he looked fantastic. I didn’t go to Christchurch and just got a friend of mine, Robbie Holmes, to look at him to explain everything to me and we bought him,” said trainer John Dickie.
Paramount Geegee won seven of his nine starts as a two-year-old, including the NZ Yearling Sales Series Trot, the NZ Trotting Stakes and a heat of The Breeders Crown at Alexandra Park. He won the Breeders Crown at Melton that year.
At the age of three he won eight of his ten starts, including the Northern Trotting Derby, the New Zealand Trotting Derby and the Three Year Old Ruby. And he ended his season by winning the Breeders Crown Final for three-year-old stallions and geldings.
Those victories set the tone for northern trainer John Dickie, who was without doubt Pegasus Spur’s biggest fan.
After Paramount Geegee came Flying Isa and Speeding Spur, all trained by Dickie.
In New Zealand, Flying Isa won the Group One Two Year Old Ruby, the Sires’ Stakes Two Year Old Trotting Championship and the New Zealand Trotting Stakes, while in Australia his Group One victories included the Breeders Crown for Two Year Old Trotting Colts and Geldings, the Australian Trotters Final and the Australasian Trotting Championship.
“He was the leading two-year-old and when he came back at three he pretty much had to race the open class horses. He got back into shape but then he had a bit of a haemorrhage so that’s why we sent him to Luke McCarthy’s.”
Speeding Spur was trained by Dickie and his son Joshua. He won six Group 1 races in New Zealand, including the New Zealand Trotting Derby, the New Zealand Trotting Free For All (twice) and the Rowe Cup.
“He had a great temperament and a great gait, but he was a little weak at the age of two. He matured and developed into a good three-year-old and the rest is history.”
He also won three Group 1 races in Australia, including a Great Southern Star.
“He was a well-traveled horse, but because he was a colt he could handle it in his sleep. You could take him anywhere. He was a gem to train.”
Pegasus Spur was also well represented in Australia, with Māori Time in the lead.
Included in her 24 wins were three Group One Bill Collins Miles.
Outside of his top liners he left behind a pile of good money earners and if there was one horse that sums up Pegasus Spur it would be Monty Python.
It was developed by Oamaru rider Phil Williamson and raced on both sides of the Tasman.
In the 2018 Interdominion Trotting Championship Series he ran fourth, fifth and sixth in his heats before finishing third in the final behind Tornado Valley and Speeding Spur.
Monty Python raced 119 times for 15 wins, 17 seconds and 21 thirds.
After finishing his service as a stallion, Pegasus Spur was castrated and now runs in a paddock at Woodlands Stud with a handful of mares, including his ‘girlfriend’ Della’s Speed, the mother of his biggest winner Speeding Spur.
As Woodlands Marketing Manager Stacey White notes, not many millionaire parents would do that.
And there could be a little more to the Pegasus Spur story if Bet N Win happens to win the Dominion Handicap next month. Because Bet N Win, like another Dominion aspirant Muscle Mountain, is out of a Pegasus Spur mare.
Through Bruce Stewartfor Harnesslink
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