Axel Puts His Foot To The Floor

BACK in 2016, Melissa Trowbridge and her brother Nathan Wilson had ridden the crest of an incredible winning wave and were looking to take the very next step.

The sister and brother had achieved some amazing Group success with a litter of pups by Vapour Whirl-Foot Luce a litter they probably should never have bred after the dam won just one race, at Angle Park, from a handful of starts.
But breed they did and along came such racetrack stars as Oakvale Destiny, Oakvale Flyer, Footluce Diva, Texas Titan, Sunday Shoes … all of them Group performers.

Both Melissa and Nathan individually contacted Pedigrees By Design for some ideas on potential matings with the bitches.

Saturday night at Wentworth Park was Melissa's time to shine when her boy Axel Footluce (Kinloch Brae-Footluce Diva) came from near last to win the Group 1 National Derby.

And, Nathan's girl Oakvale Magic (High Earner-Oakvale Destiny) finished third in the Group 1 National Futurity.

So, where did we start when designing the pedigree of Axel Footluce? With his mother of course.

Footluce Diva won 17 races and earned $61,000. She, and her fabulous littermates, have one of the best pedigrees I have studied.

The bitches Broad Band and Scarlett were brought in 2×2 and they are bred on an identical cross being by the litter brothers Big Ginger Boy and Black Shiraz, and both their dams are by Head Honcho.

The 2×2 of identically bred bitches was obviously the powerful influence that went to make this litter so great. But there are some other very strong influences.

Foot Luce is in-bred to the half sisters Sobbing Sal and Hot Show Deb. Their dam Wee Sal is by Chariot Supreme.

Putting Foot Luce to Vapour Whirl brought in a SON of Chariot Supreme (Black Pirate) to balance the two daughter strains in Foot Luce.

Two crosses of Walkabout Sid via his SON Head Honcho were balanced via the daughter of Amerigo Man, a litter brother to Walkabout Sid.

There was also a duplication of Buka Sunset via daughters and this was balanced via the SON (Malawi's Prince) of his litter brother Malawi. This balance of Malawi and Buka Sunset is found strategically placed in the pedigree of champion Bombastic Shiraz.

So, why did we settle on Kinloch Brae as a potential mate for Footluce Diva?
One of the best race bitches (and litters) produced by Kinloch Brae in Australia was that which included Angie Rocks a multiple feature race winner and Group placed. She was outstanding.

Her mother Punk Rock Lass is bred identically to Footluce Diva. They are both by Vapour Whirl, both have the Big Ginger Boy/Black Shiraz cross and both carry crosses of Hoppy's Girl in their pedigree.

Putting Footluce Diva to Kinloch Brae virtually recreated the pedigree of Angie Rocks and her great littermates.

The mating also allows the intensity of bloodlines in Footluce Diva to dominate Kinloch Brae's influence … just like the hugely in-bred Punk Rock Lass did when mated to Kinloch Brae to produce Angie Rocks.

As an aside to this, Pedigrees By Design recommended Angie Rocks' litter sister Rhonda Rocks (a fast Angle Park maiden winner from two race starts) be mated to Fernando Bale a mating that has produced potential superstar Sennachie (2nd G1 Maturity).

The mating Nathan Wilson did to produce Oakvale Magic (High Earner-Oakvale Destiny) was very good. Nathan has since bred Oakvale Destiny to Kinloch Brae and Fernando Bale.

In the High Earner mating, with Oakvale Destiny in-bred 2×2 to Broad Band and Scarlett and both those bitches being from the MALE line of Ginger and out of the FEMALE line of Head Honcho.

The High Earner mating brought in a cross of Wild Season (damsire of High Earner) to "balance" the up-close crosses of Broad Band and Scarlett. Wild Season is a SON of Head Honcho and carries a DAUGHTER of Ginger in his damline.

High Earner is in-bred 3×3 to two DAUGHTERS of Malawi's Prince who is balanced in Oakvale Magic with a SON of Malawi's Prince in the sireline.
New Tears was also balanced in the pedigree.

Oakvale Flyer, the other star bitch from the original litter, has whelped litters to Barcia Bale in February 2018 and been mated to Worm Burner in January.
Footluce Diva has not been mated again. I'll bet Melissa is anxiously waiting to do that now she is the dam of a Derby winner.

Axel Footluce is trained in Victoria by Jeff Britton whose partner, Angela Langton won the Futurity with Laurels winner Circle Of Dreams (Barcia Bale-Mepunga Mia by Cosmic Rumble).

Circle Of Dreams has a very special 4×4 duplication and balance of Brett Lee in her pedigree. Her mother Mepunga Mia is already in-bred to Sobbing Sal and her sister Benji's Babe (New Tears-Wee Sal).

DOWN in Tassie, the Hobart Maiden Thousand went to Ryall (Barcia Bale-Demi Call by St Pierre). She is yet another feature race winner by Barcia Bale bred on the double of the litter brothers Hallucinate and Where's Pedro.

Pedigrees By Design
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