Is this Lauriston's next millionaire?

ANNE and Bill Anderson’s Lauriston Bloodstock pulled off another coup last weekend when emerging four-year-old Sure Thing Captain secured the last spot in the $2.1million TAB Eureka slot race to be run at Menangle on Saturday night

The Shannon Price-trained gelding will become the third Lauriston Bloodstock-bred pacer to reach $1 million in stakes – behind Ladies In Red ($1.1mil) and None Bettor ($1.1mil) – if he wins the world’s richest harness race.

It is a major achievement for Sure Thing Captain’s dam Musical Delight, which also produced inaugural Eureka runner Ripp last year.

Sure Thing Captain is second favourite for The Eureka in early markets behind superstar WA pacer Never Ending, which is a graduate of the 2021 APG Perth Sale.

The Anderson’s have bred some of the best pacers to race in Australia during the last 15 years.

Their stock include superstar mare Ladies In Red, Hunter Cup winner Honolua Bay, Chariots Of Fire winners Poster Boy and Maffioso and Victoria Derby champion Our Little General.

Those five horses have combined earnings of more than $4million.

Add to that, None Better (1.48.8, $1.1mil), Two-Year-Old Breeders' Crown Final winners Hurricane Harley (1.50.5, $726K) and Follow The Stars (1.53.8, $707K), dual Breeders' Crown Final winner Speak No Evil (1.50.9, $354K) and Two-Year-Old APG filly Final winners Musical Delight (1.53.1, $248K) and Queen Of Pop (1.55.6, $204K) and you can see why Lauriston’s draft of five yearlings at the 2025 APG Melbourne Yearling Sale on February 2 will be highly sought after.

Anne said they had decided to return to the APG sale because they believed the early sale date was more suitable.

“If you are in the last sale of the year, there has already been 800 or so yearlings sold ahead of you,” Anne said.

“We are keen to return to the early February format. We sold through APG for many years and we are looking forward to returning to the APG Melbourne experience in February.”

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Anne said all five yearlings were excellent quality but the youngsters from Group One winning mares Musical Delight and Queen Of Pop are destined to attract plenty of attention.

Musical Delight’s colt by Huntsville could well be a sale topper. She has already produced Eureka runners Ripp (1.50.4, $287K) and Sure Thing Captain (1.52.1, $164K), Young Rooster (1.58.4, $219K) and Beach Music (1.54.5, $154K) from her first four foals.

Ripp and Beach Music are by Somebeachsomewhere, the sire of Huntsville, and Sure Thing Captain is by Captain Treacherous, a son of Somebeachsomewhere - so the cross definitely work well.

Queen Of Pop’s filly, by King Of Swing, is a half-sister to New South Wales Oaks winner Just Hope (1.52.5, $376K) and Bathurst Gold Crown winner Chart Topper (1.52.6, $102K).

“We bred both mares. They are half sisters. Musical Delight won the (2YO fillies) APG final (in 2012) and Queen Of Pop won the same race two years later," Anne said.

“The colt is an outstanding type and the filly is from the first crop of (three-time Miracle Mile winner) King Of Swing. I think there will be quite a bit of interest in his first crop of yearlings.”

The Andersons grew up in harness racing families but have only been semi-commercial breeders for 19 years.

“My parents came from a rural background and we attended the Melbourne Showgrounds every week,” Anne said.
“My father was a hobby trainer based at Dales Stables in Maribyrnong and Bill’s family also went to the Showgrounds on a regular basis.

“We are currently breeding from 18 mares.

“We decided to source the best bloodlines from NZ and USA when we established the broodmare band for Lauriston Bloodstock. They became our foundation mares and we are breeding from their daughters now.

“We continually research into current bloodlines. We recently spent three weeks in the USA and Canada touring studs and attending race meetings.

“We have mares also selected to support our stallion Poster Boy.”

Poster Boy is the leading first season sire in Australia with 14 winners from just 73 foals – an average of 20 per cent winners with four months of the season remaining.

His son The Highlight Reel has earnt $247,000 and was fastest qualifier for the $150,000 two-year-old colts Vicbred Super Series with a 1:54.7 heat win at Bendigo on August 28.

The Anderson’s Poster Boy colt, Silver Pistol, also qualified for the semi-finals with a close second to The Highlight Reel.

The Andersons have booked five mares to the superstar son of Sweet Lou, Confederate, for the upcoming season – including Ladies In Red and her all-American bred dam Kabbalah Karen B.

“We went to the Red Mile to watch Confederate race while we were in the US and also checked him out in the stalls. He really is an outstanding stallion and we are fortunate to have him here in the flesh,” Anne said.

• APG Media