FIVE-YEAR-OLD gelding Wattlebank Flyer posted his best mile rate of 1:56 when he won over 1660 metres at Albion Park in Brisbane on 28 July.

The hardy son of Panspacificflight won one race at Addington for Tim Trathen before being sold to Australia. There he’s notched up another six wins and has now topped $40,000 in career earnings.

He’s part of Panspacificflight’s stellar first New Zealand crop, who’ve now won more than 85 races here, in Australia and in North America.

And from his third crop here, Reciprocity opened her account across the Tasman with a win over a mile in 1:57.1 at Newcastle on 29 July. She was a hot favourite, went straight to the front and led all the way. The speedy three-year-old filly was overdue after three seconds in her four Australian starts.

She won one race here for breeder Lester Smith and trainer Lauren Pearson.

Panspacificflight

FORMER OPEN class pacer Franco Ledger is available to southern breeders at Macca Lodge this coming season.

The horse’s owners, Hamish Hunter and the Whatever Syndicate, persuaded Brent McIntyre to look after the stud duties. There is no service fee.

Franco Ledger was retired after fracturing a pedal bone during last year’s Hannon Memorial at Oamaru. He had returned to Hamish’s Ryal Bush stable after racing in Australia, where he won the Group I Bohemia Crystal at Menangle and placed second in Arden Rooney’s Hunter Cup in Victoria in 2015.

Altogether the Falcon Seelster stallion won 25 races and $682,000 in stakes.

PANSPACIFICFLIGHT’S pin up girl, Arden’s Choice, ran her last race when a luckless fifth in the Four-Year-Old Diamond at the Harness Jewels at Ashburton in early June. She is home at Arden Lodge in Tapanui and will be served by champion sire Bettor’s Delight in the spring.

The spoils of success . . . Arden’s Choice with her owners after her Group I win in 2015

From Panspacificflight’s second New Zealand crop, Arden’s Choice was the pin-up girl for her sire and remains the most successful of his progeny here.

You can read a lot more about Arden’s Choice under Racing Matters. Click here

PANSPACIFICFLIGHT two-year-old Naholo looks an early winner after qualifying impressively at the Rangiora trials on 28 June.

A $22,000 purchase at last year’s yearling sales, Naholo is out of the Badlands Hanover mare Truely Jaccka, who has left the good Australian winners Fliteoftheconcords and Bettor Shape. He’s trained by Brendon Hill.

PANSPACIFICFLIGHT gelding Enoch has bettered 1:50 in his last two wins at Hoosier Park in Indiana.

The four-year-old went 1:49.4 when he won a $US21,000 invitational event on 23 June. Then he clipped a further two-tenths of a second off that time when he won a similar race on 30 June.

Panspacificflight continues to leave top-performing horses in North America where he has sired the winners of $US16.7 million. Now there are also New Zealand-bred sons of Panspacificflight like Wick and Southern Pursuit racing with distinction in the United States.

THE MACCA LODGE Trained South of the Waitaki winter series returns to Addington next month with three heats to be run on consecutive Fridays before a $12,000 final on 28 July.

This will be the third year the winter series has been run.

Eligible horses must have been registered with a southern trainer by the start of May. The series is for three-year-old and older pacers assessed up to Rating 60 as at the closing of nominations for the first heat. A horse must be entered in two heats to be eligible for the final.

Two heats are over 1950 metres and the third, as well as the final, is over 2600 meters. Preferential barrier draws will be used.

Tact Tate, trained by Trevor Proctor, won the inaugural series and Mr Handleman, trained by Brendon McLellan, won last year.

Macca Lodge also sponsor the Trained South of the Waitaki race on Show Day at Addington in November.

THE FORMER Robert Dunn-trained pacer Little Rascal has become the fastest of his sire Panspacificflight’s New Zealand-bred progeny with a winning run in 1:52.6 at Menangle in New South Wales on 03 June.

That time bettered the previous best by Wick, the most successful of Panspacificflight’s first crop here, who has recorded 1:52.8 at Yonkers Raceway in New Jersey. Wick won five times in New Zealand before being exported to the United States where he has won seven races.

Little Rascal won eight races and more than $100,000 in New Zealand. His Menangle win came at his third start in Australia. He’s still owned by Christian Cullen owner Ian Dobson.

FOOTNOTE: The punters didn’t take much notice of Little Rascal’s Menangle win because he paid $22 when he won again on the same track the following week. He has since also run a second.

IT MIGHT BE the holiday season for most but it’s business as usual at Macca Lodge where the stud work allows no time for rest at this time of the year.

A record number of mares — about 250 — are foaling at Macca this season and those who were served late have yet to drop their offspring.

Among the standouts so far are a Bettor’s Delight-Tosca Hanover colt, who is a full brother to 2015 New Zealand Cup winner Arden Rooney; a Mach Three colt out of Brendan Fahy’s former classy filly Raksdeal; and an Artsplace-There’s A Dancer filly, who is a half-sister to the Young Guns heat placegetter Ocean Ridge.

THERE’VE BEEN some big changes at Macca Lodge with the McIntyres deciding to concentrate on their core business, the stud, following trainer Tony Stratford’s departure.

Tony left Macca Lodge at the end of last month and is now training a team of 18 horses at the Gore racecourse.

“Tony decided he wanted a change and to work on his own account,” Macca Lodge co-proprietor Brent McIntyre says.

“With that development, we’ve taken the opportunity to restructure our operation and focus more on the stud,” Brent says. “We’ll basically be returning to what we were doing before Tony came here but we won’t be breaking in as many young horses.”

Tony started at Macca Lodge in the 2014-15 season and trained 23 winners that year, a personal best. In all he had 41 wins while based there.

“We appreciate everything he’s done here and wish him all the best for the future,” Brent says.

One horse Tony has not taken with him to Gore is stable star Pulp Fiction, who has been sold to Australian interests and joined a Queensland stable. He won 12 races and more than $100,000 in stakes.