Hasten Slowly's Stud Career Ready For Takeoff

ANGELA Langton and her mum Sue Smith must have had a premonition when years ago they decided to race their greyhounds under the syndicate name of Champagne Partners.

Especially when it came to the past couple of years when the corks were popping with regularity via the deeds of a dog called Hasten Slowly.

The son of Fernando Bale-Heidi Go Seek retired to stud recently after contesting the Group 1 Perth Cup final.

And, with a career of 55 starts for 19 wins, 11 seconds and 12 thirds for $452,000 in stakes, Hasten Slowly has a ready-made stud career awaiting him.

Everything about him is top notch … just like Angela and Sue expected.

That's because he is from an unbroken female line of greats, by the champion of his time who has become a siring great, and he is from a litter of stars as well.

Hasten Slowly was an ultra consistent Group class performer who could have become even as great as his famous father.

His Group victories came in the Group 1 Brisbane Cup and Group 3 Flying Amy Classic (now Group 1).

But, take a look at his group record and see just what “might have been”.

He was second in the Group 1 Topgun, Group 1 National Sprint, Group 1 Australian Cup and Group 1 Winter Cup.

He was third in the Group 1 Temlee and a finalist in the Group 1 Perth Cup and Group 1 Harrison-Dawson.

Add to that a second in the Group 3 Great Chase and third in the Group 3 Silver Bullet and you have a record that stacks up with more than the greater majority but which was just short of being phenomenal.

And, he was bred to be exactly what he became.

His mother Heidi Go Seek (Talks Cheap-Ceejay's Vixen) won 20 races and $105,000 and was a finalist in the Group 1 Maturity and Group 2 McKenna Memorial.

Her dam Ceejay's Vixen was a finalist in the Group 1 Golden Easter Egg.

Third dam, Advert, was a finalist in the Group 2 WA All Stars Invitation.

Fourth dam Fitzroy Lass cemented her place in history when she became the dam of legend sire Head Honcho. It is a damline reaching greater heights today.

While Hasten Slowly is the standout performer of the Fernando Bale-Heidi Go Seek mating, it also boasts Go Seek Heidi (15 wins, $149,000) and Go Seek Fernando (17 wins, $95,000).

The six named offspring in the litter have all been winners, of 78 races and $751,000 in stakes. Go Seek Heidi was second in the Group 1 Sapphire Crown and third in the Group 3 Dillon Memorial.

Go Seek Fernando has been a finalist in the Group 1 Harrison Dawson.

There is no doubting Hasten Slowly could run.

He ran 29.67 winning the Brisbane Cup and posted best times of 29.26 at Sandown, 29.86 at The Meadows, 29.70 at Wentworth Park and 29.79 at Cannington.

Box eight was the only box from which he did not win.

Sue Smith, from up on the Darling Downs, has always been a greyhound pedigree buff.

The pedigree she and her daughter Angela put together that resulted in Hasten Slowly and his littermates was superb to say the least.

It brings in a 5×4 cross of the famous half relations Head Honcho and Advert.

Reinforcing the Fitzroy Lass family via Head Honcho and his half sisters has resulted in a number of Group 1 stars including Lady Toy, Aston Bolero and Amakler Girl.

Many stud stars are line bred to close relations just like this.

There is also much in common in Hasten Slowly's pedigree between Rosemary Bale (second dam of Fernando Bale) and Heidi Go Seek herself.

What is extremely interesting about the pedigree of Hasten Slowly is that he is devoid of any Brett Lee blood at all. And this, obviously, includes Brett Lee's famous half brother Big Daddy Cool.

Daughters with up close Brett Lee blood will be particularly suited to potential matings to Hasten Slowly. Of particular interest for these potential matings is the fact Hasten Slowly's damsire is Talk's Cheap (Spiral Nikita-Leprechaun Yap).

When Talks Cheaps' litter sister Glamorous was mated to Brett Lee it produced leading stud dog Magic Sprite. NSW GOTY Oaks Road is also bred on this cross but in a slightly different configuration.

While Brett Lee will be a hugely important pedigree link for Hasten Slowly at stud, so too will Bombastic Shiraz who is also a famous name in pedigrees but not part of Hasten Slowly's make-up.

Broodbitch owners with Bombastic Shiraz in the pedigree of their bitches should target Hasten Slowly.

That's because the great stayer Bobby Boucheau is a son of Bombastic Shiraz-Dallas Gypsy. The winner of three Group 1s and the 595m TR breaker at Sandown during his great race career, Bobby Boucheau's dam Dallas Gypsy is a litter sister to Ceejay's Vixen the second dam of Hasten Slowly.

Putting bitches with an up close cross of Bombastic Shiraz (they will be everywhere) should be ideal for Hasten Slowly to help recreate Bobby Boucheau.

The success of Fernando Bale's son Sennachie (duplicated to Primo Uno) and his great littermates, will ensure Hasten Slowly does well with bitches that bring in more Primo Uno in their pedigree.

Broodbitch owners will watch closely the future of the Barcia Bale-Heidi Go Seek litter (now just two) to gauge if daughters of Barcia Bale will also suit Hasten Slowly.

They just about have to.

The proven link between Fernando Bale and the Barcia Bale family must be explored.

Group 1 Australian Cup winner Hecton Bale is bred on this cross.

Hasten Slowly has a degree of US blood on both sides of his pedigree. There is an influx of US blood throughout the broodbitch ranks in this country ready and waiting to link with those in Hasten Slowly.

He certainly has the world at his feet as a stud dog.