Gca Hall of Fame Frances Colleen
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GCA HALL OF FAME FRANCES COLLEEN SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S CHAMPION PUPPY 1926 Also known as Francis Colleen Brindle and White Bitch Date of birth October 1924 Won 1926 SA Sires Produce Stake, 1926 Freeling Cup, 1926 SA StLeger, 1927 Great Northern Cup. Direct Damline of legends Temlee,Gorgeous Babe,Frightful Flash,Token Prince,Just The Best,Iceni Princess,Flying Amy,Paua to Burn,El Galo, Elsie Moss. Owner: Parker J Hogan from Tarlee S.A. GCA Breeding consultant Alan Capper thought Frances Colleen should have the appropriate title of “The Mother of the Australian Greyhound”. Indeed, he is not far wrong Alan supplied the following article written by Martin Roper on the net in 2007 about the beginnings of the female line in New South Wales. Following the article is a detailed list of Frances Colleen’s descendants supplied by breeding guru Peter Rose, both men have an incredible knowledge and kept record of historical data. We thank them both for their continued passion of our wonderful breed. In Australia in January 1937, Joe Kelly was eager to get started in greyhound racing. He wanted a female he could race and eventually breed and made the sensible decision to inquire by phone about a litter bred by H. L. "Tony" Taylor, by Pride Of The Valley, one of the top sires of the day, out of Maudie Francis, a granddaughter of the coursing great Frances Colleen. When Taylor agreed to sell a bitch puppy, Kelly asked about their colors and chose the lone brindle. When he arrived at Taylor's kennel to take the pup home, it turned out that she was the least attractive of the lot, "the weed of the litter" as Taylor described her. He offered another pup instead, but Kelly picked up the brindle female with the intention of keeping her. He had made a decision and was going to stick to it. As he was leaving it was mentioned that around the kennel she had a name, "Weedy Valley." Kelly kept the name and with it she raced into the annals of New South Wales racing history. Her litter, which included Nicotine, Capertee Valley, Dolly Francis, Little Valley and Francis Pride raced from success to success. A second litter of Pride of the Valley and Maudie Francis produced Drindell, another pup purchased by Kelly, who became one of the great stayers of her day. Little did he know at the time, but the end of Weedy Valley's racing career in August of 1941 was really the beginning of the story for Joe Kelly. She started her brood career with a litter by Pharminda in September of 1942 followed by a repeat breeding twelve months later. From these came a number of stars including Daisy Valley, Sparkling Comet, Alt Ayr, Flying Marvel, Pussy Willow, Minda Valley, Bronze Edge, Spearlight, Black Carpet, Pierre Boy, and Val Phar. Kelly bred Daisy Valley to the outstanding sire Roccabright, producing a litter that included Be Faithful who compiled a career record of 39 wins and 11 track records in 53 starts. Others included Be Truthful, Embrose, Valley Double, Miss Kelly, Cheeky Valley, Celtux, Daisy Bright, Lazy Boots, Tux and Daisy Rock. Kelly's good fortune seemed limitless, but at the point where descendants of Weedy Valley seemed at their most prominent, disaster struck. A bout of distemper swept through his kennel and wiped out his entire breeding program with the exception of Daisy Rock who barely survived, though blinded by the sickness. Kelly was forced to start from scratch and he bred his blind brood to the great Chief Havoc. The resulting litter included Winsome Flash, Meropa, Flash Daisy, The Shelf, Chief Bearcaire, and Gorgeous Babe. The latter was retired early, and while most of her littermates were still racing, Gorgeous Babe would be rewriting greyhound history in the whelping barn instead of at the track. She was bred to Tumble Bug son Rocket Jet and her first litter produced Magic Babe, Sky Jet, Metal Jet, Magic Joe, Weedy Jet, Rocket Zoom, Roman Jet, Early Jet, Weedy Babe and Rocka Cashel. The litter soon gained national attention from the racing press while the second was nearing track age. When the second litter hit the track, led by Tell You Why, Light Jet, Glamorous Babe, Gleaming Jet, Cindy Jet, Jenny Ann and Jetalbet, it was rated by the experts as highly as the first. More Rocket Jet and Gorgeous Babe pups followed including Gemdelina, Gay Glint, Boeing Jet, Rocky Ben, Junglet Jet, Black Omo, Whata Doll, and Tana Jet. Magic Babe went on to an outstanding career at stud. For succeeding generations, his most important contribution was the outstanding brood Elsie Moss whose sons and daughters produced on an almost unprecedented scale. Not surprisingly, Magic Babe is found twice in the pedigree of Temlee, arguably the greatest sire in Australian history. Gemdelina, bred to Irish import Which Chariot*, produced Takiri, Unique Sea, London Lad, Which Gem, Marr William, and Miss Which, while Gay Glint produced a terrific litter to Black Top. Gay Glint is the direct female line ancestor of contemporary greats Token Prince, Just The Best, Flying Amy and Tenthill Doll. Marr William, a champion stayer, was exported to the U.S. where he gained a reputation as an outstanding producer of females, including 1971 All America Shur Lilly and a number of outstanding broods. In America, Harold Shugart, a great admirer of Australian pedigrees, imported Metal Jet, Sky Jet and Tell You Why. Metal Jet's early passing was a tragedy for the breed, but not before he produced Haiku, dam of All America Bahama Lure; and Kitty Hoss, foundation dam of Fred Scoggin's "S.S." dynasty. Tell You Why*, Shugart's most successful import, rewrote the record books. Westy Whizzer, Miss Gorgeous, Cactus Lonesome, Onie Jones, K's Flak, Oshkosh Racey, Downing, and many others owe their success directly to Tell You Why*. Indeed, his grandson Sand Man* was exported to Ireland where he changed the shape of the breed there just as descendants of Temlee would again two decades later. Joe Kelly's decision, seemingly made on a whim, was one that affects everyone in greyhound racing today. It's inconceivable to think of this breed without the influence of Weedy Valley's progeny. And there are still some lessons for us all; he bought a puppy by a proven sire out of an outstanding damline from a reputable breeder. It seems like a simple recipe for success, but how many times does one see even experienced greyhound buyers forget one of its ingredients? Peter Rose’s List. Bay Road Queen (1982 SA Greyhound Of The Year, 1982 Fury Ford Cup (Hpk), 1982 National Distance C'ship (Apk), 1982 Nat Dist C'ship SA Fnl (Apk), 1982 Geneveive National Cup (Opk), 1982 Genevieve Nat Cup SA Fnl (Apk), TR Angle Park 731m (twice) Be Faithful (1949 The Test (Hpk), 1949 Autumn Cup (Hpk), TR Harold Park 800y (3 times), TR Wentworth Park 750y) Boronia Blossom (1996 Qld Greyhound Of The Year, 1995 National Distance C'ship (Opk), 1996 National Distance C'ship (BGC), 1996 Greyhound Pioneer Gold Cup (BGC), 1996 Carlton Cup (Spk), 1995 Lord Mayors Cup (Wpk), 1995 Nat Dist C'ship Qld Fnl (BGC), 1996 Nat Dist C'ship Qld Fnl (BGC), 1995 Presidents Cup (BGC)) Carlisle Jack (2002 Victorian Greyhound Of The Year, 2002 Golden Easter Egg (Wpk), 2002 Interstate Sprinters Challenge (Can), 2001 Provincial Cup (Spk), 2002 Warragul Cup, 2002 Wangaratta Cup, 2001 Ballarat Cup, TR Cannington 530m, Sire) Classy Customer (2004 Summer Cup (Wpk), 2004 National Distance C'ship (Can), 2005 Association Cup (Wpk), 2004 AWM Distance C'ship (Mea), 2004 Nat Dist C'ship NSW Fnl (Wpk) El Galo (2008 Australian G'hound Of The Year, 2008 Victorian G'hound Of The Year, 2008 Brisbane Cup (BGC), 2009 Adelaide Cup (Apk), 2009 The Temlee (Mea), 2008 Bendigo Cup, 2008 Gold Coast Cup, 2008 Warrnambool Cup, 2009 Bert Bryant Memorial (Spk), 2008 Cabra Vale Diggers Gold Cup (Bul), 2009 Dave Hodgson Memorial (Spk), Sire) Elsie Moss (1961 NSW St Leger (Wpk), Outstanding broodbitch) Flying Amy (1994 Qld Greyhound Of The Year, 1995 Qld Greyhound Of The Year, 1995 National Sprint C'ship (Spk), 1995 Coca-Cola Cup (BGC), 1995 Eukanuba Cup (BGC), 1994 Gold Coast Cup, 1995 Gold Coast Cup, 1994 Qld Constellation (BGC), 1994 Qld Puppy Classic (BGC), 1994 Premiers Cup (Wpk), 1995 Nat Sprint C'ship Qld Fnl (BGC), 1993 Parklands Futurity, 1995 Toowoomba Cup, TR Albion Park 520m (3 times), Toowoomba 390m, 457m (twice), Dapto 508m (3 starters)) Frightful Flash (1993 Henry Harrison Easter Cup (Spk), 1993 Winter Cup (Gee), Outstanding sire in Ireland) Golden Currency (1993 TAB Topgun (Spk), 1993 SA Derby (Apk), 1993 Geelong Cup, TR Geelong 457m, Warrnambool 450m, Ballarat 450m, Outstanding Sire) He's Some Boy (1973 NSW Greyhound Of The Year, 1973 National Distance C'ship (Gba), 1973 Roy Maidment Memorial (Spk), 1973 Haig Scotch Whisky Cup (Wpk), 1972 Charity Distance C'ship (Opk), 1972 Sun Toy Fund Tphy (Wpk), TR Wentworth Park 722m, Olympic Park 732m, Angle Park 731m) High Earner (2010 Perth Cup (Can), 2011 Perth Cup (Can), 2011 The Temlee (Mea), 2009 WA Derby (Can), 2009 Qld Derby (BGC), 2009 Ipswich Derby, 2009 Vince Curry Memorial Mdn (Ips), Sire) Iceni Princess (1992 Castlemaine XXXX Tphy (Gba), 1992 Schweppes Cup (Spk), 1992 Nat Sprint C'ship Tas Fnl (Hob), TR Wentworth Park 520m, Hobart 457m) Just The Best (1999 Vince Curry Memorial Mdn (Ips), Outstanding Sire) Kirsty's Charity (1988 NSW Greyhound Of The Year, 1988 Sydney Cup (Wpk), 1989 Winter Chase (Gba), 1988 Sun Herald Toy Fund Cup (Wpk), 1988 Ern Scully Memorial (Wpk), 1990 Nat Dist C'ship NSW Fnl (Wpk), 1989 Wollongong Ex-Services Club Tphy (Dap), TR Wentworth Park 720m, Gabba 704m, Richmond 722m, Newcastle 686m, Goulburn