Racing: Retired Elsu still has 'em chasing hard

A year ago Elsu was on top of the racing world.

Now the man in charge of his future believes he is about to conquer the standardbred breeding universe.

It is a year tomorrow since Elsu completed the hardest job in harness racing - a clean sweep of the Interdominions at Alexandra Park.

He won every heat and the final almost untouched in the most dominant display of power pacing in Interdom history.

With pacing having failed to produce a horse to walk in his hoofprints the great shame of his retirement last August is only now starting to shine through.

Quite simply, if Elsu was still racing anywhere near his peak he would be a red hot favourite to walk away with this year's record A$2.1 million ($2.4 million) Interdominions which start in Tasmania on Sunday.

But while racing fans mourn his retirement, the New Zealand manager of Alabar Stud, Graeme Henley, says it shouldn't be long before Elsu fever strikes again.

The interest in New Zealand's richest ever pacer during his first breeding season at stud was so intense Alabar had to turn away over 100 applications for services, at $5000 a time.

"But that has still left him with an incredible book," said Henley.

"I think people realised when he retired it would be a long time before they saw a horse like him again.

"We have had other great horses like Christian Cullen in recent years but he wasn't able to race in open class for as long as Elsu and that is one thing Kiwi breeders love, a racehorse who has the body to match his motor."

Elsu's path to breeding success has undoubtedly been helped by the enormous feats of the stock of Christian Cullen but with the super sire standing at $15,000 this season and tipped to go higher next year he is pricing himself out of the range of the average standardbred breeder.

Not that it is just those looking for a bargain who have been chasing a date with Elsu this season.

The brilliant black has already wooed the owners of outstanding racemares Anne Franco, Chloe Hanover, Kliklite, Pullover Brown, Smooth Gretna and All Eyes On Me, the latter the fastest daughter of champion Australian sire Fake Left courtesy of a 1:51 mile time.

The list goes on though, with Champagne Party, Perfect Byrd, Close To Heaven, Paula Vance all going to Elsu, as well as the dams of Il Vicolo, All Hart, Alta Serena, Tupelo Rose, Classical, Born Again Christian and many others.

That meant Elsu ended up serving 195 mares and 100 in Australia, where he stunned the locals with the greatest Hunter Cup win in 20 years.

"To be honest we wanted to close his book at 250 mares for the whole of Australasia but he was that fertile we realised we could go to 300. But we still had to turn away some really good mares and great clients so we hope they understand and we will try and get them in next season."

Henley has been a major player in New Zealand standardbred breeding for the past 20 years and says the huge sales increases at the yearling sales coupled with the popularity of New Zealand-bred stallions couldn't have come at a better time for Elsu.

"I think everybody was disappointed when he retired because he only would have needed to race for another season to become the richest standardbred ever from down here and smash every record we have ever had. But I am not complaining. I think in a few years time breeders will look back at his $5000 fee and realise what a bargain it was."