Broodmare award to Ears Carol

Ears Carol, owned by Brian and Lorraine Anderton, of White Robe Lodge, has been named South Island broodmare of the Year for 2016. South Island awards also went to the Tommy Tucker (miler) and jumper (High Forty), both trained at WRL by Brian and Shane Anderton.

Ears Carol is the dam of Who Shot Thebarman, winner of the Auckland and Avondale Cups, 2015 Zipping Classic at Sandown and third in the 2014 Melbourne Cup. She has left three other winners, Vital Organ, Wollongong and Gallantly in Australia from five foals to race. Brian and Lorraine Anderton, the proprietors of the White Robe Lodge, bred Who Shot Thebarman from a mating of Yamanin Vital and Ears Carol. Yamanin Vital stood at White Robe until his death in October, 2009. Who Shot Thebarman was bought by the O'Leary brothers, of Wanganui sight unseen as a yearling the following year.

''I got a phone call from one of the brothers wanting to buy a Yamanin Vital colt and I just picked him out of the paddock,'' recalled Wayne Stewart, the stud manager.

The O'Learys are neighbours of Mark and Raymond Conners, who raced the son of Yamanin Vital, Hypnotize, winner of the Great Northern Steeplechase - Pakuranga Hunt Cup double in 2007, 08 and 2010.

Who Shot Thebarman is the third foal of Ears Carol, an unraced mare by Carolingian from Auditive, by Random Chance from Auditory, by Noble Bijou from Attentive, by Ruddington from Lochlisten.

The Andertons began breeding from Lochlisten 48 years ago when she was 18. She left them winners Attentive, Cock Your Ear, Charlar and San Mellay. She had earlier left Lord Fair for Jim Neilson. Lord Fair won 15 races on the flat and over fences.

Lochlisten won seven races to mile and a quarter (2000m) when trained at Wingatui by Jim Wilson. She was Balloch from Listen In and thus a sister to Harken, the second stallion venture for Brian Anderton, who bought him for 100 pounds in 1955. Harken had been restricted to three starts after fracturing a sesamoid. He left winners including St Jude, who was successful in Melbourne.

Attentive won four races and left 12 foals. Auditory, her fourth foal, won the Riverton and Tapanui Cups, a weight-for-age 2000m at Gore and a Heathcote Handicap at Riccarton in the early 1980s. Another of her foals was Treaura, the grandam of Prized Gem (2002 Brisbane Cup and Kelt Capital Stakes and dam of Australian Derby winner Nom du Jeu). Treaura Bijou, a half-sister to Treaura, left Milly Bijou (2002 Dunedin Cup).Auditory also left Auricle, the dam of Perceptible, winner of the 2002 White Robe Lodge Handicap, Dunedin, Southland and Gore Guineas. Auditive won three races and Ears Carol was her first foal.