On pedigree, it was no great surprise as she is yet another winner for a family that has produced top-class runners for more than 20 years.

But, if the dramatic rise in interest rates in the mid-1980s had never occurred, the family may well have been just another in the stud book, rather than one of the best.

The matriarch of the family, Jesmond Lass, was bred by Ken Newitt, who bought her dam Beautiful Dreamer in foal to the then unproven sire Lunchtime for $4500 at a mixed bloodstock sale in 1975. Beautiful Dreamer won only three minor races and had a fairly modest pedigree but Newitt, now aged 85, says that when he got her home and had a good look at her, he "thought she had a bit of class".

While Jesmond Lass, the filly she was carrying, won seven races, including two in the city, Newitt could not possibly have imagined the success her descendants would have.

Newitt originally had a property in Wells Road in Edithvale that often housed visiting trainers from interstate and New Zealand who used the Epsom training track just up the road. But, after the Frankston freeway cut the property in half in the mid-1970s, he bought the property of Charles Gawith (click for more information) of
Big Philou (click for more information) fame Jesmond Dene Stud at Officer, near Pakenham.

Big Philou and West Australian fashion on the field entrant, Caroline Bell at the 1969 Melbourne Cup.

Big Philou

At the time that Jesmond Lass was ready to race, Newitt had Cranbourne Cup winner Heza Natural — another horse he bred — in work and a busy toy business to attend to, so he leased the filly out to himself and some friends and she was trained by Bob Post.

She was followed by several foals by other sires who failed to rise to any great heights but on the back of Canny Lass's success, the mare again visited Bletchingly in 1985 and 1986, resulting in listed winner Sister Canny and Canny Lad, who won the 1990 Golden Slipper Stakes and went on to become one of the country's leading sires.

Jesmond Lass ended her days in New Zealand and in total produced 13 live foals, of which eight raced for seven winners, but it was only with Bletchingly that she could produce a stakeswinner.

Most of her daughters and granddaughters are held by prominent breeders in Australia and NZ and are bred to the best sires each year so more success for the family is likely.

In the stallions ranks, Canny Lad might be in the twilight of his career but he is still producing plenty of winners and waiting in the wings to take over from him is Untouchable, a stakes-placed son of Danehill and Canny Miss who has proven a popular sire in his first two seasons at Darley in the Hunter Valley.

While Causeway Lass might be the most recent black-type winner for the family, other stakeswinners include Queensland Derby winner Camarena, Al Jameel and Terrace, while half-sisters to Jesmond Lass have produced black-type winners Cool Trent and Rich Dreams.

During his time on the Pakenham Racing Club committee, Newitt was involved in the club setting up a Tabaret and he still pops down there from his nearby home to watch a race or two, although he missed Causeway Lass's win at Morphettville last weekend.

Twenty-five years after selling Jesmond Lass, Newitt has had plenty of time to contemplate what might have happened if he had retained and bred from her. But he has no regrets. "She probably would have only had mongrels. I wouldn't have been spending the money on her that Mr Dodson did," he said.