It cannot be denied that the outcome of last Saturday's Desert Gold Stakes ( Gr 3, 1600m ) may hold a valuable key into also determining the likely result of March's NZ Oaks ( Gr 1, 2400m ) also to be run on the hallowed turf at Trentham.
Whilst current 3YO Fillies Series leader Belle En Rouge ( Burgundy ) noticeably skipped the Desert Gold Stakes, there was an awful lot to like about the performances of convincing winner La Crique ( Vadamos ) and the third horse Love Letter ( Wrote ) from an impending NZ Oaks perspective.
And both have more than just the letter "L" in common.
Both have a strong "Special" connection in their bloodlines, the same connection as present in the 2022 New Year's Day Perth Cup ( Gr 2, 2400m ) winner, the Bob and Sandra Peters bred and owned Midnight Blue.
The "Special" connection we refer to is of course the broodmare bluehen Special ( Forli - Thong )a particularly powerful presence in any staying pedigree.
La Crique and Love Letter are both highly eye-catching types, La Crique seemingly a longer-legged finer-boned type that the more compact muscled low slung Love Letter.
La Crique's superior early speed allowed her to race handy ( slotting into the perfect one out and one back position ) in the Desert Gold Stakes allowing her to display her "turn of foot" when exploding past the leaders upon straightening. Her ability to run through the line was impressive, qualities not dissimilar to Amarelinha in 2021 and Jennifer Eccles in 2020.
Love Letter in contrast was devoid of early speed and go a long way back in the running but once again she ran home powerfully if not eyecatchingly ( in a manner not too dissimilar to 2020 runner-up to Jennifer Eccles in Vancooga ).
It would not surprise in the least to find Formpro's Neil Davis having recorded Love Letter as having the fastest final sectionals of the race, even better than those of winner La Crique.
But, can she afford to give La Crique such a big start in the NZ Oaks?
We will use the pedigree of Midnight Blue for comparison with both La Crique and Love Letter.
Midnight Blue holds a sex-balanced 5x5 Rasmussen Factor ( breeding back to superior females through different individuals within the first 5-generations ) to Special via the latter's daughter Fairy Bridge and son Nureyev.
La Crique is 5x6x6 sex-balance linebred to Special via son Nureyev ( in Vadamos ) and son and daughter Nureyev and Fairy Bridge in Destiny Cove ( dam of La Crique ).
Love Letter on the other hand is 5x5x6 sex-balance linebred to Special via the latter's daughters Fairy Bridge and Durrah ( both in Wrote ) and son Nureyev in Divine Rio ( dam of Love Letter ).
Technically, from a pedigree purists viewpoint, the use of Special is seen as stronger in Love Letter's pedigree as she appears through three individual siblings rather than two as is the case for La Crique.
Also, Special's positioning is potentially stronger in the pedigree of Love Letter as she is bred on a 5x6 reverse-sex cross to Special ( via Durrah, 3rd dam of Wrote ) and Nureyev ( 4th sire of Divine Rio ). This provides Love Letter not only with a desirable breeding core but also a potential "engine room" and it appears obvious here that this design is more than likely the handiwork of her co-breeder and owner Phil Weal, an avid pedigree enthusiast in his own right.
With prominent 4x4 linebreeding to Special ( through two individual daughters ) Love Letter's sire Wrote is singing out for mares with a male line of Special ( i.e. Nureyev ) for sex-balancing purposes and Divine Rio ( dam of Love Letter ) gives him exactly this being a Nureyev-line mare via the Pivotal stallion Captain Rio.
When we get to the direct maternal line ( or bottom line or family line ) we do find find ourselves swayed to that of Love Letter who traces direct maternally to Derna ( her 6th dam ).
Of course breeders and readers will instantly recognise this as the immediate family of both Carnegie ( Derna his granddam ) and Zabeel ( Derna his great granddam ). Whilst Carnegie is out of Derna's daughter Detroit, both Zabeel and Love Letter trace through another of Derna's daughters in Valderna. When we touch on these horses we are automatically thinking 2400m if not further.
Another useful comparison also prevails using the pedigree of Midnight Blue.
He is by a son of High Chaparral ( So You Think ) and out of a mare by Zabeel ( Midnight Special ).
Love Letter is also by a son of High Chaparral ( Wrote ) and from the immediate direct maternal family of Zabeel.
There are no illustrious Derna's in the direct maternal line of La Crique but what there is reflects high quality International performance.
Le Crique's dam Destiny Cove won 5 times including over 2400m at Trentham.
Granddam Whitehaven was a Gr2 winner at Deauville and great granddam White Star Line was a triple Gr 1 winner, amongst her 9 lifetime wins seeing her rated as the 2nd best 3yo filly of 1978 at 125 pounds, just one point behind arch rival Tempest Queen ( Graustark ), the latter a dual Gr 1 winner.
Amongst White Star Line's Gr 1 victories were the Alabama Stakes( 10 furlongs ), Kentucky Oaks ( 10 furlongs ) and the Delaware Oaks ( 9 furlongs ).
At Stud, White Star Line was to produce 12 individual winners including 2 Stakes winners, one being Valley Of Gold ( Shirley Heights ) winner  of the Italian Oaks ( Gr 1, 2400m ).
If we were looking at 3YO colts for the NZ Derby it would also be necessary to take into account multiples of Northern Dancer ( 4 or more unbalanced male only strains ) as these were identified by the late Jack Glengarry in his work "Let's Breed A Champion Racehorse" as the likely cause of "Plodder's Syndrome" in a male racehorse. Fortunately, fillies were found to be immune from this quirky phenomena.
La Crique is linebred 5x6x5x5 to Northern Dancer in desirable sex-balance, her female line coming via 4th dam White Star Line, a daughter of Northern Dancer.
Love Letter, by contrast, could have been in trouble had she not been born a filly as she carries 4x5x6x6x6x7 linebreeding to Northern Dancer through all male only presences.
A lucky escape, perhaps, or meant to be!
Just as Midnight Blue carried Colt Factors at 6x4 to Mill Reef, we see Love Letter carrying full Filly Factors and La Crique carrying partial Filly Factors within their 7-generational pedigree charts.
Love Letter carries full Filly Factors to Special ( through son Nureyev and daughters Fairy Bridge and Durrah ) with male ancestors through two daughters being in abundance through the likes of Kris 5x4, Nijinsky II 5X5, Buckpasser 6x5, Prince John 7x6 and War Admiral 7x7.
La Crique on the other hand only possesses partial Filly Factors.
Whilst Special features through son Nureyev and daughter Fairy Bridge, there is a complete void of male ancestors featured through two daughters.
But all is not lost for La Crique because what she does possess is an impressive list of sex-balances to male ancestors particularly further out in her pedigree including the likes of Native Dancer 7x7x6x7x7, Nearco 7x7x7x7, Nebelwerfer 7x7, Hyperion 7x7, Tantieme 7x7, Lyphard 7x6 and War Admiral 7x7.
As you may be only to well aware, when multiples get this far out in a pedigree they usually act as a basis for stamina with a number of the featured presences well known for their stamina traits.
Finally, it would be remiss of us if we did not have a look at the likely Tesio dosage indicators based on the work of Frank Varola.
Whilst these have always been regarded as highly contentious and very subjective, in our experience they have been an adequate guide as to the likely aptitude and distance outcomes for the majority of horses.
As they say, better something than nothing at all when you are flying blind!
The dosage profile outcomes for both fillies are remarkably similar, Love Letter a points total of 23.0 and La Crique a points total of 22.0 so no clear advantage to either filly.
Nothing between them in the precocity ranks either with Love Letter perhaps her nostril in front with the same applying for raw speed inheritance. The Classic ( class ) factor does see La Crique in front by a small marging hence evening things out.
When it comes to middle distance ( including 2400m ) both capably master 2400m with nothing between them although there is a slight indicator that if we pushed things out to 3200m then La Crique may hold a slight advantage no doubt mainly attributable to the influence of her grandsire Monsun as we have already witnessed downunder in a couple of Melbourne Cups in more recent times.
As for the outcome of the NZ Oaks 2022, a real coin toss either way, too close to call. 

Bob and Sandra Peters were recognised in early as within the Top Ten owners in the World's rankings coming in at 8th equal, a huge achievement as private breeders when you consider that the top four in this list are breeding powerhouses such as Godolphin/Darley, Coolmore Stud, Sheik Hamdan Al Maktoum and Juddmonte Farms/Prince Khalid Abdullah.

Besides the Peters homebreds, they have also enjoyed success as co-owners in some quality equine athletes the likes of All Too Hard ( All Aged Stakes, C.F.Orr Stakes, Futurity Stakes ), Dundeel ( Queen Elisabeth Stakes ) and Animal Kingdom ( Dubai World Cup ) all of whom have gone on to successful stallion careers.

So now at the near age of 79 years are there any signs of Bob Peters slowing down in his equine participation, breeding or racing?

It would appear not, or not yet!

Bob Peters is already on record that he has unfinished business in the East, that before 2030 he would like to win three races in particular; The Everest, the W.S.Cox Plate ( perhaps most of all ) and the Caulfield Cup, the latter no doubt redemption for the narrow defeat of his own Congressman in the 1988 Caulfield Cup.
And of course, he would like to keep winning as many Stakes races as he can during the future time frame, a clear signal of no stopping yet.

So watch out for the famous cerise and white colours particularly in the East but this time they will not be stepping out from the stable of Bart Cummings or George Hanlon but rather from the Victorian stable of Danny O'Brien.

We here at Premier Pedigrees have been asked on a few occasions if there is any secret formula that Bob Peters adheres to when breeding horses?

The best way to answer this is to take a large random sample of the horses he has bred over the years and then look for any common denominators.

In doing this it would appear that there is no single magic formula but rather a wide range of breeding techniques applied that are no different from those applied by any other serious or Commercial breeder.

By pursuing homebred families Peters has got to know his breed intimately right down to the point of identifying which available stallions  suit his mares best and he has been in the fortunate financial position of being able to support the very best stallions that have been compatible with his mares thereby also applying a constant upgrading process to his mares and families.

We have identified four key parameters that Peters appears to have applied over five decades of horse breeding that stand out above all others;

1)   Utilising the best available genetically compatible stallions to upgrade the bloodlines of his mare often featuring proven crosses. Often matings would be repeated several times in the best traditions of Mendel's Laws of Probability

2)   Having a strong female maternal "bottom" line

3)   Adhering to proven breeding patterns that have stood the test of time e.g. the "Special" pattern, often incorporating Rasmussen Factors and/or duplicating other superior females especially where they can be sex-balanced

4)   A preference for linebreeding to influential male ancestors mostly in the highly effective 4th and 5th generational levels, something widely espoused by pedigree gurus such as Hampton and Harper.

Whilst we have not included it in our criteria above, as it could be deemed debatable if not a little controversial or even specific to one's own breed, Bob Peters has also stated that he utilises stallions' that are going to produce soundness and produce an animal that is going to deliver versatility at a wide range of distances.
While the former can be a formidable challenge at times, there is certainly no doubting that Peters has had great success with producing horses that are both durable and versatile and can handle a wide range of distances, no better recent example than his recent Kingston Town Classic winner and former WA Derby victor Regal Power.

We will now go through some examples relating to the above listed criteria.

"Utilising the best available genetically compatible stallions to upgrade the bloodlines of his mares often featuring proven crosses. Often matings here would be repeated several times in the best traditions of Mendel's Laws of Probability".

From his leading family of Antique her daughters the full-sisters Arcadia and Broadway Belle ( both by Redoute's Choice ) were both sent to Pierro ( Lonhro, by Zabeel ) thus combining the highly proven Danehill with Zabeel.
And what an outcome for Peters with Arcadia producing both Arcadia Prince and Arcadia Queen whilst Broadway Belle produced firstly Action and then Regal Power.

A similar outcome also occurs with another of Peters leading families, that of Lady Ashford.
Two of her daughters are by Jeune, namely Star Encounter and Galaxy Queen.
Star Encounter has been to Statue Of Liberty at least twice producing Star Exhibit and Spritely Star whilst she has also been to Redoute's Choice at least twice producing Royal Star and Perfect Jewel.
Galaxy Queen was also sent to Redoute's Choice producing Galaxy Star before dying prematurely.
Lady Ashford's other two producing daughters were also full-sisters ( both by More Than Ready ) with Sentimental Star visiting Al Maher twice producing the full-sister and brother pairing of Sentimental Queen and Sentimental Hero whilst Favourite Star has produced Enticing Star ( to Testa Rossa ) as well as Devoted Star ( to Al Maher ).

Even the early breedings of another of Peters foundation mares reflected a repetitive breeding pattern where three times Miss Margaret was sent to Scenic to produce the likes of Best Picture, Confront and Seafarer.

Another of Peters foundation mares in Reflected Image was sent three times to More Than Ready resulting in the three female full-siblings New Image, Ideal Image and Perfect Reflection.
Coincidence or not, there was a definite upgrading influence at work in the vast majority of these matings.

"Having a strong female maternal ( bottom ) line".

Without any shadow of doubt, Lady Ashford is the standout example here.
She carries broodmare bluehen La Troienne as her 7th dam, the Queen of the No 1 Family.
This has meant all descendants of Lady Ashford carry La Troienne in their direct maternal tail line.
And of course it just so happens that More Than Ready is also tail female to La Troienne ( his 6th dam ) whilst his damsire Woodman is also tail female to La Troienne ( also his 6th dam ).
Is it any wonder then that Peters should send Lady Ashford at least twice to More Than Ready to produce the likes of Sentimental Star and Favourite Star pursuing potent female linebreeding via in this case a technique known as "Breeding Back Into The Herd ( aka BBITH )".

Purfect Size ( Catbird ) is tail female to another No 1 Family bluehen in Chelandry ( her 13th dam ) through Summoned ( her 3rd dam ) as is her daughter Picture Perfect.
Summoned is better recognised as the dam of Zeditave so little wonder that Peters should send Purfect Size to Reset ( out of a Zeditave mare ) to produce Picture Perfect ( sex-balance linebred to Summoned via a 4x4 Rasmussen Factor ). But we digress for now.

Very Tempting ( Redoute's Choice ) is tail female to a Federico Tesio creation in Family 14 member Donatella ( Mahmoud - Delleana ) who features as her 6th dam.

Magical Dream ( Dream Ahead ) is tail female to Family 8 member Humour ( a daughter of Princess Tracy ), a family better noted for having produced the former New Zealand based stallions Danasinga and Towkay.

Another of Peters foundation families anchored by Flaming Heart traces tail female to Family 2 broodmare marvel Sans Le Sou ( 4th dam of Flaming Heart ) meaning that her daughter Real Love and grandsons Special View and Devoted all carry the presence of Sans Le Sou in their direct maternal bloodlines.
Sans Le Sou is also well known as being the dam of Busted.

For the sake of brevity, we will highlight one further example.
Family 9 member and another of Peters foundation families in Reflected Image traces back tail female to Maid Of Masham ( her 13th dam ). This will mean her daughters the full-siblings New Image, Ideal Image and Perfect Reflection will all carry Maid Of Masham in their "bottom line" as will any of their progeny.

"Adhering to proven breeding patterns that have stood the test of time e.g. the "Special" pattern, often incorporating Rasmussen Factors and/or duplicating other superior females especially where they can be sex-balanced".

These will be illustrated by individual horse in a listed summary format.
We have used some abbreviations here fore the following;
Linebreeding = lb
Rasmussen Factor = RF
Sex-balanced = sb

Arcadia Queen - 7x6 sb Special ( Nureyev and Fairy Bridge )
Arcadia Prince - 7x6 sb Special ( Nureyev and Fairy Bridge )
Action - 7x6 sb Special ( Nureyev and Fairy Bridge )
Regal Power - 7x6 sb Special ( Nureyev and Fairy Bridge )
Arcadia Dream - 5x5 lb RF Best In Show and 7x6 sb Flaming Page 
Arcadia Grace - 6x7 lb Best In Show and 8x7 sb Flaming Page
Spritely Star - 4x4 sb RF Crimson Saint ( Terlingua and Royal Academy )
Star Exhibit - 4x4 sb RF Crimson Saint and 5x6 lb Somethingroyal )
Truly Special - 7x7 sb Mumtaz Begum ( Nasrullah and Rivaz ) and 7x7 sb Selene ( Hyperion and All Moonshine )
Giant Leap - 5x4 sb RF Thong ( Special and Geiger Counter ) and 7x7 sb Donatella ( Donna Lydia and Duccio )
Fairy Fast - 4x4 lb RF Fairy Bridge ( Perugino and Fairy King )
Mystical View - 5x5 sb RF Goofed ( Lyphard and Barb's Bold )
Inspirational Girl - 5x5 sb RF Special ( Fairy Bridge and Nureyev )
Midnight Blue - 5x5 sb RF Special ( Fairy Bridge and Nureyev ) and 7x7x7 lb Perfume II ( Marco Polo II and My Babu x2 )
Treasured Crown - 5x5 sb RF Special ( Fairy Bridge and Nureyev ) and 7x7 lb Perfume II ( Marco Polo II and My Babu )
Treasured Star - 5x5 sb RF Special ( Fairy Bridge and Nureyev ) and 6x6 lb Sex Appeal ( El Gran Senor and Try My Best )
Expressionist - 4x4 sb RF  Dancing Show ( Shantha's Choice and Umatilla ) and 7x6 sb Special ( Nureyev and Fairy Bridge )
Picture Perfect - 4x4 sb RF Summoned ( via full-brother and sister Zeditave and True Verdict ).
Real Charm - 4x4 sb RF Summoned ( via full-brother and sister Zeditave and True Verdict )
Graceful Girl - 6x6 sb lb Magic Symbol ( Biscay and Magic Way )
Western Empire - 6x6x6 sb lb Flaming Page ( Fleur and Nijinsky II X2 )
Memorable Miss - 6x6 sb lb Tamerett ( Secrettame and Known Fact ) and 7x7 sb lb Flaming Page ( Fleur and Nijinsky II )
Magical Dream - 6x6x6 sb lb Special ( Fairy Bridge x2 and Nureyev ) and 6x7 sb lb Mixed Marriage ( Tamerett and Atan )
Airlie Queen - 6x6 sb lb Milan Mill ( Mill Reef and Millicent )
Elite Belle - 6x6x7 sb lb Dodoma ( Diableretta and Jambo ) and 7x7x6x7 sb lb Mumtaz Begum ( Dodoma and Nasrullah )
Top Gun - 5x5x7 lb Lalun ( Bold Reason and Never Bend x2 ) and 7x7 sb lb Selene ( Hyperion and All Moonshine )
Real Love - 5x5x5 sb RF Natalma ( Northern Dancer x2 and Spring Adieu ) as well as 6x5 sb lb Sans Le Sou ( via full-brother and sister Busted and Ellida ) and also 6x6 lb Rose O'Lynn ( Venture VII and full-brother Buisson Ardent )
Special View - 6x6 sb lb Sans Le Sou ( Busted and Ellida )
New Image / Ideal Image / Perfect Reflection ( all full-sisters ) - 6x6 lb Two Lea ( via the half-brothers Tim Tam and Pied D'Or ) and 6x7 lb Hildene ( via the half-brothers First Landing and Hill Prince ).

We are only too well aware that the above examples are by no means a fully comprehensive listing of horses Bob Peters has bred utilising duplications to superior female ancestors but it more than sufficient to illustrate our claim that this has been and continues to be at the heart of his ongoing breeding programme.

"A preference for linebreeding to influential male ancestors mostly in the proven highly effective 4th and 5th generational levels, something widely espoused by pedigree gurus such as Hampton and Harper".

Sometimes as the cards play, it is not always possible to capitalise on female duplications and Peters has had to linebreed to influential male ancestors chasing their specific traits and attributes to complement those of his mares.
Once again sex-balanced linebreeding is the best way to maximise their influence and particularly if this can be achieved around the highly effective 4th or 4th generational level.

The following is a shortlist of some of the Peters horses who subscribe to this breeding technique.
Some of the names here may be very familiar to you. Again, in no particular order.

Arcadia - 4x4 sb Bletchingly
Devoted Star - 4x4 sb Nijinsky II
Sentimental Queen - 4x4 sb Nijinsky II
Perfect Jewel - 4x5x4 sb Nijinsky II, 5X5 sb Lunchtime
Royal Star - 4x5x4 sb Nijinsky II, 5X5 sb Lunchtime
Galaxy Star - 4x5x5 sb Nijinsky II, 5X5 Lunchtime
Mrs America - 5x4 sb Storm Bird
Cohort - 4x5 sb Raise A Native
Dark Lass - 4x5x5x5 sb Northern Dancer
Zaratite - 4x5 sb Blushing Groom, 5x5 sb Lyphard
Superstorm - 5x5x4 sb Mr Prospector, 5x6 sb Northern Dancer
True Attraction - 4x4 sb Mr Prospector, 4x5x6 sb Northern Dancer
Windstorm - 5x5 sb Lunchtime
Brave Dream - 5x5 sb Halo
Celebrity Queen - 4x5x5 sb Northern Dancer, 5x5 sb Sir Ivor
Pure Devotion - 4x5 sb Danzig, 4x5x5 sb Nijinsky II, 5x5 sb Shirley Heights
Mississippi Delta - 4x4 sb Shirley Heights
Devoted - 6x5 sb Riverman
New Image - 4x4 sb Mr Prospector, 4x4 sb Northern Dancer
Ideal Image - 4x4 sb Mr Prospector, 4x4 sb Northern Dancer
Perfect Reflection - 4x4 sb Mr Prospector, 4x4 sb Northern Dancer

It may only appear a very short list but already a pattern emerges telling us not only about the powerful influence of the 4th and 5th generational levels when it comes to duplicating male ancestors in a sex-balanced manner but it also provides us with an indicator of particular male ancestors Peters preferred to duplicate in his desire to achieve his goals be they soundness or distance versatility.

If Bob Peters happens to read this sometime in the near future we only hope that he has already commenced his auto-biography and can paint a far more detailed picture of his life and his horse-breeding exploits than the mere scratching of the surface that we have been able write in our three-part story on his achievements to date.
We may or may not have unlocked his secret breeding formulas that have crowned him "King Of The West" or is that the "King Of Australian Thoroughbred Breeding" but what we have briefly illustrated should be sufficient to give us all a very good idea of the pathway that he follows.

​We hope you have enjoyed the read on our three-part story on Bob Peters.

   

In this second chapter of the Bob Peters story we will look at the development of the families of what is considered his "six foundation families" along with some newly emerging families also being developed as well as briefly identifying some successful male horses Peters has raced with success over the years.
But firstly and in chronological order we will explore each of his "foundation mares".
First cab off the rank is So Stunning ( by Shirley Heights ) born in 1984.
Old Nick ( by Old Spice ) was out of this mare and gave Bob and Sandra Peters their first Gr 1 Kingston Town Classic winner as well as winning for them also in 1998 their first Gr 2 WA Guineas.
Two of So Stunning's daughters, Bonus ( Haulpak ) 1989 and Lady Belvedere ( Royal Academy ) 1997 continued to front breedings for the Peters.
Bonus is the dam of Mississippi Belle ( Marooned ) 1997 who in turn is the dam of both Peters 2014 Gr 1 Railway Stakes winner Elite Belle ( Canny Lad ) 2008 and their 2020 Gr 2 Perth Cup winner Mississippi Delta ( High Chaparral ) 2013.
Pure Devotion ( So You Think ) 2017 is a great granddaughter of Lady Belvedere via Senora ( Fusaichi Pegasus ) 2005 and Paris Romance ( Redoute's Choice ) 2012, the latter also the dam of Fine Romance ( So You Think ) 2018 thus a full-sister to Pure Devotion.
Next we look at Miss Margaret ( Marscay ) born in 1992.
Miss Margaret was a Gr 1 winner for the Peters winning the South Australian Oaks ( 2500m ) and the Chrysler Stakes ( now the Cantala Stakes Gr 1, 1600m ).
From Miss Margaret's daughter the Listed winner Celebrity Miss ( More Than Ready ) 2008 came one of the Peters pinup girls in Celebrity Queen ( Redoute's Choice ) 2016 who won 7 of her 13 starts $728,940 including the Gr 1 Neds Oakleigh Plate ensuring her value as a broodmare. So much so that even Bob Peters could not resist entering her in the Inglis Chairmans Sale ( May 2021 ) where she was knocked down to the bid of a young Tom Magnier ( Coolmore Stud Australia ) for a whopping A$2.5 million.
Interestingly, Celebrity Queen's first four dams ( Celebrity Miss, Miss Margaret, Fancy Miss and Radiant Ann ) were all Stakes winners.
It has been previously stated that if one was writing a book on the history of breeding then Celebrity Queen could be used as a worthy example.
Looking at her pedigree page reflects considerable work having gone into her male line presences as well. There is her sire Redoute's Choice which brings in Danehill, there's Sir Tristram, Marscay, More Than Ready, all of them champions just as she was. A Gr 1 winner to be found at every level of her pedigree.
Little wonder Miss Margaret has remained a sentimental favourite of the Peters.
The third mare we look at is Flaming Heart ( Salieri ) 1993.
This mare had four daughters in Suspicion ( Mukddaam ) 1998, Heartbeat ( Rory's Jester ) 1999, Morning Mist ( Anabaa ) 2006 and Real Love ( Desert King ) 2010, the latter the winner of the 2015 Gr 2 Perth Cup for the Peters.
Breedings from Flaming Heart have primarily focussed on the latter pair with Morning Mist having produced the promising filly Devoted ( Xtravagant ) 2018 whilst it is early days as yet in the breeding shed for Real Love.
More to come from this family for sure.
The fourth of the Peters "foundation mares" is Reflected Image ( Bluebird ) 1996.
A winner of 4 of her 10 starts for $153,495 included in her wins was the Gr 3 WA Oaks of 1999.
This Northern Dancer-line mare ( via Storm Bird ) is one to keep an eye on through her three daughters the full-sisters New Image 2006, Ideal Image 2011 and Perfect Reflection 2012, all three by one of Peters favoured stallion's in More Than Ready ( who carries a key female balancing line of Northern Dancer, something that is always likely to be a big assist with the numerous male lines that abound in today's stallion pedigrees ).
Watch in particular the branch that evolves through Peters 2015 Gr 1 Kingston Town Classic winner Perfect Reflection.
By far the two greatest "foundation families" that Bob Peters has developed have come through Antique and Lady Ashford.
And when Bob Peters expresses his belief in a family he sure does follow through.
Antique ( Metal Storm ) 1999 has a hybrid ( outcrossed ) pedigree with no duplications within her first 5-generations and descends paternally from Peters favoured Nasrullah-line via Grey Sovereign.
Three of her visits to Redoute's Choice have produced fillies; the full-sisters Arcadia 2004, Broadway Belle 2005 and Antique Belle 2009.
And at this stage, from the first two Peters has struck gold.
Broadway Belle's successive matings ( a common practice identified with Peters breeding ventures ) to Pierro have left the highly successful colts Action 2014, a Gr 2 WATC Derby winner $486,700 and Regal Power 2015 who has a Gr 2 WATC Derby as well as two Gr 1's the Railway Stakes and the 2021 Kingston Town Classic to add to his burgeoning list of accomplishments.
If ever there was an example of breeding a horse for all distances then Regal Power epitomises it with career earnings to date of A$4,571,385 ( 9 wins from 27 starts ).
For all the promise that Broadway Belle has shown to date, she has however been outshone by her older full-sister Arcadia who has founded a much larger branch of this family for Peters.
Arcadia's six foals to race have all been winners.
Her son Arcadia Prince ( Pierro ) 2014 won 7 of his 13 starts earning $400,275 but even he was to be eclipsed by her numerous daughters which included the Listed winner Arcadia Rose ( Kheleyf ) 2010, Gr 2 WATC Derby winner Arcadia Dream ( Domesday ) 2012 and darling princess Arcadia Queen ( Pierro ) 2015, the latter a full-sister to Arcadia Prince.
Whilst Arcadia Rose was only lightly raced winning 3 of her 5 starts for $87,300, Arcadia Dream won 5 of her 12 starts for a very respectable $529,350.
But Arcadia Queen was to take things to a new plane, her 16 starts netting 8 wins including the 2018 Gr 2 WA Guineas and the 2018 Kingston Town Classic.
A move to the Eastern seaboard saw her capturethe 2019 Gr 2 Theo Marks Stakes and the Gr 1 MacKinnon Stakes whilst in 2020 she added a further Gr 1 with success in the Caulfield Stakes taking her life earnings to A$3,966,035 winning at distances ranging from 1300-2000m.
Arcadia Queen, like Celebrity Queen before her, was to be sold by Peters at the 2021 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale for A$3.3 million to the successful bid of Arrowfield Stud.
Arcadia Queen's 3rd dam Bonny Guest ( What Guest ) was also a formidable producer  with 8 individual winners including the Gr 2 winner Kalatiara ( Metal Storm ), the dam of WATC Farley Stakes winner Kalahaar ( Choisir ) and the Listed winner Kentiara ( Metal Storm ), the latter a full-sister to Kalatiara.
One to keep an eye on moving forward may be Arcadia Grace ( Hinchinbrook ) 2018, a daughter of Arcadia Dream but we are sure most breeders eyes will be firmly on Arcadia Queen from Arcadia's branch of the Antique family.
The last, but by no means least of thesix Bob Peters "foundation families" focuses on Lady Ashford ( Royal Academy ) coincidentally also born in 1999, the same year as Antique.
Lady Ashford traces direct maternally ( tail female line ) to the much lauded matriarch La Troienne who she carries as her 8th dam via the latter's daughter Baby League so it is fair to say she was destined to commence a broodmare career on the front foot.
Being by Royal Academy, she is another Northern Dancer-line mare this time via Nijinsky II.
Her dam Springfire is sex-balance linebred to the female gems Mumtaz Begum ( via son Nasrullah and daughter Malindi ) and Striking ( via son Hitting Away and daughter Batter Up ) with Batter Up also being the 4th dam of Springfire.
The Peters have bred from four daughters of Lady Ashford; these being Star Encounter ( Jeune ) 2004, Galaxy Queen ( Jeune ) 2005, Sentimental Star ( More Than Ready ) 2006 and Favourite Star ( More Than Ready )2007.
Already we can see a breeding pattern beginning to emerge with repeat matings at least in part adhering to Mendel's Laws of Probability.
Bob Peters sent Star Encounter, winner of 8 of her 30 starts bankrolling $420,390 including success in the Listed Pinjarra Cup 2300m and a 2nd in the 2008 WA Oaks and a 3rd in the WA Derby the same year, to Redoute's Choice to produce Perfect Jewel 2014 ( winner of the 2017 WA Guineas as well as the La Trice Classic - both Gr 2's ).
Star Encounter's first foal Star Exhibit ( Statue Of Liberty ) 2011 won two Perth Cup's ( 2017 and 2019 ) whilst Perfect Jewel's full-sister Royal Star 2013 won a Listed Natasha Stakes.
Star Encounter also produced the filly Spritely Star ( Statue Of Liberty ) 2017 and has others to follow including a foal by Dundeel so more to come here.
Rather sadly, the same will not be the case for Galaxy Queen, winner of 5 of her 13 starts for $133,400 who died in 2013 having left just the two foals, both winners, the best being Galaxy Star ( Redoute's Choice ) 2012 who won the 2018 Gr 1 Railway Stakes, her 13 wins from 19 starts having amassed $1,541,000. Perhaps she can rekindle the Galaxy Queen arm of Lady Ashford in the years to come.
And just as Lady Ashford's daughters Star Encounter and Galaxy Queen are full-sisters by Jeune, another set of lesser racetrack performed daughters in Sentimental Star 2006 ( 1 win from 11 starts for a modest $17,705 ) and Favourite Star 2007 are also full-sisters by More Than Ready.
Sentimental Star has left the full-sister and brother Sentimental Queen 2016 ( 5 wins from 15 starts, $128,000 ) and Sentimental Hero 2017 ( 3 wins from 6 starts, $111,000 to date ) both by Al Maher, as well as another brother Sentimental Friend 2014 ( 2 wins to date $88,000 ).
Sentimental Star's full-sister Favourite Star ( 2 wins from 6 starts $25,050 ) has to date left the Listed winner Enticing Star ( Testa Rossa ) 2013 ( 8 wins from 10 starts $480,200 ) and a younger half-sister Devoted Star ( Al Maher ) the latter being a full-sister in blood to Sentimental Queen and Sentimental Hero.
Whilst Peters has continued to breed from and develop these "six foundation families" the extent of his homebred breeding endeavours does not stop just with them.
There are a number of fillies he has raced and then bred from , occasionally also purchasing a filly that catches his attention.
From the mare Reigning Belle ( Military Plume, by Sir Tristram ) 1994 ( 5 wins from 10 starts ) he bred Truly Special ( Jeune ) 2006 ( 3 wins from 4 starts ) who in turn is the dam of Truly Great ( Dundeel ) 2015, a winner of 8 of his 14 starts reaping $997,475 including the Gr 1 Kingston Town Classic of 2020.
Truly Special has also left Special Alert ( Not A Single Doubt ) 2014 whose 2 wins from 11 starts $177,990 have included the 2018 WA Oaks Gr 3. 
Another family potentially on the rise.
Dark Amber ( Marscay ) 1997 produced Cohort ( Scenic ) 2004 ( 6 wins from 14 starts, $216,925 , winner of both the Belmont Guineas and Belmont Classic in 2008 ) but his half-sister Dark Miss ( More Than Ready ) 2008 ( 5 wins from 25 starts, $167,410 ) has left three fillies; Dark Choice ( Redoute's Choice ) 2015 ( 1 win from 4 starts being the Gr 3 WA Oaks , $156,800 ), Dark Lass ( Redoute's Choice ) 2017 and the promising Mrs America  ( American Pharoah ) 2018 ( 2 wins to date from 3 starts, $26,350 ) hence leaving Peters with plenty of scope to nuture this family to greater achievements.
Another good Peters mare Magical Miss descends directly from Lyphard's maternal family featuring Goofed close up in her damline.
Magical Miss ( Danehill ) 1998 had 4 wins from 16 starts for $1,039, 750 including the Gr 2 Memsie Stakes where she lowered the colours of the great Fields Of Omagh. Also included in her wins were the Gr 1 VATC One Thousand Guineas defeating Ha Ha and the Gr 1 VRC Oaks for trainer Bart Cummings winning at distances ranging from 1410-2500m.
From Magical Miss Peters has bred Mystical Miss ( More Than Ready ) 2010 ( 3 wins from 12 starts $49,710 ) who in turn has left Mystical View ( Canford Hills ) 2017 ( 2 wins from 6 starts to date $60,910 ).
From the mare Purfect Size ( Catbird ) 2003, who traces direct maternally to the great matriarch Chelandry, Peters has bred the filly Real Charm ( Reset ) 2010 ( 5 wins from 13 starts $249,710 ) and her full-brother Picture Perfect 2015 not forgetting her other son of Reset in Mystic Prince who landed success in the 2013 WATC Derby Gr 2.
Peters early liking for the stallion Metal Storm has also yielded rewarding success with his daughters Storm Alert  2001 having produced Windstorm ( Redoute's Choice ) 2016 ( 7 wins from 10 starts, $345,470 including the Weekend Hussler Stakes ) and Stormy Nova ( also a 2001 model ) having produced Superstorm ( Sebring ) 2016 ( 4 wins from 18 starts, $2,929,050 including the Gr 1 VRC Cantala Stakes defeating Icebath and Cascadian and the Gr 2 MVRC Feehan Stakes ).
And if this was not enough, Peters also has another mare by Metal Storm on the boil and a potential favourite( as he raced her ) in Avenida Madero 1998.
This mare won 13 races for Peters  from 40 starts amassing $594,335 including the Gr 2 ( Sir ) Lee Steere Stakes, the Gr 3 Roma Cup , the Gr 3 A.J.Scahill Stakes and finishing runner-up to top class Eastern raider Miss Andretti in the 2005 Winterbottom Stakes.
Avenida Madero is the dam of Respondent ( Haradasun ) 2010 ( 5 wins from 46 starts, $709,040 including victory in the 2014 Gr 2 WA Derby ) and his full-brother State Attorney 2014.
But this mare's greatest accomplishment at Stud has been leaving the filly Graceful Girl ( by Nature Strip's sire Nicconi ), a half-sister to Respondent and State Attorney.
Graceful Girl was part of Peters clean sweep of the West Australian Triple Crown of Group 1's in 2021 and for that reason will always have a special place in Peters heart, her Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes ( 1200m ) win being centre stage of her 6 wins to date for lifetime earnings of $798,700 easily eclipsing both her mother Avenida Madero and her half-brother Respondent.
Bob Peters also raced Western Jewels dam Our Millster ( by Marooned, therefore also from the Nasrullah sireline as with his Metal Storm mares ) 1999.
Putting Our Millster to an old favourite ( Jeune ) he produced Western Jewel 2006 who was to win the 2012 Gr 2 Perth Cup ( 2400m ).
In 2013 Western Jewel produced Western Temple ( Dream Ahead ) who landed 7 wins from 43 starts including the Listed Bunbury Stakes 1400m for earnings of $572,900 whilst her 2016 filly Western Queen ( a full-sister to Western Temple ) appears to have gone unraced.
Western Jewel was the mare that many readers may recall Peters sent to New Zealand and left at Haunui Farm for several seasons to be covered by their shuttle stallion Iffraaj only to return home when Iffraaj discontinued shuttling.
As luck would have it, Western Jewel produced three colts to Iffraaj albeit Peters praying that one of her foals to Iffraaj could have been a filly.
Her first Iffraaj colt named Western Empire 2017 has the potential to be Peters best racehorse, possibly even better than Regal Power.
He has been a revelation on the racetrack to date winning both the 2021 Gr 1 Railway Stakes ( 1600m ) as well as the Gr 2 WA Derby. His win in the Railway Stakes by four lengths also saw him start the shortest price favourite in the 134 year history of the race.
From just the 13 starts to date Western Empire has won 7 times already bankrolling $1,367,550 and it feels like he has just arrived as the new kid on the block.
Western Knight 2018 and Western Power 2020 are to follow ( both also by Iffraaj ) as is a Toronado filly so this family has the makings of a progressive newer family for Peters and one promising a big upward spiral.
Bob Peters purchased Midnight Special ( Zabeel ) 2005 as a yearling.
She won a race for himbut was always destined for the breeding barn having quickly made her mark as the dam of multiple Stakes winner Neverland ( Big Brown ) and the New Zealand GR 2 Easter Handicap winner Demonetization ( All Too Hard ).
Midnight Special is also the dam of Midnight Blue ( So You Think ), a gelding that has now won 5 from 19 for Peters including the 2022 Perth Cup ( Gr 2, 2400m ) and earning his keep with a healthy $514,050 in career earnings to date.
So it came as no surprise that Peters should part with $190,000 at the 2017 NZB Yearling Sales to purchase a Reliable Man filly whose dam Be Inspired was a full-sister to Midnight Special.
Yet another shrewd investment by Bob Peters as the resultant filly ( named Inspirational Girl ) was to land Peters the Gr 1 Railway Stakes ( 1600m ) in 2020, now having recorded 9 wins from 13 starts and $1,121,625 in winnings to date.
For those interested, and as an aside, Be Inspired is also the dam of Brookspire ( Hinchinbrook ) a young filly currently in the stable of Chris Waller ( where she has won 1 from only the 3 starts to date ) for owner Brae Sokolski ( a part-owner of 2021 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant ).
One mare worth keeping a close eye on in her breeding exploits is the Peters former top class filly ( now mare ) Delicacy ( Al Maher - Simply Wicked, by Scenic ) 2011.
Delicacy was voted the Australian 2014-15 3YO Of The Year ( defeating Winx in the voting ) in a season that saw her win 2 Derby's ( WA and SA ) and 2 Oaks ( WA and SA ).
In the SA Derby 2500m she defeated a subsequent Hong Kong Horse Of The Year in Werther.
She was to back up the following year with victory in the 2016 WA Perth Cup Gr 2.
She is definitely another one to watch in the near future.
A few other Peters mares to watch in terms of developing new breeding lines ( families ) are:

Dreamaway ( More Than Ready - Legal Consent, by Danehill ) 2007 ( 6 wins from 30 starts $804,100 including the 2011 Gr 2 WA Derby and the Gr 3 WA Oaks ). This mare's dam Legal Consent is a half-sister to one of Peters "foundation mares" in Miss Margaret.
Dreamaway is the dam of Brave Dream 2016, a son of Declaration Of War.

First Impressions ( Rip Van Winkle - Striker, by Van Nistelrooy ) 2012, her 3 wins including the Gr 3 2016 WA Oaks.

Shining Star ( Exceed And Excel - Off The Planet, by Fusaichi Pegasus ) 2012 who descends direct maternally to Denise's Joy via Joy And Fun.

Show Honey ( Showcasing - Pretty Ready, by More Than Ready ) 2013 who earned nearly $200,000 on the racetrack mostly in New Zealand and is from the Gr 1 winning family of Rising Romance ( now a highly successful broodmare in the band at Arrowfield Stud ). This mare was due to foal to American Pharoah in 2021.

Fairy Fast ( Unencumbered - Fairessa, by Encosta De Lago ) who won 3 of her 6 starts $39,065.

Tuscan Queen ( Fastnet Rock - Tavarnelle, by Zabeel ) 2016 6 wins from 10 starts $580,750 including the Gr 2 WA Derby and the Gr 3 WA Oaks both in 2020.

Memorable Miss ( Showcasing - Misstrum, by Stratum ) 2017

Airlie Queen ( Artie Schiller - Flying Hope, by Flying Spur ) 2017

Magical Dream ( Dream Ahead - Mystic Hour, by Redoute's Choice ) 2017 4 wins from 7 starts $160,210 who traces direct maternally to Humour ( her 3rd dam ).

Treasured Star ( Toronado - Treasured Gift, by Big Brown ) 2018 3 wins from 5 starts to date $324,600 including the Gr 2 WA Guineas.

It would of course be remiss of us not to touch on a few male horses other than those already mentioned that have carried Bob and Sandra Peters famous cerise and white colours to success over the years. Some of these include;

Congressman ( Ksar - Approvetor, by Approval ) 1983 ( 7 wins from 32 starts, $421,380 including the Gr 2 VATC Herbert Power Handicap when trained on the Eastern seaboard by George Hanlon and narrowly beaten by Imposera in the 1988 Caulfield Cup ). Hanlon, trainer of three Melbourne Cup winners, also trained both Spectrum ( Old Spice ) 1993 and Centisle ( Centaine ) 1990 for Peters, the latter including amongst 6 wins the Gr 1 SAJC Goodwood Handicap and the Gr 3 MVRC Tesio Stakes for lifetime earnings of $327,450.

Field Officer ( Old Spice - Carre D'or, by Le Cordonnier ) 1989 ( 3 wins from 33 starts $268,460 including the 1993 Gr 2 Perth Cup whilst also finishing runner-up to Dark Ksar in the 1995 Gr 2 C.B.Cox Stakes ).

Crown Prosecutor ( Grand Lodge - Dark Hope, by At Talaq ) 2000 ( 7 wins from 27 starts $404,655 including the Gr 2 Perth Cup in 2005.
His 4th dam Clearaway ( Le Filou ) being a half-sister to Te Awa ( Foxbridge ) the latter the dam of the very talented New Zealand galloper of the 60's in Tatua.

Lords Ransom ( Jeune - Palace Alice, by Palace Music ) 2003 ( 9 wins from 18 starts $722,370 including the 2010 Gr 2 Perth Cup and the Gr 2 C.B.Cox Stakes as well as running 2nd to Guyno in the 2008 Bunbury Cup ).

Zaratite ( Animal Kingdom - Zarakiysha, by Kendor ) 2015 has been a racewinner for Peters as has True Attraction ( More Than Ready - Significant, by Flying Spur ) 2015 ( 4 wins from 10 starts to date $217,345 including the Listed Aquanita Stakes ).
True Attraction's dam Significant is a half-sister to Crown Prosecutor ( as above ).

Other Peters male horses still racing in recent times include the likes of Expressionist ( Pierro - Tranquility, by Redoute's Choice ) 2016, Giant Leap ( Iffraaj - Moonbound, by Catbird ) 2016, Treasured Crown ( So You Think - Jewelled, by Zabeel ) 2016 who traces direct maternally to Mrs Moss ( his 5th dam ), Conquered Zone ( Eurozone - Conquistar, by Danasinga ) 2016, Secret Plan ( I Am Invincible - Highly Secret, by High Chaparral )2017 and Bogart ( Redoute's Choice - Avante, by Hurricane Sky ) 2016.

Whilst being the first to acknowledge that we have included by no means all of the Peters notable gallopers and some not so notable, we have mentioned a good number of them many of which will get further mention in Part III of our Bob Peters story when looking more closely at the breeding methods he has deployed.

As a parting shot to Part II of the Bob Peters story, one further male horse to keep an eye on moving forward is a colt named Affluential.
Affluential is a full-brother to the 2021 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant and a $140,000 purchase by Peters out of the 2020 NZB Yearling Sales.

In Part III of the Bob Peters story we will look at some of his racing and breeding achievements, his future ambitions in the racing game as well as looking at some of the breeding methods and techniques he has deployed to reach the level of success that both he and Sandra have enjoyed over such a vast period of time.  

   

Relaying the Bob Peters story in an abridged manner is almost impossible with a biography doing far more justice.
This is simply because the Western Australia owner/breeder has been a colossus in any venture he chooses to tackle. His is a story of true heart and soul.
His achievements unprecedented in Australian thoroughbred breeding and racing as a private individual. Bob Peters does not choose the limelight, rather the limelight has chosen him.
In this article, comprising three parts, whilst we talk about Bob's achievements we would also like to acknowledge the role of his dedicated wife Sandra as a co-owner/breeder and of course shareholder in Peters Investments, the financial vehicle that has facilitated ongoing success.
We have chosen to split the Bob Peters story into three parts ( to be posted individually ).

Bob Peters: Part I - King Of The West - Background, Philosophies and Achievements.
Bob Peters: Part II - Development of Homebred Families - An exercise in patience, persistence, satisfaction and reward.
Bob Peters: Part III - Discernible Breeding Patterns and Unfinished Business.

Today, Bob Peters is referred to as the "King of the West " a title that may not sit altogether comfortably for a man who is best described by others as quiet and humble, gentlemanly, of polite manner and comforting yet somewhat guarded. And certainly, nothing is to be taken for granted.
Along with his wife Sandra, the year 2021 has been stellar for the couple as both owners and breeders culminating in creating history by being the first to make a clean sweep of Ascot's ( Perth ) Triple Crown, the three Group 1 events; the Railway Stakes ( 1600m ) with Western Empire ( Iffraaj ), the Winterbottom Stakes ( 1200m ) with Graceful Girl ( Nicconi ) and the Kingston Town Classic ( 1800m ) with Regal Power ( Pierro ), all three winners being homebred and therefore adding extra satisfaction and so much more to their levels of achievement.
Such a pinnacle of success has not been instant but rather a result of nearly 50 years of hands on thoroughbred breeding.
When Bob Peters "retired" in 1973 at the tender age of 30 and acquired has first two racehorses, both winners, and a handful of yearling fillies he had "caught the bug" and was in it for the long haul.
From 1973 until the present day horses owned and mostly bred by the Peters have won 10 Pert Cups ( Gr 2, 2400m ), 7 Kingston Town Classics ( Gr 1, 1800m ), 6 Railway Stakes ( Gr 1, 1600m ), 11 WATC Derby's ( Gr 2, 2400m ), 11 WATC Oak's ( Gr3, 2400m ) 4 WA Guineas ( Gr 2, 1600m ) and 2 Winterbottom Stakes ( Gr 1, 1200m ).
Their honour roll of big race winners include such names as Congressman, Old Comrade, Real Love, Miss Margaret, Delicacy, Perfect Reflection, Galaxy Star, Star Exhibit, Enticing Star Celebrity Queen, Arcadia Queen and Regal Power.
The above achievements are testimony to Bob Peters over-riding breeding philosophy of focussing on soundness and horses that can perform at all distances.
This fundamental philosophy has withstood the test of time as the peters have enjoyed more than 200 Stakessuccesses throughoutthe above period with close to 1500 other wins outside of Stakes races.
Also combining in a good deal of this success has been the Peters mainstream trainers Grant and Alana Williams and jockey William Pike ( aka the "Wizard of the West" ).
Bob Peters was born in 1943 ( right in the middle of World War II ) on his parents farm at Dalwallinu ( located north east of Perth ) , his first association with horses being learning to ride them bareback.
Growing up on the farm nurtured his affinity with animals and shaped his desire to want to become a farmer but he was also a gifted student ultimately earning an all fees paid prized scholarship to the prestigious Hale School, something he was to surprisingly decline simply because he did not want to go there.
Upon leaving school, Bob Peters worked a couple of "starter" jobs through the early to mid-60's, firstly for an Insurance company and then as a "Boring contractor" sinking well holes ( for water ) mostly in the Wheat Belt before then joining the Sales team at Western Motors where it took him only one month to become the top Salesman.
So very much shades of Gerry Harvey ( Harvey Norman ) here who has widely espoused his days starting out as a door to door salesman hard selling established brands of vacuum cleaners the likes of Electrolux amongst others.
And like Gerry Harvey in his chosen profession, Bob Peters within short time and with a lot of hard work and long hours having been head-hunted by another car sales mogul was soon establishing his own car sales franchises under the Premier Motors banner and very quickly becoming a significant figure in the Car Sales industry in Western Australia.
So much so that at the age of 30 Bob Peters was a self-made multi-millionaire operating 9 Dealerships , employing over 600 staff under 11 Sales Managers' and selling more than 10,000 vehicles a year, BMW and Honda being his principal franchises.
The year was 1973 and it was time to "retire" and pursue his boyhood dream of becoming a farmer.
He purchased a parcel of land from Robert Holmes A'Court at Keysbrook, increased and developed the holding creating the showpiece that is today known as "Yalebra".
But so-called "early retirement" was to last only as long as three months for the young entrepreneur.
Having met with instant success with his first two racehorses purchased and in the same year being head-hunted and made Master of the West Australian Hunt Club leading on to other racing administration opportunites primarily utilising his "strategic thinking skills" as a key facet of his overall business acumen, Bob was also focussed on another opportunity much closer to home.
In a short space of time Yalebra was also standing stallions; firstly Ksar ( 1970 ) a Blenheim line stallion via Donatello II and Alycidon, and then Old Spice ( 1980 ) a Star Kingdom line horse via the latter's son Kaoru Star.
This also laid the platform for Bob Peters to accumulate mares to go to these stallions and seeding the foundations of his introduction to thoroughbred bloodlines and pedigrees.
As could only be expected, Bob Peters was a quick and astute learner with Old Spice in particular paving the way for early black type success through his sons and daughters.
In 1990, Old Spice's daughter Natasha provided the peters with the first of their 11 WATC Derby successes ( she also won the WA Oaks in the same year ) to be followed in 1993 by son Field Officer winning the first of their 10 Perth Cups.
In 1998 another son Old Nick added a Kingston Town Classic ( their first of 7 ) as well as a WA Guineas ( the first of 4 ) whilst Old Money added their second WATC Derby in 2000 ( emulating the feat of Natasha by also capturing the WA Oaks in the same year ) but perhaps the best of their Old Spice progeny was Old Comrade, winner of the 2001 Railway Stakes ( the first of 6 for the Peters ) as well as winning back-to-back in 2001 and 2002 in the Kingston Town Classic.
Many readers may also remember Old Comrade's victory over fellow Statesider Northerly in the Gr 1 2000m Australian Cup of 2002, a race that Northerly was to claim for himself just 12 months later in 2003.
Old Comrade's victories would have been the source of immense satisfaction for Peters, a true homebred product being by Peters stallion Old Spice and out of the mare Belgravia who was by Peters other stallion of the time in Ksar.
Old Spice was also to claim fame as being the sire of the 1999 Melbourne Cup winner, the Bart Cummings trained Rogan Josh ( although not owned by the Peters ).
The great "Carnivals of the Eighties" where "East Met West" saw the West as the home of some of Australia's biggest owners the likes through their burgeoning business success the likes of Robert Holmes A'Court, Laurie Connell, Dallas Dempster and John Roberts all being acclaimed entrepreneurial titans.
Whilst Bob Peters had the financial muscle to have "mixed it" with the "big boys" he preferred a much quieter path away from the limelight.
Rather than spend vast sums of money on glamourous yearlings at the various National Yearling Sales like many of those listed above, Peters quickly discovered he gleaned far more satisfaction out of the challenge of breeding and developing his own champions, a course he has maintained to reach the level of success he has today, one of near total dominance.
Put another way and using Peters own terminology  he discovered "It's all about families and foundation mares". We will add to this "and then it's all about breeding them to the best compatible stallion one can access and afford".
Bob Peters chose a path that would see him "in the game" for the "long haul"  and with this he has acquired immense breeding knowledge so much so that today he is the envy of even the largest Commercial breeders in Australia.
Through nearly five decades of breeding from predominantly a half a dozen or so "foundation mares" and their families which he has patiently developed over time it is little wonder that Bob Peters draws the following accolades from some of the Industry's finest participants.
"Bob Peters is an unbelievable breeder, and anything that he is associated with is  always of a high calibre, and we are just delighted to get her" the words of Tom Magnier ( Coolmore Stud )just after they had secured Celebrity Queen for A$2.5 million at the May 2021 Inglis Chairman's Sale.
"Bob is quite strategic, he's a long term thinker, and he's not after overnight results which I feel is one of the main reasons he has been so successful as an owner/breeder" the words of John Messara ( Arrowfield Stud ).
So what may be the key elements to Peters real success as a highly successful owner/breeder?
First and foremost, by breeding from your own mares and entering the long game ( breeding to race rather than breeding for the Sales ) you get to know your breed far more comprehensively in terms of the specifics of what each individual requires.
This may come about from identifying the weaknesses in her progeny as racing types and setting out to correct these in future stallion matings.
Conversely good quality racing types may highlight that a mare gets on particularly well with one stallion to entice multiple matings with that stallion. For example, Broadway Belle appears to have "clicked" with Pierro producing for Peters the top gallopers Action and Regal Power.
Some of Peters families he has been breeding for five generations now. They have stood the test of time.
This allows useful comparisons to be made with individuals  within the greater family allowing identification of typical or non-typical traits and attributes, strengths and deficiencies, all of which add up to shaping potential stallion selection for each mare.
It is generally recognised that Bob Peters has been very conscientious with his matings and always paying attention to detail.
Like many breeders, in his formative years even Bob Peters had his favourites, many of which can still be found in the maternal pedigrees of his horses racing today.
For example, he liked mares by Metal Storm and Jeune ( both of whom carried the Nasrullah paternal presence through Grey Sovereign ) and also Marscay.
In more recent times we see the presences of More Than Ready ( he carries a favourable female balancing line of Northern Dancer ) and Redoute's Choice  shining through in his mares. Both of these male presences have also acted as substantial upgraders for his families.
In the case of Redoute's Choice , from his early days at Stud, Peters was a keen supporter. He bred of raced six mares by this stallion ( Antique Belle, Broadway Belle, Galaxy Star, Perfect Jewel, Royal Star and Very Tempting ) to win 9 Stakes races between them with only Very Tempting not being out of a mare by either Metal Storm or Jeune, both favourite broodmare sires of Peters from the Nasrullah/Grey Sovereign sireline which he so admired.
Very Tempting was a $420,000 Magic Millions purchase and out of a More Than Ready mare, another favourite of Peters. She traced directly direct maternally to Federico Tesio's great mare Donatella ( her 6th dam ). No wonder Very Tempting won the 2017 Gr 3 WA Oaks with a pedigree backgound like that.
Al Maher has been another stallion well-supported in more recent times.
Rather than standing stallions at his own property "Yalebra" ( these days needed for his burgeoning band of broodmares along with young stock whilst others reside at Holbrook Thoroughbreds in the Hunter Valley ), Peters has elected to take shares in select stallions which currently include the likes of Vancouver, Xtravagant, Animal Kingdom, Dundeel and Tosen Stardom.
Whilst this policy has often been the downfall of many a breeder ( as it can limit flexibility of stallion choice ) this has not been the case for Bob Peters and his targeted breeding plans. As a group they represent the blend that Peters seeks for his families including some newly developing families outside of his "foundation families".
Bob Peters will be the first to concede that most of his breeding has been targeted towards middle distance  but he is wise enough to confess that he has also bred a lot of apparent sprinting types ( particularly in more recent times ) or "turn of foot" types.
Regal Power has demonstrated the latter in his most recent Kingston Town Classic victory but one just gets the feeling here that such qualities are more demonstative of the way the overall breed is heading as more and more stallion's are being bred on speed/stamina crosses and vice/versa rather than being bred for outright stamina ( both sides of the pedigree ) or outright speed ( again via both sides of the pedigree ).
Bob Peters has never been scared of using good stallions to upgrade his families.And sometimes that means supporting the very best.
He has been a consistent supporter of the late Redoute's Choice since the early days of his Stud career and has at least six valuable fillies/mares by him that have nine black type credits amongst them.
Pierro is a good example of a stallion that Peters also identified early on as suiting his families and with which he was willing to chance his arm in his early days as an unproven stallion.
Peters has bred and raced Stakes winners Arcadian Prince and Action from his first crop and from his second crop Arcadian Queen and Regal Power.
From these outcomes Bob Peters has carved a reputation in the breeding industry as " a good man to assist a stallion" this being further evidenced by a stallion standing his 5th season in Australia in 2021 and desperately in need of a flagbearer in American Pharoah.
The Peters bred and owned Mrs America appears to have come along at just the right time whilst she also has a two year old brother and a yearling full-sister also waiting in the wings.
The majority of the Peters better racehorses that they have bred trace to the following six mares ( call them the Peters "foundation mares" if you like ) - Antique, Lady Ashford, Miss Margaret, So Stunning, Flaming Heart and Reflected Image.
Whilst all have contributed to the Peters cause, there can be no denying that Antique and Lady Ashford ( both born in 1999 ) have made the greatest contributions.
We will briefly look at the contribution each has made identifying the more notable performers from each stirp. This will be done via a chronological order via the birth date of each of the so-called "foundation mares".
Brief mention will also be made of some more recent families Bob Peters is also beginning to develop.
​All this in Part II of our Bob Peters story.