Harness: All American offering the opportunity of a lifetime to breeders

For some new breeders in the sport opportunity will knock on their doors this week. The partial dispersal of broodmares with All American Harnessbreds exiting the nursery business opens the door for those looking for foundational mares. That’s pretty much exactly the situation founder Fred Hertrich III found himself in at the dawn of his standardbred operation in 1985.

“This is a great opportunity for regional breeders to build a solid broodmare band,” said Rob Tribbett, the General Manager of All American Harnessbreds. “Fred (Hertrich III) bought seven mares from the dispersal of William Brooks that included Gidget Lobell, the dam of No Nukes, and we’ve stuck with many of those families through the years.”

There were multiple connections to No Nukes in the mares Hertrich III purchased and it was his loyalty to that maternal line that eventually led to the birth of Test Of Faith, the sport’s Horse of the Year in 2021.

All American Harnessbreds dispersal will be featured in Harrisburg’s mixed sale on Thursday, November 7 with some of the sport’s most prominent mares that have impacted the industry this year available for purchase. A diverse group of stallion shares will be sold as will 35 current and future broodmares, with 14 of those trotting and the remainder pacing. Of interest to those who may think about a racing prospect that could turn into a future broodmare, HIP 1055 Buy A Round, the multiple-stakes winning 3-year-old daughter of Walner, is being sold.

“She’s done racing for the year. The Breeders Crown was going to be her last start,” said Tribbett. “She could come back to race as a 4-year-old or be bred, whatever the buyer wants to do.”

Buy A Round earned nearly $750K in two years on the track and was on the board in 18 of her 22 lifetime starts. Buy A Round was bred and owned by All American Harnessbreds from a dam that will also sell on Thursday. HIP 1056 On Your Tab, a Cantab Hall-sired broodmare, has been a 100 percent producer with just two foals of racing age. She sells as part of phase one of the dispersal carrying a full brother or sister to Buy A Round.

On Your Tab is just an 8-year-old broodmare and that reflects much of the allure of this specific dispersal in that it’s not a collection of over-the-hill type mares but in fact represents a farm that was thinking about the future.

“The dispersal came suddenly,” said Tribbett. “Our farm manager wanted to retire and we had to make this decision. I was actually buying mares recently.”

That shift in the tide bodes well for potential buyers since All American Harnessbreds mares have a long history but more importantly a current resume that includes a roster of champions.

Specifically, two of the farm’s best broodmares have produced two of the top sophomore pacers in North America this season in Captain Albano and Nijinsky. The American Ideal-sired Angelou, dam of Captain Albano, is a young mare at just 9-years-old with two stakes winners from her first two foals. Angelou will sell in-foal to the 2023 Horse of the Year Confederate as HIP 1057. Pirouette Hanover, the dam of Nijinsky, has a longer history as a broodmare and sells as one of the few barren mares in the collection. Pirouette Hanover has a phenomenal record as a producer, with multiple stakes performers from both the Somebeachsomewhere stallion and the Bettor’s Delight stallion line to her credit. She sells as HIP 1062.

All American Harnessbreds has remained loyal to a host of top maternal lines and Tribbett believes that buying a certain type of mare has led to their success over the years.

“We’ve stuck with certain families and bought mares that didn’t always have success stories you could see on paper, but we knew had talent,” said Tribbett. “We were looking for mares that stood well and then it was up to us to find the right stallion to breed them to.”

One family has stood the test of time for more than 20 years. In 2003 the farm also had a pair of sophomore pacing powerhouses in Meadowlands Pace champion Allamerican Theory and Allamerican Native, a Governor’s Cup winner in 2002. Two mares from Allamerican Native’s direct maternal line have been great producers so far and are entered in the dispersal on Thursday. HIP 1084 Music Row and her daughter HIP 1059 Act Like A Diva have both carved out niches in the last few years, with Act Like A Diva’s broodmare career off to a huge start after first-foal Act Fast was a multiple stakes winner with $573K banked through his career and a 1:47 3/5 record mile. Act Like A Diva is another of the mares in-foal to Confederate.

“We’ve got about five mares in-foal to Confederate in the sale,” said Tribbett. “He’s the perfect horse to breed so many mares to and he was a great horse.”

Music Row is a 100 percent producer and sells in-foal to red-hot sire Huntsville.

Then there is HIP 1058 Cannae Cammie, the dam of Test Of Faith, also in-foal to Confederate, with just six foals of racing age to her credit. The mare is far more than a one-hit-wonder, with her first two foals combining to earn over $1 million and Test Of Faith’s career bank account more than $2.4 million. Her last foal to sell went for $250,000 at auction, suggesting the mare may be one of the higher-priced to go in this auction.

While there will be fewer trotting mares offered by All American Harnessbreds, there is definite quality to the mix. HIP 1061 Bourbon Queen, a 3-year-old by Tactical Landing, starts her broodmare career for a new owner who will be getting quite a package with his/her purchase. The mare is in-foal to Chapter Seven, a stallion that has enjoyed a banner year on top of what already has been a brilliant career. Bourbon Queen is out of the $748K winner Queen Serene and is a half-sister to Goldsmith Maid runner-up Princess Deo.

The 9-year-old Brooklyn Eagle (HIP 1078) is in-foal to Tactical Landing, with the resulting foal to be the first from a Muscle Hill-line sire to her credit. The well-bred dam already has three six-figure yearlings to her credit. Brooklyn Eagle is a half-sister to the $523K winner Kings County as well as this year’s quality 2-year-old Hidalgo.

Tribbett said that the second phase of the dispersal will take place next year, with the remaining barren mares bred in the spring and offered in the fall.