Harness: Finding your racing/breeding diamond in Harrisburg

Finding top racing talent is not always easy as very few people want to part with a horse that is putting money in their bank accounts. Friday's Mixed Sale in Harrisburg provides potential buyers with the rare opportunity to pick up fast, accomplished Standardbreds that may have upside not only on the track but also in the breeding realm.

Selling as HIPs 1285 to 1548 and including two can't-miss supplements on the back end selling as 1606 and 1607, there is no shortage of horsepower up for grabs. Perhaps leading the way in terms of consignors is Diamond Creek with a clear handful of horses almost anyone would love to own.

"Team Burke" sent a pair of very accomplished 3-year-old fillies to Diamond Creek to consign in HIP 1382 Mcseaside and HIP 1384 Strong Poison. The former is a half-million-dollar earner with a 1:48 4/5 career mark and the latter has eclipsed the $825K barrier with an even more impressive 1:48 best time.

"We couldn't be more thrilled and honored to sell for the winningest racing stable and quietly the top breeder in our sport this year," said Diamond Creek VP Shaun Laungani. "You would say that Mcseaside has more pedigree while Strong Poison is going to be a top physical presence in the mixed sale. She is big, athletic, dark, and is stunning physically. She is nearly 17 hands, which is tall for any pacing filly. When she comes out of the stall on Friday, people's jaws are going to drop."

As good as those pacing fillies are, perhaps the Diamond Creek consignment is saving the best for last with a pair of Marcus Melander-trained trotting 3-year-old fillies that includes Hambletonian Oaks winner Heaven Hanover.

"That particular racing stable has had extreme success in the last five years with Marcus Melander with horses like In Range, Temporal Hanover, Secret Volo, Heaven Hanover, and more I'm forgetting. None of them are breeders, so they sell everything when they decide to move on from racing them," said Laungani. "Typically they've done it privately, but this year they put them in the fabulous fillies. They are extremely valuable but they are in the supplement so people need to remember to stick around Friday because they won't want to miss the fireworks at the end."

Diamond Creek is also selling a number of boys, including a standout in 3-year-old Captaintreacherous colt Combustion. While he never quite put it all together in 2023, he did post a 1:49 3/5 win as a 2-year-old and perhaps had some excuses this year.

"People need to know that Combustion wasn't himself this year. He ran into a lot of sickness in Canada. He really didn't get into full form much outside of the Bluegrass and Tattersalls where he was near full form. There is no reason he can't be a solid racehorse for somebody, and he's still a stallion prospect," said Laungani, who pointed out a few others people may want to consider on the lower end of the price spectrum.

"On the trotting side, HIP 1500 Onion Gum and 1502 Challenger are two very capable racehorses with bright futures. A bit of a sleeper would be 1503 Collector S and 1317 is Dubai. She got her first win at 2 and is just coming into her own. She is a very well-bred filly that has a bright future ahead of her. She is a Diamond Creek homebred that wouldn't be for sale if not for the fact that we are downsizing the trotting side of the racing stable, and we already have like three sisters and the dam in the broodmare band.

"I also have to highlight 1315. This is a Downbytheseaside half-sister to Sylvia Hanover. She only raced a time or two this year but is ready to race next year. She just had a few speed bumps during the year."

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Diamond Creek is not the only consignor loaded with top horses and Preferred Equine Marketing certainly has some good ones led by two from trainer Tony Alagna's clients in HIP 1511 Hungry Angel Boy and HIP 1533 I Did It Myway. Hungry Angel Boy is a 1:48 2/5 winner who finished second behind Confederate in the Meadowlands Pace while I Did It Myway owns a 1:47 3/5 mark and sports earnings north of $1.1 million.

"People like to buy from us because when they get the horse home they are in good shape. He's clean-legged and has been well taken care of. He's got a lot of longevity left," said Alagna about Hungry Angel Boy. "I Did It Myway is 4 turning 5. We kept him an extra year because of the Kentucky series and the Graduate. Now it is time for him to move on to Open company. [Hungry Angel Boy] is going to be 4 but doesn't have Kentucky, so it makes more sense to sell him. If he had Kentucky he's generally a horse we would've hung on to.

"He's been great for us," continued Alagna on I Did It Myway. "His last race he won the final at Cumberland in a new track record. It is a new track but he did it with [ear] plugs in and wrapped up. Andy [McCarthy] said he was never better. Just being a 4-year-old, he has a lot of shelf life left on him as well."

Northwood Bloodstock has an interesting prospect in the sale with HIP 1421 Tell's On A Roll. The Indiana Super Final winner back in October has earned north of $270K in 2023.

"She's eligible to two races after the sale, which I think is key," said Northwood's Bob Boni. "She won the Super Final and beat her entrymate, who was the favorite really, and then she came back to win the Open stake beating good fillies."

Another likely to catch some heavy bidding is HIP 1377 Rose Run Yolanda from the Todd Luther barn. The 3-year-old trotting filly has danced most of the big dances against the division's elite and picked up check after check to the tune of nearly $750K in her career.

The horses mentioned above just scratch the surface of the talent available to the highest bidders with big enough wallets on Friday. The action starts at 11:00 AM (ET).