If you couldn't find what you were looking for among the 90-plus Ontario-sired yearlings up for sale in Lexington last week, the London Classic Yearling Sale – scheduled for October 17 and 18 at noon – provides the possibility of purchasing a Sires Stakes Gold champion or perhaps a Grand Circuit-level horse. Nearly 300 yearlings will go up for bids at the Western Fair Agriplex in London, Ontario, from a number of top consignors, and all of it will be under the watchful eye of Sales Manager Greg Blanchard. Now in his second year at the helm, Blanchard is very exciting about how everything is shaping up. "Last year there was a big learning curve. We were ecstatic with how things went overall in our first year running it, and I think there is an even greater level of excitement now that we have a better idea of what we are doing. We have a nice spike in numbers this year and we've maintained the quality at the same time," said Blanchard, who feels now is a great time to buy an Ontario-bred. "Our program remains one of the very best in the world and I think the performance of some of our stars in recent years demonstrates that the Ontario-sired horses can compete with anybody, anywhere in the world," continued Blanchard. "We've got some quality in the sale and some exciting new stallions that people should be drawn to this year. Green Manalishi and Dancin Lou come to mind. They should bolster the already strong lineup of stallions already in place. Over the last year I've really gotten a better feel for the world-class consignors we have in this local area. The caliber of horses being bred and the way they are working to improve their broodmare bands, that really bodes well for the provincial program and the London Classic Yearling Sale." After a careful review of the catalog and pedigrees, we've compiled a baker's dozen list of yearlings worthy of a serious visual inspection. Even better, for the farms that were able to provide them, there is breeder commentary to give you a bit more insight on the prospects. The yearlings selected emanate from four consignors – Dean and Ashley Wilson, Winbak Farm, Preferred Equine and Seelster Farms, who next year will offer the first crop of worlds-fastest horse Bulldog Hanover, but that's a story for another year. DEAN & ASHLEY WILSON HIP 48 – P L Stevie This gal is part of a stacked consignment and is a first foal from P L Jill ($693K), who only got better with age. Sire Muscle Mass is certainly capable of producing a champion as we've already seen with Six Pack, Plunge Blue Chip and others. Dean & Ashley Comment: She's a pretty nice mare that is correct. We have high hopes for her. Any time you sell a first foal with a good mark and money made they usually attract attention. HIP 115 – The Hitman Heart On paper this colt has sale-topper written all over him. From the first crop of Green Manalishi S, he's a half-brother to near-millionaire (Canadian) Logan Park and standout 2-year-old Willys Home Run (multi-Gold winner and Pecaeful Way runner-up). Second dam also produced Open-type Undercover Strike ($808K). Dean & Ashley Comment: We raised both Logan Park and Willys Home Run. This is a big, tall colt that is a bit on the studdy side, but that is easily fixable. He does toe-out very little, but that seems to be a trait of the Green Manalishi's. He's really filled out a lot and gained weight since coming in because we keep the colts separate and he hasn't had many distractions lately. HIP 150 – Momas On A Roll Filly is a first foal from Sayso Hanover, who comes from a good maternal line that includes Sassa Hanover ($1.2 million), Sharky Osborne ($913K), Shadyshark Hanover ($771K) and others. Sire Big Jim is certainly capable of giving us a top filly as evidenced by 2019 daughter Prohibition Legal (1:48 2/5). Dean & Ashley Comment: She's medium-sized with a pretty correct and solid body as well as a big rear end. She's not real long but the mare wasn't very big either. HIP 161 – Smiling Dancer When you look at the pedigree page and see four foals with more than $400K earned you know the family produces power. This colt is the first foal from Smiling Dialing and another from the consignment from sire Big Jim. Dean & Ashley Comment: He's also medium-sized. Colt has a lot of energy and he's very athletic. When the yearlings come in to get prepped we turn the colts out alone and when you turn him out he doesn't stop. He's not very big but he has a lot of ambition. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter WINBAK FARM HIP 207 – Hide The Wick Mom was an Ontario Gold winner but has yet to produce in the breeding shed. Here she gets a stallion change to McWicked that could spark some life into the equation. Second dam's best foals were her eighth and tenth, so there is definitely reason to expect this colt could be a winner. Pat Woods Comment: He's a nice colt that should do well. McWicked has performed really well in Canada and I know a lot of guys are excited to bring them back as 3-year-olds. The McWicked's are usually very good looking and this colt is put together really well. HIP 259 – Better Than Wicked Here is another from the Winbak consignment moving to McWicked in hopes of shaking things up. The second dam was a strong producer throughout her breeding career, with six of her 13 foals reaching six figures and three north of $500K. Pat Woods Comment: She's from the Art Maker family. We thought moving to McWicked would be good. A lot of people don't give the Quik Pulse Mindale's much credit, but there have been some nice ones over the years, and we thought crossing that with McWicked would add some size and athleticism. HIP 302 – Expresso Beans You have to wait until almost the end of the second day of the sale to reach this filly, but it may be worth it. She's the first foal from a maternal family that has produced a long line of horses that race and win. Lucky King has 50 wins! A bunch of the others have 30-plus victories. Pat Woods Comment: One of the main reasons we bred this mare to McWicked is because she is on the smaller side and McWicked usually throws bigger horses. She is good-looking and this cross definitely added size to Expresso Beans. SEELSTER FARMS HIP 4 – Joplin Seelster Bettor's Delight continues to roll along here he brings us the first foal from Jan, a $208K winner who did some of her best work early in her career. Looking to the second dam we find $1.3 million winner Georgia Pacific at the top of the page and a string of other six-figure winners from second dam Armbro Savannah, so there is definitely evidence that this family can produce winners. HIP 23 – Alamo Seelster All Bets Off has done reasonably well with his first two crops and in addition to Ontario Gold winners even has some Grand Circuit types like Champlain winner Pass Line (2, 1:49 3/5). Second dam Beach Guest gave us Dinner Guest ($766K) and Guestimate ($656K), but perhaps more importantly one of her daughters Terroronthebeach produced the speedy No Lou Zing (1:47 3/5, $806K). HIP 83 – Michelene Seelster Filly is from a family that includes some heavy hitters. Second dam is Yellow Diamond ($1.3 million) and she produced Fine Diamond ($830K).  Digging deeper in the maternal line, third dam Mattatonic gave us 2011 Dan Patch 2-year-old Pacing Filly Economy Terror ($1.6 million) and produced some speedy youngsters in Market Based and One Eight Hundred. HIP 229 – Gucci Seelster Seelster has some nice first-foal yearlings from their mares and this one has to rank near the top as a daughter of Windsun Glory ($543K), who was a six-figure earner from 2016 to 2019. All Bets Off gets the assignment with her this year and it will be interesting to see the results. HIP 242 – Lawson Seelster This family is rich in production with at least 10 six-figure winners alone originating from the second dam and her progeny. At the top of the list is Rockapelo ($901K) and a personal favorite Resistance Futile (1:49 1/5, $439K). First foal from Sweet Lou-sired mare Lucapela is certainly worth a look. PREFERRED EQUINE HIP 96 – Salming If yearlings are truly lottery tickets than Salming is certainly a potential Powerball winner. His fourth dam gave us a superstar in 2006 O'Brien winner Majestic Son and his third produced 2017 Dan Patch winner What The Hill. As a first foal from this family, anything is possible. Additional consignor choices HIP 113 D A Super Glo (Dean & Ashley Wilson): He's from the first crop of Dancin Lou and he really catches your eye. He's very athletic and correct. His brother Risenshine Seaside has a 1:48 3/5 mark at The Meadows. We like the family. He's out of a full sister to Custard The Dragon, who is probably the top stud in Alberta out west. HIP 175 D A Playersdelight (Dean & Ashley Wilson): He's got quite a family with a brother that made $600,000-$700,000. He's a nice, compact, correct colt. We are expecting good things from him. HIP 18 Forbidden One (Winbak): I'm really excited to be selling this full sister to Valuable Miss, who won a division of the Champlain and is in the Gold final on Friday [at Woodbine Mohawk Park]. Kyle Bossense developed that one and he has already asked my thoughts on her, whether she looks similar. I actually think Forbidden One is more athletic than Valuable Miss.