A recent addition to the New Jersey breeding market was Propulsion, who began his U.S. stallion career in 2021 at Deo Volente Farms for a fee of $9,500. At Deo Volente, he serviced both some younger mares and some established ones, including 2008 Breeders Crown Open Mare Trot champion Brigham Dream, the dam of multi-time international stakes winner Tae Kwon Deo. "We always enjoyed watching Propulsion race. It was exciting watching him come from behind and pick off his opponents, especially when he hit the wire in front, just in time. He just had this powerful kick that put him into another gear coming home," said Elizabeth Caldwell of Cane Run Farm, who bred Propulsion, along with partner Bluestone Farms. "Hopefully he passes that down to his offspring. "We were excited to get a chance to breed to him, too, since it's not very often we get to breed to a stallion we also bred." The first thing that jumps off the page about Propulsion is his regal pedigree. A son of 2009 Hambletonian winner Muscle Hill, his dam is the Andover Hall mare Danae (1:54 2/5, $529,099), and Propulsion was a $250,000 buy at the 2012 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Danae, the champion of the 2007 Hambletonian Oaks and a Hall of Fame inductee as a broodmare in 2021, has thrown not only Propulsion, but also the Yankee Glide mare D'Orsay (1:51 4/5, $445,148) and the Muscle Hill mare Dream Together (1:51 3/5, $801,767). Danae's last two foals, both colts by Muscle Hill, sold for $1 million (Damien) and $500,000 (Detroit City) at the 2019 and 2021 Lexington Selected Yearling Sales, respectively, showing a great demand for horses from this family. "Her foals tend to keep improving as they age, so their longevity at the track is desirable, especially for Europeans, who tend to race longer and not push the horses as early at the track as we do here," Caldwell remarked. "But the above fillies showed talent early, so her offspring are attractive to North American buyers, too. And the females from the family have the potential to carry on the line for breeders looking to get into the family that produces racehorses, as well as commercial yearlings." Propulsion competed both in North America and then Europe during his racing career. While never a Grand Circuit competitor while in the barn of trainer Tony Alagna and unraced pari-mutuelly at age 2, he did show speed at both ages 3 and 4. He was a 1:52 3/5 winner of a late closing event at The Red Mile as a sophomore, beating the likes of multi-millionaire Resolve, and then came back the next year with three sub-1:53 victories at the Meadowlands, topped by back-to-back 1:52 1/5 tallies on July 3 and July 24, 2015. In the mile on July 3, he defeated eventual $1.2 million earner The Bank after wearing him down from first-over. Entered in the Summer Mixed Sale at the Meadowlands on August 2, 2015, Propulsion was purchased for $210,000 by trainer Daniel Reden for owner Brixton Medical AB and then sent to Europe. In Europe, Propulsion blossomed, winning 14 Group 1 races, including the 2020 Elitloppet at the age of 9. He was Sweden's Horse of the Year in 2019, and he was also a four-time participant in the Prix d'Amerique, with a best finish of third in 2019. Unfortunately, the story of Propulsion cannot be told without delving into the fact that his entire list of accomplishments in Europe would ultimately be erased. The horse had been low nerved in both front feet while racing in North America, and although legal here and noted on his transfer papers sent from the United States Trotting Association to Svensk Travsport, it was not noticed, and the horse was allowed to compete, in violation of European regulations. While it's impossible to know exactly what another person is actually thinking, Caldwell says when the situation is brought up with her while in discussion with other members of the harness racing industry, the "Propulsion Affair" doesn't seem to be a major issue. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "It probably hurts some. Everyone who talks about it in front of me says that he didn't do anything wrong, etc. I'm not sure if they are filtering it because of me, but it seems that most people don't give it much credence," she offered. "The whole thing is unfortunate." While his first crop will sell at the 2022 yearling sales in North America, Propulsion is not a new sire, as he has foals of 2019 and 2020 in Europe. Racing 2-year-olds on the other side of the Atlantic is not nearly as popular as it is here, but he did have a noteworthy freshman winner named Schampus in Germany. Making his first career start on November 24 in the €18,370 German Breeders' Crown at the Mariendorf track in Berlin, Schampus, who is out of the Brioni mare Kokette, was victorious, tallying in 1.18.7 over a distance of 1,900 meters. Propulsion also had five 2-year-old starters in Sweden. "We look forward to seeing his babies on the ground here in the U.S. and how they perform in Europe. Probably more than anything, how his first few crops race overseas will be the biggest indicator for how he does over here since they have a little head start," noted Caldwell. In addition to his pedigree and on-track success, Propulsion also has the improvements made to the New Jersey Sire Stakes program and new races added in the Garden State working in his favor to try and make an impact in the stallion ranks. The purses for the New Jersey Sire Stakes legs have been bumped from $25,000 to $30,000 starting next year, and the finals will now go for $240,000. With a total of $2 million up for grabs, the New Jersey Classic Series at the Meadowlands will be on the calendar starting in September, as well, with both 2-year-old and 3-year-old New Jersey-sired trotters eligible, and "A" and "B" levels available for horses of differing abilities. With all these factors going for him, Propulsion has every chance to add his name to the list of successful trotting stallions currently available.