Harness Racing: Smedshammer nabs sale toppers at Morrisville

A total of 152 yearlings passed over the auction block at the Morrisville College Yearling Sale on Monday, Sept. 24, for an average of $8,813.

Trotting specialist Trond Smedshammer walked away with the two sale toppers. He picked up Planet Hallywood for $45,000, a Cash Hall half-brother to last year’s 2-year-old New York Sire Stakes champion Royal Shyster. The colt was consigned by Morrisville College Equine Institute.

Smedshammer was also on the $40,000 slip for Royal Marley, a Crawford Farms consignee by RC Royalty. The colt is the first foal out of the Conway Hall mare Marquee Nights, whose half-brother Theater Production was a standout on the New York Sire Stakes circuit several years ago. Both colts will be racing in Smedshammer’s stable for New York owner Wanda Polisseni’s Purple Haze Stables.

“I wasn’t actually at the sale,” the trainer said the day after, “but Wanda selected the colts based on pedigree and Steve Jones (a New York breeder and agent) looked at each of them for conformation. I looked at the catalog in advance and I’m happy with them both, the Cash Hall colt is out of a mare (Spin The Planet) who’s been a good producer.”

RC Royalty topped the trotting sire averages with eight yearlings selling for an average of $18,812. He was followed by Crazed, who had 12 yearlings sell for a $15,558 average after his first crop debuted in New York this year.

Art Major topped pacing sires with a $20,900 average for three yearlings. His son Bismark Blue Chip was the highest priced pacer at the sale and was picked up for $30,000 by Tyler Buter. This colt, consigned by Blue Chip Bloodstock, is a full brother to $242,291-winning filly Max’s Leading Lady and out of the $773,523 winning mare Ascending.

Eight yearlings were offered by first crop sire Big Apple Deli and Lon Frocione purchased the highest priced, Fashionableapple, for $21,000 out of the Brook Meadows Farm consignment. The filly is out of Doug and Tyra Ackley’s Fashionablefilly, the dam of $128,000-earner Easter El Paso. Frocione campaigned the sire during his racing career.