It hardly seems 35 years since I first met Trond Smedshammer, then working for Lindy Farms preparing horses over the winter in Florida for future stardom when the stakes season began. The Norwegian native was part of a multinational collection Guy "Sonny" Antonacci had put together to get the most out of the trotting bloodlines he had worked on for years to develop. The late Osvaldo Formia was the top trainer for the stable back then having forged a solid reputation working for Hall of Fame trainer Howard Beissinger, who was the guiding force behind Lindys Pride, the first of many notable Lindy Stable champions. "He was a great guy," said Smedshammer of Formia. "He was very patient with the horses." Smedshammer saw another side of Formia that reflects highly on his character, not just with horseflesh. "He was very patient with the people who took care of the horses," said Smedshammer, noting that many of the caretakers during that period had Spanish roots and how Formia, a native of Argentina, helped give them confidence to improve their skills over time. Smedshammer himself showed much of the patience required to bring about a champion back in 2004 when his Windsong's Legacy captured Trotting's Triple Crown. A son of Conway Hall with theoretically humble beginnings, Windsong's Legacy was a colt that needed time to develop and needed careful handling to blossom into a champion. "He was a very competitive horse," Smedshammer said, reflecting on Windsong's Legacy in training. "There had been other horses in his maternal family that had a tendency for getting too aggressive. I was always concerned that if you got him started at the beginning of a race there would be nothing left at the end." Thus, Smedshammer made certain that Windsong's Legacy would race just one way and that was from off the pace. Even in 2004 that style had lost its own competitive edge as horses routinely went to the front and stayed there, but Smedshammer would not try to copy the style and instead had a conviction to give Windsong's Legacy every opportunity to succeed. "He had speed," said Smedshammer, "But not the extreme speed some of the other horses had. The difference with him is that he was just so competitive that if you gave him a target, he'd want to pass other horses." In 2004 Windsong's Legacy put it all together for Smedshammer, winning nine of his 12 starts including a Triple Crown that saw the Yonkers Trot contested at Hawthorne that year. The three defeats came in elimination races. Despite some impressive credentials, Smedshammer recalled that Windsong's Legacy wasn't always a public choice. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "A lot of times he wasn't even the favorite," said Smedshammer. "Cantab Hall, Tom Ridge and Cash Hall were getting all the headlines." Indeed, despite capturing the first two legs of the Triple Crown in 2004 when Windsong's Legacy drew post 11 in the first heat of the Kentucky Futurity that October, Cantab Hall was sent off as the 3-5 favorite. Cantab Hall led to the stretch in that race, but Windsong's Legacy overpowered him and 10 others in the stretch to take the heat and then go on to score decisively in the final. Windsong's Legacy may have captured the Triple Crown, but when it came to his second career as a stallion I recall once again how there was far more interest in the aforementioned Cantab Hall, who would go on to stallion duty at Hanover Shoe Farms where he remains today, while Windsong's Legacy would stand for just a bit more than three seasons at Perretti Farms in New Jersey before his untimely death. While Smedshammer correctly noted that Windsong's Legacy was valued at $5 million following his retirement from racing, Cantab Hall, a son of Hambletonian champion Self Possessed, had the bloodlines breeders were most excited about. The grandson of Victory Dream appeared a natural new extension of the Valley Victory male line while his dam's side had the elite blood of champions Andover Hall and Conway Hall. Windsong's Legacy was a son of Conway Hall and at the time it was less fashionable. Now some 18 years later there is far more appreciation for a male line that keeps growing in stature, primarily with Windsong's Legacy as the sire of sires. "I think when you look at Chapter Seven he was the same kind of horse," said Smedshammer of Windsong's Legacy's most notable son on and off the racetrack. "He was a horse that overcame a lot and just kept fighting." Chapter Seven, with more years in service and perhaps a higher caliber of broodmare to be paired with, has amplified the Windsong's Legacy line emphatically and perhaps because of the sheer number of quality colts he's put forth has the potential to do what his sire could not. Of course, Chapter Seven's son Walner made a huge mark on the sport with his very first crop racing as 2-year-olds in 2021. In Walner there appears to be unlimited potential, while at the same time one needs to be extremely cautious given the high caliber of mares he was bred to in his initial season. "He's done very well so far," said Smedshammer of Walner. "He was a different horse on the racetrack with extreme speed." Following the Windsong's Legacy line next may very well be Gimpanzee, with the Chapter Seven-sired stallion's first foals hitting the ground and impressing everyone this spring. Smedshammer has cut the size of his stable down to around 20-21 horses at the moment with a dozen babies and recently enjoyed success in the John Brennan series at Yonkers with his horses Seventier and Lady Ann No finishing first and third in the $76,000 final on April 27. "It's nice to have that series," Smedshammer said. "Horses that race in that non-winners of 6-8 class having a place to race without moving into higher company worked out well." Lady Ann No, one of two daughters of champion Peaceful Way racing for Smedshammer, will likely be bred to Muscle Hill and retire from racing. "I've got Thankful No coming back soon," said Smedshammer of the Muscle Hill-sired daughter of Peaceful Way that earned over $100K in her first year in North America and was a frequent Open winner at Yonkers. "We're going to breed her to Captain Corey and hopefully continue to race her this year." Smedshammer will have Gaelihill in a division of the New Jersey Sire Stakes for 3-year-old colts and geldings on the trot this Friday at The Meadowlands. "He's a very talented horse that I had fully staked until April hoping he would turn the corner," said Smedshammer. "I took him out of a lot of those races." [EDITOR'S NOTE: Gaelihill finished third in the NJSS race at The Meadowlands on May 6 mentioned above.] Of course, a few weeks after the sustaining payments weren't made Gaelhill appeared to gain focus and once again indicate that he has a decent upside. A son of Muscle Hill, Gaelihill finished second in his sophomore debut in a 1:54 mile. Trotters can do that to you.