Harness: Strong contingent of first-crop stallions ready for upcoming sales

An exciting group of first-crop sires is poised to make their impact at both the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale next week (October 1-5) and then the Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg in early November.

The biggest name in the first-crop sire group is Always B Miki. When he retired to Diamond Creek Farm after his 2016 campaign that concluded with Horse of the Year honors, he was harness racing’s all-time fastest horse (since joined by Lather Up) and got an exceptional group of mares, not only from Diamond Creek but from other breeders as well.

"From what I've seen so far, I would be shocked if he's not really successful at the sale and really successful on the track,” said Diamond Creek Farm owner Adam Bowden. “The horses are very consistent. They're big, tall, strong, athletic-looking horses. We're just very anxious to get them into the sales ring and then on to the track from there - almost better than what we expected.

"He's a big, tall, long, athletic-type horse, and he's kind of putting that into his babies. He's extremely smart. I can't comment for other people's horses, but the ones that we have here exhibit those traits. They're smart and easy to deal with. They kind of look at you in a way that's kind of eerie - that they're listening to what you're saying almost. Jimmy (Takter) spoke about that when he had him in training - that he was highly intelligent and took care of himself well. We're finding the same thing with the yearlings and even the babies."

The group of Always B Miki’s selling in Lexington includes two fillies from Crawford Farms in HIP 10 Nashville Elgenna and HIP 85 Krispy Ginger, who are the first foals out of the brilliant mares Anndrovette and Krispy Apple. There’s also a half-sister to I Luv The Nitelife in HIP 113 Always Be Deo, consigned by Preferred Equine Marketing, Inc. for breeder Deo Volente Farms, and even going into nights two and three there’s a half-brother to Messenger champion American Mercury in HIP 228 Ice House (consigned by Hunterton Sales Agency), a half-sister to world champion Dancin Yankee in HIP 284 Dancin In Lace (consigned by Anvil And Lace Farm), and one out of See You At Peelers in HIP 305 Toronto (bred and consigned by Diamond Creek). Another one selling on that second night from Diamond Creek merits attention as well, according to Bowden.

"HIP 147 (Octave) that we have - on a physical basis he's easily a day-one horse. I'd be shocked if there's a better Miki than him,” he remarked. “Pedigree says that maybe he's slightly less than day one, but if you're basing it solely on physical, he's an ‘A’ for sure."

Bar Hopping won the Canadian Trotting Classic and Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot in 2016, and he is another new stallion entering the market this year. Based at Hanover Shoe Farms, the group of Bar Hoppings that they have to offer will wait until Harrisburg, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some exciting prospects in Lexington.

"He might be the best-looking trotter I've ever seen. He has perfect conformation and perfect size. He's a gorgeous horse. He's fortunately passed on those genetics to his yearlings,” said Hanover’s Executive Vice President Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky. “We have 10, and if you take them as a group, they're the 10 best-looking trotting yearlings by a sire that I've seen. There's not one bad one in the group, and there's about four of them that are exceptional. Now that we're getting closer to the sale, they can trot. If you see him in the paddock, he's a great-gaited horse, and he's passed that on as well. Being a son of Muscle Hill, that's a positive as well.

"I think there's going to be a lot of interest in them. I've heard only good things about the ones selling at Lexington. I haven't seen them myself, but I've heard that there's quite a few outstanding ones. I think they're going to sell pretty well."

Bar Hopping has a single night-one yearling in Lexington in HIP 39 My Abigail, but the Hunterton-consigned filly’s pedigree certainly catches the eye, being a half-sister to harness racing’s fastest 3-year-old trotter Six Pack. Deeper into the sale, there’s HIP 281 French Souffle, a Kentuckiana Farms-consigned filly who is out of former Hambletonian Oaks champion Creamy Mimi, making her a half-sister to world champion French Laundry, and HIP 396 Bar Mix, another Kentuckiana-consigned filly who is the second foal out of half-million dollar earner Smexi.

Betting Line went 14-for-15 in 2016, with his only defeat coming in his first start of the year. After that he won the North America Cup, Milstein, Battle of the Brandywine, and Little Brown Jug, in addition to multiple Ontario Sires Stakes events. He was rewarded for his campaign with the Dan Patch and O’Brien Awards for best 3-year-old colt pacer and now is part of the stallion ranks at Hanover.

"Betting Line, I think, was one of the most-talented pacers I've ever seen. One of the fastest for sure - he could pace as fast for a little while as any horse I've seen,” Dr. Jablonsky said. “We were really excited to have a son of Bettor's Delight. As great a sire as Bettor's Delight has been, it took a very long time for one of his better sons to get into stallion duty. There was Betterthancheddar, but to me Betting Line was an exciting, exciting opportunity because he was a son of Bettor's Delight that was such a terrific horse that wasn't a gelding. He's a great-bred horse, a great-looking horse, and just had such tremendous talent. We're very, very excited about him.

"He stamps his foals. They tend to look like him with a little more size. We bred a lot of Somebeachsomewhere mares to him and breeding a bigger mare to him, the foals definitely have more size than him. We have 32, and we have some really outstanding individuals by him. To me, Betting Line is a really logical and great outlet for the Somebeachsomewhere mares and eventually the Captaintreacherous mares."

There are 27 Betting Lines selling at Lexington, including HIP 59 Bet On Chrissy. From Winbak Farm, her dam is a Sportswriter half-sister to Rainbow Blue, who made a quarter of a million dollars, and her first foal Team Best made the Metro final on Saturday night, finishing seventh. Hunterton also has HIP 87 The Vig, a half-brother to Rock N Roll Heaven and Clear Vision. On night two, Crawford Farms has HIP 188 Akila, whose dam Ticket To Rock earned $1.1 million, Preferred Equine has a half-sister to Little Brown Jug champion Southwind Ozzi in Southwind Xena (HIP 216), and Hunterton will sell a three-quarter brother to millionaire Vegas Vacation in HIP 290 Braemar.

Betting Line’s trainer Casie Coleman has viewed the prospects her former pupil has on offer, and she’s excited to bid on them as well.

“He couldn’t have been received any better. The mare quality he has gotten and full books each year so far speaks for itself,” she said. “I’ve seen most of the Betting Lines selling in Lexington now, and I’m thrilled with how they look. A lot of them are black and darker colors like him, with nice chrome on them to go with a sharp head and sharp eyes. They also have thick hind-ends and thick shoulders, just like him. I’m very happy and excited with what I saw.”

Southwind Frank won pretty much anything there was to win at age 2 - the Haughton, the Wellwood, and the Breeders Crown - and then came back at 3 to win the Beal, Stanley Dancer, and Colonial while only missing the board once in 14 starts. After his racing career was over, he began stallion duties at Diamond Creek.

"Frank doesn't have a big crop like some of the pacers do. Being a son of Muscle Hill, I think the expectations are very high,” said Bowden. “When he entered stud he was by far the best son of Muscle Hill. He was a great 2-year-old, had a ton of early speed, and dominated that group. Then at 3 he had some physical issues, and he was battling with Marion Marauder. His foals look a lot like him. They look like the Muscle Hills a little bit. Like I said, there's not many of them, so I haven't had a chance to look at more than maybe 20 or so, but as a group they're not a bad group of individuals.”

A pair of Southwind Franks will go through the ring on the first night, with Hunterton selling HIP 2 Presumption, a filly who is a half-sister to a trio of six-figure earners, and Kentuckiana offering HIP 61 Stormy Volo. Stormy Volo is a three-quarter brother to Breeders Crown champion Lily Stride. On night three, Diamond Creek is selling HIP 386 Bacardi, whose dam is a half-sister to $2.1 million earner Creatine, and Hunterton has HIP 460 Spit And Vinegar, whose half-sister Queen Of Trixs was second in a Del Miller division and made the Hambletonian Oaks final this season.

Speaking of Creatine, this year also marks his first crop, and Bowden is high on his prospects as well.

"It's going to be very difficult for people to find a better group of horses. They're not going to be day one, day two on pedigrees, but on physicals and in the paddock, there should be some buzz about them,” he said. “We've seen that through the people that have come through the farm and the ones we've seen at other places. I'm not saying he's going to crush it in the sales ring, but they're athletic, big, and strong, and they're very consistent, a lot like Miki's. We're actually really excited about them."

With this strong group of first-crop sires joining established stallions like Captaintreacherous, Bettor’s Delight, Muscle Hill, and Chapter Seven, expect plenty of bidding battles at Lexington and Harrisburg.