Harness: Walner seeks a seat at the big table during Lexington Selected Yearling Sale

Thanksgiving is a couple months away, but heading into the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, the adults' table on the trotting side of the breeding industry that includes the likes of Muscle Hill and Chapter Seven might have to make a place for the new kid on the block - Walner.

There are 55 yearlings by Walner to sell on the first four nights at Fasig-Tipton, and he received some top-quality broodmares for his first crop. There has been a buzz around what Walner could do as a stallion since his career ended prematurely, and now it's time to find out if reality lives up to the billing.

"When a first-crop stallion sells his first yearling crop, it's always very exciting to see how the public will accept them. This horse has gotten tremendous support from his syndicate, and from what I've seen of his yearlings, they're real nice-looking, and we're hoping for big things. He's a very exciting young stallion," said Mike Klau, Syndicate Manager at New Jersey's Southwind Farms, where Walner stands. "The thing about him that is as brilliant as he was, his racing career was too short, and I think with the potential he had, unfortunately he never got to show it. We hope the yearlings will be the ones to carry that potential. He got a tremendous book of mares. From what I've seen, I've been watching a lot of videos, they look a lot like him and they seem to go like him."

Though Walner set a world record of 1:51 3/5 at The Red Mile during his 2-year-old campaign and came back to win both of his starts as a sophomore, including a 1:50 2/5 victory in a division of the Stanley Dancer, the harness racing industry missed out on seeing what he could do in races like the Hambletonian, Canadian Trotting Classic and Kentucky Futurity, as he was retired prior to those events. While that was certainly a blow to everyone who wanted to see him compete more, Klau noted that it may work to his advantage as a sire because buyers may be seeking the horse who can fulfill that "what-if" capability, comparing it to another successful sire.

"It's the same with Muscle Hill. I don't think with Muscle Hill that we ever saw his bottom. Even when he won the Hambletonian, he was under wraps and never was pushed to his limits, and I think the same could be said for Walner," remarked Klau. "Unfortunately, he was injured and never got a chance to race again. Yeah, I think the potential that was there is what is exciting people, and given what (Walner's sire) Chapter Seven has done, there is every indication that he should the son that carries the line on."

One thing that Walner may have going in his favor, when compared to his sire, is that he's been able to breed some mares that Chapter Seven isn't able to due to mare residency requirements in New York, giving him a path to draw in people who'd like to go to Chapter Seven but can't.

"Chapter Seven, because he's in New York, and you have to ship the mares up there, Walner has a little bit of an advantage. He's bred a lot of mares from Kentucky, where you can ship the semen, where if you wanted to go to Chapter Seven, you have to ship the mares to New York," said Klau. "Chapter Seven breeds a limited book and mostly syndicate members, and Walner's pretty much the same. He's fully syndicated and breeds mostly syndicate mares, but it's probably easier to get into Walner than it is Chapter Seven at this point. He's bred a full book every year."

A consignor in Lexington who bred mares to Walner is Cameo Hills Farm, operated by Steve Jones. Cameo Hills will be selling five yearlings by him, and while Jones isn't a fortune teller, he does think that Walner is positioned about as well as possible.

"Walner certainly has a great opportunity. He has terrific mares bred to him, and he's a great-looking horse and so are his yearlings," said Jones. "As far as having a crystal ball to say whether he will join the top ranks, I certainly hope so because I've bred (mares) to him and supported him. He's got every opportunity, that's for sure, and all eyes will be on him."

As far an individual horses by Walner that Cameo Hills will have on offer, they have the first colt out of the brilliant Check Me Out (HIP 59 King Of The North), and the well-bred filly Ms Spendalot (HIP 23), who is from the family of Dejarmbro.

"We're selling Check Me Out's first colt. He's outstanding and has been since Day One. That one kind of jumps out at you very quickly," stated Jones. "I've also got a Walner filly selling the first night out of a Muscle Hill mare named Spending Spree that's got a very deep pedigree and has been a very good individual."

Another Walner first-nighter in Lexington is HIP 53 Jaqen H'Ghar. He is the first foal out of former Hambletonian Oaks finalist Windowshopper, and Tristan Sjoberg, from breeder Knutsson Trotting Inc., had high praise for both sire and yearling.

"I was impressed by Walner from the get-go and loved watching him race. His gait and attitude on the track was second to none," said Sjoberg. "Probably the most naturally talented horse since Ready Cash. When he was syndicated, I was pleased to secure a share, and I wanted to breed one of my fastest mares to him. I decided on Windowshopper because of her natural ability, and being a Donato Hanover filly, she had that lightness of feet that I think complements Windsong's Legacy bloodline characteristics. Jaqen is a powerful colt; his hind is all about strength and power."

While Walner aims to join the big-name siring contingent, his father Chapter Seven is securely part of the heads of state of the trotting market. His 38 yearlings sold for an average of $87,895 last year in Lexington, and he ended up with both New York Sire Stakes champions in the 2-year-old trotting divisions in 2020 in Iteration and Steel. In addition, Chapter Seven filly Darlene Hanover won the Jim Doherty Memorial, and Iteration went on to win on the Grand Circuit in the Kentuckiana Stallion Management.

"Chapter Seven, he sort of stands far above everything in New York on the trotting side, and really, I think, far above everything nationally with the exception of Muscle Hill. You could put Muscle Hill ahead of him, but you could also argue that Chapter Seven is right beside him. We're lucky to have him here," said Jones. "I own six shares of Chapter Seven and I also own shares of Muscle Hill, so I support both of them.

"I've got a Chapter Seven filly that I love that's selling the second night (HIP 162 Storybook Ending). She's not very big, but she's very correct and very athletic. I typically don't like small, but everything's in the right place."

Crawford Farms, another New York-based breeding operation run by Al and Michelle Crawford, also has several Chapter Seven yearlings that will be sold on nights one, two, and three.

"One of my favorites is Cowboy Crushn (HIP 63) on opening night," said Michelle Crawford. "She's an amazing individual with a gorgeous body. She almost looks like a colt. Also, Nitemere Lane (HIP 180) and Prasiolite (HIP 226) are both phenomenal individuals. Nitemere Lane is the first living Chapter Seven foal out of Grannylane Hanover (a sister to near millionaire Gural Hanover), and Prasiolite is the first foal out of Jewels In Hock (a $553,215 earner)."

Chapter Seven might have a spot near the top, but the market indicates Muscle Hill is still King of the hill. He was the leading sire by average ($130,073) in 2019 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and had one of the two $1 million horses sold. His 2-year-old sons Southwind Tyrion and Zenith Stride are both stakes winners this year, and he comes to the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale with another group that should send the board spinning.

"He's 14 years old and he's been leading sire since 2016, I believe. He's leading again this year and hopefully it'll continue on for another few more years," said Klau. "I don't see any dip in the performances of his offspring; if anything they're getting better."

It'd take a long time to go through all the exceptionally-bred Muscle Hills in the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, but just a few that immediately jump off the page right away are HIP 12 Tetrick Wania FI, a half-brother to Walner, HIP 25 Nonna Bella, the first foal out of two-time New York Sire Stakes champion Non Stick, HIP 38 Slave Labour, a half-brother to Hambletonian third-place finisher Back Of The Neck, and HIP 64 Bonanza, the first Muscle Hill out of Designed To Be, making him a half-brother to Greenshoe and to $1.1 million yearling Maverick.

With Walner's first crop stepping into the ring and trying to give him an immediate and significant foothold in the market, and Muscle Hill looking to fend off Chapter Seven and others for another year, it certainly shapes up to be an intriguing edition of the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.