WinStar, Blazing Meadows partner to stand National Flag in Ohio

WinStar Farm and Blazing Meadows Farm, which have campaigned several stakes-winning Ohio-breds together in recent years, have launched a formal partnership entitled WinBlaze LLC to stand graded stakes winner National Flag at Blazing Meadows in North Jackson, Ohio.

National Flag, by WinStar stallion Speightstown, was a $600,000 yearling purchase by WinStar and China Horse Club. The colt won 3 of 6 career starts, highlighted by a four-length score in this year's Grade 3 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct.

National Flag will stand for a fee of $2,500.

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WinStar and Blazing Meadows entered into a partnership several years ago to breed Ohio-breds. Blazing Meadows owner Tim Hamm – who has partnered with a number of other prominent Kentucky operations in breeding and ownership – bred mares to WinStar stallions. The mares then returned to Ohio to foal, with the offspring trained by Hamm for WinStar. Top Ohio-breds raced by the partnership in recent years include Awaken (by Super Saver), winner of last year's Juvenile Stakes on the Best of Ohio showcase program; Diamond Dust (Paynter), winner of this year's Juvenile; and Coincidentally (Super Saver), second in this year's Best of Ohio Sprint.

In a press release announcing the WinBlaze LLC venture, WinStar executive Elliott Walden said that his operation recently purchased 10 mares to base in Ohio, and plans to have a total of 16 in the state with an eye toward supporting the new stallion.

“This partnership provides a great opportunity, not only for us, but it should be exciting for guys up there who breed to race," Walden said in the release. "National Flag will be a part of our 'Dream Big' program. We are offering 20 shares where, if a breeder brings two mares and have foals by him, they will inherit lifetime breeding rights."