One of the most influential sires in shaping the modern racing Quarter Horse breed was, in fact, a Thoroughbred.
Born in 1940 and named after the winning combination of symbols on a slot machine, Three Bars showed a lightning-quick burst of speed over short distances on the racetrack, but his career was repeatedly interrupted by injury and also by the onset of World War II.
The law of the land in Thoroughbred breeding is simple: Cross a Thoroughbred with a Thoroughbred on a live cover, or find another registry.
The rules in Quarter Horse racing allow for more creativity by breeders, which has drawn some of the Thoroughbred breed’s most recognizable names into the bloodlines of Quarter Horses.
Richard and Frances Hessee have big plans for their Trophy Club Training Center, a 160-acre operation in Royal, Ark.—a dot on the map a few miles due west of Oaklawn Park. Since acquiring the property in 2009 from the late Arkansas Hall of Fame trainer Bob Holthus, they have strived to make it a go-to place for Southwest breeders looking for quality.
Brahms has become a kingpin in the Southwest since the former Kentucky-to-Australia shuttle stallion moved to Louisiana in 2008. He led the 2009 general sire standings in the Pelican State and in 2012 topped the same list in Arkansas, where Brahms currently holds court at Richard and Frances Hessee’s Trophy Club Training Center in Royal.
Gaff recorded a runaway victory to lead the Texas freshman sire standings for 2012.
The 11-year-old son of the late Maria’s Mon, who stands at the Seguin Horse Center in Seguin, Texas, was represented by four winners from 11 starters in 2012 for seasonal earnings of $119,796, easily outpacing the other handful of freshman sires in Texas.
A number of quality runners helped propel Too Much Bling atop the juvenile sire list in Texas for the second year in a row.
The 10-year-old Rubiano horse, who stands at Lane’s End Texas in Hempstead, led the state with six stakes winners, including four juveniles, for 10 total stakes victories in 2012. His quality runners helped push him to the top of the juvenile earnings list with $648,729 on the season, easily outpacing Intimidator, who stands at the Asmussen Horse Center, with $381,677.
Eureka Thoroughbred Farm manager Bill Tracy describes Oratory as an “eye-catching” stallion who passes his good looks on to his offspring.
“I always joke [to people who own his foals], ‘If you don’t want to run them, you can always take pictures of them,'" Tracy said. “And they look really good in a win photo.”
Liquor Cabinet led Oklahoma freshman sires in earnings for 2012 by nearly $5,000 over Air Commander. The Irish-bred 12-year-old Hennessy horse, who stands at Oklahoma Equine in Washington, Okla., for a $2,500 fee this year, sired two winners from nine starters last year, Irish Dancer and Yonder.
Both Oklahoma-bred geldings broke their maidens last fall at Remington Park, and Irish Dancer picked up his second win on Feb. 24 in an optional claiming race at Sunland Park.
River Oaks Farm in Sulphur, Okla., welcomed multiple Grade 2 winner Read the Footnotes to its stallion roster for 2012, after the 12-year-old Smoke Glacken horse had established himself as a productive sire in New York. He finished 2012 atop the state’s juvenile sire list with $371,110, although virtually all of those earnings came from runners based in the Empire State.
Ms. Cornstalk, dam of two Canadian champions, is among the first mares pronounced in foal to Grade 1 winner Creative Cause, who is standing his initial season at Brereton and Elizabeth Jones' Airdrie Stud in Midway, Ky.
Ms. Cornstalk, a 9-year-old Indian Charlie mare, is the dam of two Sovereign Award winners from her first two foals to race.