Muscles Yankee has sired that last two Hambletonian winners and he’s been the leading trotting sire in North America the last two seasons. After a rocky start in the stud when his foals were castigated as too big and too ugly, he’s achieved a position of preeminence among trotters.
Naturally, sons of Muscles Yankee are in great demand as stallions and Ontario is fortunate to have a trio in various stages of their stud careers.
Mutineer at Winbak already has foals at the races, such as the filly Matt’s Inn and the good gelding Pointe To Pointe. Mutineer bred 37 mares this past season.
Muscle Mass, now just a four-year-old, completed his first season which saw him breed a book of 135 mares. I’ve looked over his book and I’m pleased to see that he got support from astute breeders and that he got the kind of mares he needs to be successful.
I liked Muscle Mass when I saw him race, even though he didn’t make it beyond midway in his sophomore season. I note that his book contains a lot of mares by Valley Victory-line stallions----mares by stallions like Mr Vic, Wall Street Banker, Lindy Lane, Yankee Glide, and Donerail. Muscle Mass himself, of course, is a grandson of Valley Victory himself and this blend of Valley Victory blood through sire and dam was inevitable. I think Muscle Mass has a great chance of making a big splash as a stallion.
New to the ranks in Ontario is another superb son of Muscles Yankee and that, of course, is Federal Flex, another stallion I have to like. Again, I’m dismayed that his racing career tailed off in the second half of his sophomore season, but he showed me enough to know that he was a real horse with great potential.
I thought he was the only one in the bunch this year that might make Muscle Hill work a little, but it simply wasn’t to be. Federal Flex stands at Seelster Farm and he’s sure to get a good reception when he begins breeding mares next year.
All three sons of Muscles Yankee are priced at $5,000 and I think they’ll play a major role in the future of trotting in Ontario.