You may know who drove and trained them when they raced, or maybe who their fastest sons and daughters are, but what else do you know about the top sires in our game? TROT asked some of the people that work with these amazing athletes-turned-dads, to share a few stories from behind the scenes when it comes to many of the leading stallions in North America. Written and compiled By Dan Fisher.

 

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Diamond Creek's Adam Bowden with Captain Crunch​

North America’s leading Stallion Farms boast some of the most magnificent and pristine properties in racing. Some people have been lucky enough to visit a few of them, but do we really get a chance, during those short visits, to learn many of the traits of their equine residents who are famous to us all?

What ones are the most studly? What ones are quiet? Who has the most personality, who are the staff favourites and so on? Most of us know who trained and drove them, how they performed on the track, and how their sons and daughters compete as well, but we know little, in most cases, about their relationships with those that care for them now, and the personality traits that these ‘SuperDads’ show in their day-to-day lives. So TROT decided to ask.

Meet nine of the people that own and/or operate seven of North America’s premiere stud farms, and hear the stories behind some of Standardbred racing’s premiere stallions.

We also asked a few educational questions along the way, and the people interviewed were very generous to share some of their expertise, to try and help you find some breeding success with your own mares.

MEET THE PROS:

We asked a person (or two) from the following farms to participate, and asked them to share their current title and the number of years that they have been at their farm.

• BLUE CHIP FARMS: Tom Grossman - Owner since 2000.
• DIAMOND CREEK FARM:  Adam Bowden (AB) - Owner/President; Caroline Vazquez (CV) - Marketing and Stallion Syndications - 10 years.
• HANOVER SHOE FARMS: Bridgette Jablonsky VMD - Executive Vice President - 25 years.
• SEELSTER FARMS: Ann Straatman - Reproduction Manager. Seelster is a family business which was started by my Grandfather and incorporated in 1969. I have been working full time at Seelster since I graduated from the University of Guelph.
• SOUTHWIND FARMS: Laura Young - Certified Veterinarian Technician, General Manager - 28 years.
• TARA HILLS STUD: Marissa Tinney (MT) - Stallion Manager - 6 years; Matt Harrison (MH) - Farm Manager - 11 years.
• WINBAK FARM: Pat Woods - Farm Manager (Canada) -  I started in Feb. of 2018 when Larry Drysdale retired.

What is it that you find to be most rewarding about working with your stallions? 

Blue Chip's Tom Grossman​

BLUE CHIP: I would say seeing so many of the offspring from so many different genetic and physical type mares, and buying/getting the right mares to the stud over the early years to make him a long term commercial success… and then sending checks to happy syndicate members.

DIAMOND CREEK (CV): Getting to know each of the stallions personally is the best part of this job.  Each stallion has their own accomplishments on the track. It is fascinating to follow their careers and then get to see who they are as a horse once they arrive at the farm and begin their new careers.  You really get attached to them, and you can see why they were able to do what they did on the track in how they act in the barn and the breeding shed.

HANOVER: For the most part they are the champions of the sport, and to have 8-10 of them assembled in two barns and getting to see and work with them every day is more amazing than you appreciate on a daily basis. It’s as if you could handpick every racehorse you want and have them shipped to the farm, and presto they are there.

SEELSTER: I love seeing the individual stallion’s looks, personality and intelligence passed down to their foals.

SOUTHWIND: The science behind artificial collection. Each stallion is an individual, not only on a personality level but on a fertility level. Taking a stallion from an instinctual breeding mind and teaching them how to manage in an artificial environment is very rewarding especially when you bring a young stallion into this environment, watch their confidence build and see the transition from a racehorse to a breeding stallion. A delicate process but very rewarding.

TARA HILLS (MT): Getting to watch the progeny go out and race. Even if they weren’t born and raised at the farm it’s still fun to watch them… it’s just a bigger bonus when we did raise them. 

(MH): My greatest reward comes in working together with the breeders, going that extra mile to get the real tough ones in foal.

WINBAK:  I am a fan of racing, so I have great admiration for what my boys did on the racetrack. It’s extremely rewarding when I see them pass their racing prowess on to their offspring.

Can you briefly share an experience where one of their progeny may have won a race and you cheered for it like you owned it yourself?

BLUE CHIP: People forget that there were very mixed feelings about Bettors Delight’s first crop, and I had 20 of my own mares in foal to him, so when Darlins Delight started winning on the Grand Circuit in 2003 it was a big deal. Then Southwind Tempo and especially Kenneth J, who we bred, raised and sold the following year, put us well on our way to him becoming the most commercially successful stallion ever.

DIAMOND CREEK (CV): This year’s Breeders Crown is the best example - watching Always B Miki have three winners with Monte Miki, Niki Hill and Perfect Sting was exhilarating.  When our homebred stallion, Creatine, had a winner with Jujubee, it was the cherry on top for the weekend. I also loved watching Warrawee Ubeaut (Sweet Lou) whenever she raced. I watched her win the Breeders Crown at Woodbine, outside in the rain with her breeder, Dr. Mike Wilson, and I may have screamed louder than he did when she won. 

HANOVER: Bella Bellini (Bar Hopping) winning the Hambletonian Oaks last year. I think Bar Hopping is a great stallion and her victory put him squarely on the big stage. He was the leading sire of 3YOs (by average earnings) in 2021 and I think as he gets even better quality mares he is going to make some serious waves in the stallion ranks.

SOUTHWIND:  Marion Marauder [by Muscle Hill] winning the Hambletonian. Mr. Mulligan (Marion Farms) was terminally ill at the time and not able to make it to the races, so I sat with his farm manager, Linda.  I was drawn on rooting for Southwind Frank or Marion Marauder… I knew what winning the Hambletonian would mean for Mr. Mulligan and Linda though, so the choice was easy. Linda and I were screaming for Marauder. I think people around us thought I was crazy for not yelling for Southwind Frank. When Marauder won I grabbed Linda and ran to the winner’s circle… neither one of us had clearance to enter but I looked that 6’ 8” state trooper in the eye and walked right past him! They were handing out the Breeders Trophy… Linda is somewhat shy and didn’t say anything. I started yelling to Tom Charters ‘Here is the breeder - the farm manager of Marion Farms!’ We were both crying… Mr. Mulligan passed away shortly after that.

TARA HILLS (MT): Forbidden Trade winning the Hambo. It was great to watch a son of Kadabra win it. A close second would be Shower Play winning the Fan Hanover - it was a lot of fun to be trackside for that one, and even though she’s not by one of our studs she was still bred and raised at the farm.

(MH): Forbidden Trade winning the Hambo… Kadabra’s first winner! I was on the phone celebrating with Dave [Heffering] before he was a sixteenth past the wire!

WINBAK: Desperate Man winning the 2021 North America Cup. He is a Winbak-bred by Shadow Play (stands with us) who’s owned, trained and driven by great people. 

Who is the stallion that you and/or your team have worked with over the years (past or present) that was the best to work with? Why?

BLUE CHIP: Bettors Delight is the king and he knows it, but his attitude and especially his semen quality make it easy.

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DIAMOND CREEK (CV): Very difficult to pick one, since we have been extremely fortunate to have such high-quality studs on our roster.  Everyone on the farm would give a different answer to this question.  I would say that Sweet Lou (pictured above with Caroline) is a personal favourite, just because he is so fun to watch running around with his cone in the field, and his face is just so recognizable.  We had a Stallion Showcase in Kentucky this year, featuring Gimpanzee, Southwind Frank, Father Patrick and Marseille, and I would venture to guess they might be the new favorites of everyone who met them, since they were so well behaved and generous with their fans that week.   

HANOVER: Somebeachsomewhere and all three of his sons (Captaintreacherous, Stay Hungry and Papi Rob Hanover) have been absolute pleasures to work with. Greenshoe gets an honorable mention – he’s a fun horse and a real people horse… he loves attention and he loves his jolly ball.

SOUTHWIND: Muscle Hill. He is the most intelligent stallion we have ever had at Southwind.  He is very gentle and observant.    

TARA HILLS (MT): This is an easy one (haha) for me it’s got to be Kadabra - he just had so much personality. When I worked nights I’d walk over to feed the boys and I could hear him talking and calling to me halfway across the driveway. He loved any attention he got, even if it was just talking to him while you were working, he would answer you like he knew what you were talking about.   

WINBAK:  It would have to be Angus Hall. He is definitely the farm pet and gets spoiled by the whole team. He has a great personality, enjoys company and attention but was very professional in the breeding shed. Just a great horse to be around.

Who is the stallion that you and/or your team have worked with over the years (past or present) that was the most difficult to work with? Why?

BLUE CHIP: My stallion man, Alex Avila, has been with me from day one and he is a guru. We haven’t had a single stallion he couldn’t figure out how to manage without things getting difficult or frustrating… or at least to the point where I know about it!  

DIAMOND CREEK (CV): A Rocknroll Dance was a tough one.  He was not a horse to be told what to do and we had to work around what he believed were his plans for the day in order to be successful with him. Father Patrick can also be tricky because he is so intelligent.  Once you understand how he works he is great, but he likes to play games until you do [understand] to prove he is the smarter one.

HANOVER: He stood at our New Jersey farm but No Nukes was a mean horse and could be dangerous.

SOUTHWIND: This was not a Standardbred ....it was a ‘clone’ of Gem Twist, an Olympic champion jumper. The horse was missing a few chromosomes! After two seasons collecting him I called the owners and told them to pick him up and not to send him back. He was downright dangerous.  

TARA HILLS (MT): Resolve - he can be a bit of a handful, some days, to deal with. He’s definitely more of a fair-weather horse, he doesn’t like the cold and rain. If he gets left out longer than he believes he should be out he lets me know that he’s not very happy with me. He’s also more of a one-person horse, so when I’m off he’s not impressed and when I come back it’s very much ‘how dare you leave me!’

Tara Hills' Marissa Tinney with Alarm Detector​

WINBAK:  I hope I don’t jinx myself by saying this, but my stallions are very good to deal with. They all have their little quirks but nothing too bad. I honestly can’t complain. 

The 2021 Hambletonian winner (Captain Corey) and 2021 Elitlopp winner (Don Fanucci Zet) both have pacing and trotting bloodlines in their immediate pedigrees. What do you think of this and do you see it becoming a more common trend in North American breeding? Why?

BLUE CHIP: I do think it will become a common trend, as will crosses with European blood. All of my experience, especially with our sport horse business, will be used figuring out the right kind of mares to breed to them - and I have some ideas!

DIAMOND CREEK (AB):  I absolutely love it. At Diamond Creek we tend to think outside the box. We currently have a pacing mare in foal to Father Patrick. I loved Captain Corey as a racehorse and think he’s got a big chance at stud. The idea of breeding within a box constructed by artificial means makes me crazy. Hybrid vigor is what defines exceptionalism and mixing bloodlines is just the tip of the iceberg.

HANOVER:  I don’t know what my opinion is yet. I want to adopt a wait-and-see approach. I loved Corey’s gait and he got that from his part-pacer dad. Judging by the response we got to Captain Corey I think a lot of breeders are on board!

SOUTHWIND:  I think it’s wonderful to try and diversify the breed, and having Captain Corey in the breeding shed will definitely help with this. Over the years the trotting lines have narrowed so much we don’t have many good outcrosses to breed to. Do I think breeding trotters to pacers and pacers to trotters will become a trend? NO, I don’t think so.  It’s something different, a change of breeding perspective, and many breeders don’t like too much of a change - it’s too risky. Those that think it is interesting and have the disposable income to entertain the risks will lead the way if it were to happen, but most breeders will stay with what works and has less risk. In my opinion, if it were to become a trend it will take many years, many mixed stallions and mixed mares’ lines to do so - not just one or two stallions. Put it this way, I don’t expect to see booking contracts coming through for mares like See You At Peelers or Test of Faith to Muscle Hill anytime soon! LOL.

TARA HILLS (MH):  It’s certainly innovative, and Captain Corey will definitely have a great opportunity to prove himself standing at Hanover Shoe. 

WINBAK: I think we will see more pacing lines crossing with trotters in the future. I believe with the speeds that trotters have to go nowadays, this may be an angle to attain it. In watching Captain Corey, he travels very low, which I would think comes from the pacing side.   

Name one or two current North American stallions (that don’t stand at your farm) whose fee sits at approximately $10,000 or less, that you believe represents great value right now.

BLUE CHIP: I think Courtly Choice has a great chance of success in a very attractive NY program, and I would not bet against Green Manalishi ending up as the best son of Muscle Hill.  

DIAMOND CREEK (AB): Captain Corey… Fantastic racehorse, potential hybrid vigor, charisma, colour, Hambo winner. He is the total package. We have a couple within our stallion ranks including Captain Crunch and Father Patrick.

HANOVER: Cattlewash and Huntsville.

SEELSTER: Muscle Mass and Shadow Play.

SOUTHWIND: What The Hill and In Range. Both are Ohio stallions. What The Hill is a great horse, good size, flashy, great conformation and nicely priced. In Range is the first son of Bar Hopping to stand stud. He is a gorgeous horse and has Windsongs Legacy’s excellent fertility. He is a grandson of Muscle Hill. Very interesting lines...

TARA HILLS (MH): Captain Crunch - I have a yearling filly of his that I absolutely love!

WINBAK: Two that come to mind are Stay Hungry ($6,000 USD) and Captain Corey ($8,500 USD). I saw some really nice Stay Hungry yearlings in Lexington that should make nice racehorses. He is well-bred and throws good size. Captain Corey is a bit more of a gamble as we don’t know what his offspring will look like but I think he’s a great deal as well.

Winbak's Pat Woods with Jimmy Freight​

Can you share an interesting behind-the-scenes story about the negotiations your farm once went through to land a new stallion - either past or present? Maybe the story of a stallion that you didn’t think you were in the running for but then landed anyway, or something along those lines.

BLUE CHIP: The year-long courtship of Bettors Delight with John Grant could have been a reality TV show. He was a great guy but was very tough. He knew I was gonna end up with the horse but he was determined to get me to bid against myself. After many very heated exchanges he bought me dinner at the Breeders Crown and chuckled about it all.

DIAMOND CREEK (AB): We’ve either been chasing our tails on stallions we were never going to get, or first through the door. We didn’t pioneer the practice of landing stallions between their two and three-year-old seasons but we have made that our niche. All things equal, the prestige of Hanover or the power of partnerships put us at a disadvantage if we wait until a racehorse’s career is over, but identifying the potential and weighing the risk/reward ratio, we have done quite well negotiating terms for most of our stallions, and arguably the best deals, before the horses return to the races at three.

HANOVER: Tall Dark Stranger. We had just landed Papi Rob and I had heard and believed to be true that TDS was going to stand in New Jersey. We didn’t even inquire about him. Marvin Katz called me out of the blue one day and said ‘Do you want Tall Dark Stranger?’ I responded that we weren’t prepared to open another farm in New Jersey but Marvin said ‘No we want to stand him in Pennsylvania, just tell me you want him.’ I said ‘Yes Marvin. We want him!’ That was Christmas in October.

SOUTHWIND: Walner… we were the last ones to know! Rewind to the 2017 Lexington yearling sale - 8am. We were at the sales pavilion and people kept coming up to congratulate us. Mike [Klau], my husband Chris and I were slightly confused as to what we were getting congratulated for? We had no idea. Then we heard the news that Walner was to stand stud at Southwind Farms!

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE???

Can you tell us who your #1 all-time favourite stallion to work with is/was? Why?

BLUE CHIP: Bettors Delight for reasons stated above. He is the mailman - he always delivers. 

DIAMOND CREEK (AB): It’s hard not to say Creatine since he was a homebred and then became a stallion for us, but Southwind Frank has the best personality and seems to understand his role in the world… when he needs to perform and when he doesn’t. We use him during our Open Houses in Pennsylvania as a horse to pet, feed carrots to, and a photo-op for guests. He loves it - plus he has the best hair.

HANOVER: Somebeachsomewhere – the greatest racehorse and stallion of all time. It was an honour to be a part of his too short life. Standing Beach will always be the highlight of my time at Hanover.

Seelster's Ann Straatman with Camluck​

SEELSTER: Camluck is my favourite stallion of all time. He was not the easiest horse to work with on a daily basis; he often pushed the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, but he was never mean… he just liked to have things his own way. He was the most intelligent stallion and he passed along that intelligence and drive into his offspring. That ‘heart’ made him and those that came after him, unstoppable. Camluck’s influence as a broodmare sire will be felt in our sport for generations and generations.

SOUTHWIND: Tactical Landing. He is a stallion manager’s dream come true! After so many years of working with sub-fertile horses, when you get one that is super fertile, a wonderful horse to handle and extremely handsome, it’s a real treat.

TARA HILLS (MT): This spot is going to be hard to take from my boy Kadabra. He was just such an easy-going horse and so much fun to be around. He knew when it was time to go to work and what we had to do, but every other time he was just a big playful kid. Other than looking at his teeth you wouldn’t know he was 22. I went and visited him after I had surgery on my arm… on a normal day you couldn’t get him away from his food but he just stood there with his head in my chest, being careful not to hit my arm but close enough that he could enjoy the cuddles - he would have stood there all day if I did.  

(MH): I have had the privilege of working with some wonderful stallions over the years… Malabar Man, Artiscape, Royalty For Life and Angus Hall come immediately to mind, but Kadabra was the only one I cried over. Nuff said.

WINBAK: I have been extremely lucky to have worked with some great stallions over the years, which include Mach Three, Kadabra, Life Sign, Angus Hall, Shadow Play and of course, Bettors Delight - he would definitely have to be my favorite. Bettors Delight has such a strong personality. I can understand why he was such a dominant racehorse and stallion. He carries a confidence about him where he knows he is great. Don’t get me wrong, he can be a grumpy old man some days, but he’s earned the right. I truly feel it is a privilege to get to work with him everyday. He will go down as the greatest standardbred sire in history when the numbers are all added up.

EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR PANEL:

We asked a few small breeders what questions they might have for our experts, mainly in terms of helping to get their mares in foal. This is what we were asked, and here are some of the replies we got:

1. Does it help to retire a racemare earlier or is it just as efficient to breed her while she’s still racing? 

HANOVER: I believe mares can get in foal as easily while racing as they can by being on the farm.

SEELSTER: Some mares can be bred successfully while they are racing, but if she fails to conceive after two or three cycles, that would be the first thing I would change.

SOUTHWIND: Many race mares WILL NOT cycle during training. Many trainers will say, ‘She is in heat all the time’ but showing heat and actually cycling are very different. If you plan on breeding a racemare you should be prepared to possibly wait several months, if not longer, for that mare to have a fertile cycle.

2. Does it actually help to put your mare under lights? 

BLUE CHIP: Zero doubt.

SEELSTER: If you would like to breed your mare successfully before April, it is very helpful to use a lighting program.

SOUTHWIND: ABSOLUTELY, this is a known scientific fact.

Southwind Farms' Laura Young with Muscle Hill​

3. Is it usually best to breed on foal heat or not? 

DIAMOND CREEK (CV): We prefer to not breed on foal heat and we discourage it for our clients. Conception rates are lower and there are questions about the mare’s preparedness to be bred so soon after foaling.

SEELSTER: If your mare has an early foal heat (before 11 days post foaling), we would choose to instead breed her on her next cycle. There are a lot of factors which should be considered, i.e. foaling experience, mare and foal exercise, and time of season, which may come into play when deciding when it is best to breed.

WINBAK: As long as your mare is in good shape after foaling (clean and healthy) then we will breed on foal heat. If she’s had a tough delivery or cycles very quickly after, then we will most likely skip the foal heat.

4. Does fresh or frozen semen make a difference? 

BLUE CHIP: Huge difference. Our frozen semen protocol, developed from our sport horse program, is completely different - must rectal much more often and breed at ovulation - which often times is 2:00 am. Very few people are set up to do it correctly and I think this will cause a lot of frustration… or just send the mare to Blue Chip, where we have had great results for last several years.  

SEELSTER: Most definitely - breeding with frozen semen is much more labour intensive and may yield a lower rate of conception, on average.

TARA HILLS (MH): Fresh cooled semen is way better and way easier than frozen.

5. If your mare failed to get in foal to a specific stallion one year, should you change the next year or does it not matter? 

DIAMOND CREEK (AB):  I wouldn’t let that be the deciding factor. There are many factors at play for why mares do or don’t get in foal. Sire and mare compatibility could be at play but it’s unlikely to be the main reason.

WINBAK: There are cases where some mares and stallions are just not compatible, for whatever reason. I think if you know that your breeding process is set up right then it is a good idea to switch it up.

6. Should an older mare be bred to a younger stallion? 

SEELSTER: Yes, and you can breed a younger mare to a more experienced stallion. When we are choosing a stallion for our mares however, pedigree, conformation and production are the factors we consider the most.

TARA HILLS (MH): It’s more about the fertility of the stallion than his age. I wouldn’t hesitate for an instant to breed an older mare to an older stallion who is very fertile.

Tara Hills' Matt Harrison​

WINBAK: I know there are numbers out there that say ‘yes’ but I see the exceptions every year. I believe breeding to the right cross is most important rather than age.

7. Is it best to breed a small mare to a big stallion and vice versa? 

DIAMOND CREEK (AB): We breed big mares to smaller stallions but rarely the opposite. I’m not a huge fan of small mares to begin with but we have been saddled with our fair share over the years… breeding them to big stallions has more often than not, ended up not quite like you planned. We’ve had much better luck breeding smaller type mares to medium sized stallions.

HANOVER: It doesn’t always work to do this but I certainly avoid breeding small to small. Big to big is ok as long as it isn’t big and heavy to big and heavy.

8. Does taking your mare to the stud farm to be bred from fresh semen increase your chances of getting her in foal? 

BLUE CHIP: This could not be more vital. If you needed brain surgery would you let your GP do it? Having teams that are doing 80-100 rectals a day and mapping cycles while knowing the mare’s tendencies, AND getting the semen in the mare that much quicker are huge advantages. It is penny wise and pound foolish to do otherwise for sure. So much so that It is a big input into who I sell to and for how much as it greatly increases my chance of getting paid.

TARA HILLS (MH): It can certainly help with a tougher mare or a less fertile stallion. I would recommend starting with a call to the farm manager - they might be able to help you have better success without having to ship the mare. Remember, our ultimate goal is the same as yours… to get your mare in foal.

9. Are shuttle stallions any less fertile right when they return?

BLUE CHIP: NO - this is well documented in statistics.

HANOVER: We don’t shuttle our stallions anymore. In the past, Beach and Betting Line went. Conversely they are more fertile when they first come back because they think it’s the peak of breeding season. The problem is that when it is really the peak of breeding season they are starting to throttle down.

10. Can any vet preparation/treatments/medications increase your chances of conception? 

DIAMOND CREEK (AB): Without question. Surrounding yourself with a smart team makes the job of getting mares in foal, producing healthy foals, and raising top horses easier. The vet is an integral part of the equation and someone willing to be proactive, think outside the box and be a team player gives you and your mare the best chance to produce a live, healthy foal.

SOUTHWIND: YES!! Good mare management, record keeping, and communication are the keys of success when breeding mares. There is no magic wand, it’s a lot of hard work, management and communication.

 This feature originally appeared in the February issue of TROT Magazine. Subscribe to TROT today by clicking the banner below.