Northern Kid 2, 1:58.3; 3, 1:57.1, whose first crop includes the 2011 Illinois stakes-winning filly Maevey Gravy 2, 1:58.2, will be standing at stud at Walnut Hall Stock Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, for the 2012 breeding season

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Northern Kid has only one small crop of racing age and already has three sub-2:00 performers. The Northern Kid Partners group, which includes Walnut Hall Stock Farm’s Dr. James Sautter, decided Northern Kid would be a good option for Kentucky breeders, who have only a few choices when it comes to trotting sires. His stud fee will be $850.

“There aren’t that many trotting studs to choose from in Kentucky, and we feel that Kentucky needs a shot in the arm,” noted Dr. Sautter. “We feel we’re offering an affordable stallion with a classy pedigree who performed on the track and who already has shown the ability to sire early speed.”

Northern Kid is a son of Muscles Yankee and the American Winner mare Swift Kid Hanover. He was trained by Ray and Larry Remmen and captured a New Jersey Sire Stakes at the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1:58.3 in mid-July of his two-year-old season before also winning a prep for the Peter Haughton Memorial. At age three, he lowered his mark to 1:57.1 before being retired early.

“He’s a beautiful horse,” said Dr. Sautter. “He’s a very dark brown horse, with just a few white hairs. He has a beautiful head, is long bodied, and has a lot of daylight underneath. He’s hard to fault, and once people take a look at him, they will see that he’s a very striking individual.”

As added incentive, the Northern Kid Partners are offering bonuses for Northern Kid’s foals of 2013 (mares bred in 2012). They include:

• If a two-year-old colt or filly wins the Kentucky Fair Final: $1,000 bonus to breeder of mare plus one free breeding;
• If a two-year-old colt or filly wins the Kentucky Sire Stakes final: bonus of $2,000 paid to breeder of mare plus one free breeding;
• If a Northern Kid offspring sets a national’s season’s mark at any time during its two-year-old season (as posted by the U.S. Trotting Association): $500 to the current owner and trainer;
• If a Northern Kid offspring is a national season’s champion at the end of the year: $1,000 to the current owner and trainer;
• If a Northern Kid offspring wins the Hambletonian or Hambletonian Oaks: $5,000 to the current owner, trainer and breeder;
• If a Northern Kid offspring is a Dan Patch/USTA divisional award winner: $5,000 to the current owner, trainer and breeder.

For more information, contact Walnut Hall Stock Farm at 859-254-5660.

(Northern Kid Partners/Walnut Hall Stock Farm)