Seelster Farms has announced that Thinking Out Loud p,4,1:47.2 ($1,957,217) has been retired and will stand stud at Seelster Farms in Lucan, Ont.

In 2012, Thinking Out Loud captured one of the few major stakes races that had eluded his Hall of Fame trainer, Bob McIntosh, to that point, the $1.5 million North America Cup.

“He was worth the wait,” said McIntosh, simply, after the impressive victory over a field that included such standouts as Sweet Lou, A Rocknroll Dance, Pet Rock, State Treasurer and Warrawee Needy.

Thinking Out Loud was lightly raced as a two-year-old, as he made just four freshman starts. He recorded three wins and a second at age two, which included victories in a leg and the final of the Dream Maker Series at Mohawk Racetrack. A bone bruise caused McIntosh to halt the colt’s rookie season, and his patience paid off in spades.

In addition to the NA Cup, Thinking Out Loud also counted the Bluegrass at the Red Mile among his three-year-old Grand Circuit victories, where he wowed onlookers with a :25-flat final quarter. "I know he can pace faster than a bird when he gets loose like that. He's got a tremendous kick and if he's in a position he can just about kick with anybody,” McIntosh said afterwards. At the conclusion of Thinking Out Loud’s sophomore campaign, he had recorded seven wins, five second-place finishes and five thirds, good for $1.2 million in purse earnings.

Over the next two years, Thinking Out Loud proved conclusively that he could compete with the toughest division in harness racing, the free for all pacers, a group that included the richest pacer in history, Foiled Again. Thinking Out Loud captured the US Pacing Championship in one of his first races as a four-year-old in 1:47.2, his life’s mark. “He’s got a tremendous turn of speed and he can carry it a good distance,” praised his regular driver, John Campbell. “It’s not like it’s a little burst of speed. He can carry it a long ways.”

At age five, Thinking Out Loud’s Grand Circuit wins included the Breeders Crown final at the Meadowlands Racetrack over Sweet Lou, State Treasurer, Modern Legend and Foiled Again. He also captured the American National at Balmoral Park. Thinking Out Loud retires with 16 lifetime wins and earnings of $1,957,217.

Thinking Out Loud is a son of one of McIntosh’s former stars, Ponder. “He’s much like his dad; Ponder was one of the greatest horses I ever trained and this horse has the same sort of attitude to him,” McIntosh noted.

Thinking Out Loud’s dam, Los Angeles, was a multiple stakes winner and earned $289,000 in her career. She is by Camluck, another of McIntosh’s former stable stars who ruled as the top pacing stallion in Canada for many years. He passed away earlier this year at Seelster Farms where he stood stud his entire career.

Thinking Out Loud’s introductory stud fee will be $4,000.

For further information visit seelsterfarms.com, call 519-227-4294 or email [email protected].

(Seelster Farms)