Will harness racing's older trotting ranks be bolstered by O'Brien Award finalist Daylon Magician in 2012?
After announcements by Tara Hills Stud Farm promoted the son of Kadabra for stallion duty late in 2011, Daylon Magician disappeared from the farm's website and was not mentioned in any of the farm's roster advertisements.
"Daylon Magician is not going to stand at Tara Hills in 2012 after all," a rep from Tara Hills told Trot Insider. "The owners have decided to race him another year."
Daylon Magician amassed a record of 17-11-2-3 as a sophomore and banked nearly $1.3 million in his two years on the track. Bred, trained and owned throughout his career by Dave and Mary Lemon of Komoka, Ontario, Daylon Magician is the richest son of his sire, Kadabra.
"He had two full months of rest, we just started back with him last week," co-owner Mary Lemon told Trot Insider. "He's feeling full of himself. Everyday he comes out on his hind legs."
Lemon also reported that the four-year-old stallion added some height and "probably put on 150 lbs so we have something to work with," noting that he experienced a similar growth spurt from age two to three.
After collecting hardware at Saturday's SBOA banquet as the top three-year-old trotting colt in the Ontario Sires Stakes, Team Daylon Magician will travel to Mississauga, Ont. on Saturday night with hopes to add more hardware in the form of an O`Brien Award. Daylon Magician is a finalist against Hambletonian winner Broad Bahn.
While Lemon didn't divulge any plans for a racing schedule, she made it abundantly clear that Daylon Magician's sophomore season was nothing short of magical.
"He's taken us to places we've never been before and places we never thought we would be."