Trot Insider continues to showcase this year's O'Brien Awards finalists, with the spotlight on the Armstrong Breeder of the Year category heading into this weekend's black tie gala.
After five candidates were put forward, voters selected Seelster Farms Inc., Tara Hills Stud Ltd. and Winbak Farm as the three Armstrong Breeder of the Year finalists.
Seelster Farms Inc. of Lucan, Ont. is a four-time winner of this award, with previous divisional honours captured in 2006, 2013, 2018 and 2020. No breeder has won this division on five occasions. Robert MacIntosh Stables Inc. also won this award four times (twice shared with Al MacIntosh Holdings Inc.), the same total owned by Al Libfeld & Marvin Katz.
In 2025, horses bred by Seelster Farms won 239 races while earning just shy of $3 million. The top Seelster-bred performers from this past season included trotters Sprite Seelster and New Rules.
A multiple Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold winner in 2025, Sprite Seelster enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore. The daughter of Green Manalishi S - Speak Of The Devil posted three wins and 10 top-three finishes from her 13 appearances with $270,646 in seasonal earnings.
"She just does everything," said driver and co-owner Tyler Borth after one of her Gold wins in May. "She eats everything and she comes out a race well all the time. She holds her weight well. She's big, she's strong and I think she's going to stay good all year."
He wasn't wrong. Sprite Seelster didn't miss a cheque all year, finishing no worse than fourth, and trotted in 1:52.4 — as fast as her lifetime mark — in her final start of the year. Her 1:54f Gold win at Grand River Raceway established a new track record for three-year-old trotting fillies.
New Rules was a contributing factor to Trainer of the Year finalist David Menary's career year. The son of Lookslikeachpndale - Mini Her posted eight wins and 15 top-three finishes from his 24 starts in 2025, banking $189,940, while winning the New Holland Trotting Series and multiple Preferreds at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The winner in this category in 2023, Tara Hills Stud Ltd. of Port Perry, Ont. bred winners of 81 races and those horses accrued $2.92 million in earnings this past season.
"It’s a huge honour for Nora, myself and Tara Hills," said David Heffering, the farm's owner and general manager. "We are very fortunate to have a great staff that make this possible. They work day in and day out with the horses to help make this possible."
Without question, the star performer of 2025 for Tara Hills was two-year-old pacing colt standout Beau Jangles. The son of Cattlewash - Mrs Major Hill colt won all 12 of his assignments and became the richest earner on Canadian soil in 2025, amassing $1,688,750. He capped his historic rookie campaign with a victory in the $959,000 Breeders Crown, setting a stakes, track and Canadian record with his devastating 1:48.3 victory. But it was a prior race in that campaign that stands out to Heffering.
"The highlight race is the Metro where 'Beau' was able to prove his ability on the Grand Circuit to everyone."
Regardless of voting outcome, Heffering looks forward to this Saturday's black tie gala as Canadian harness racing's participants unite to celebrate and recognize the commitment and dedication that all of the award finalists bring to our industry on a daily basis.
"We’re looking forward to attending the O’Brien Awards," added Heffering. "We will be catching up with old and new friends, having a few laughs and a couple of adult beverages and cheering for all the finalists."
It's entirely possible those cheers will be for Pat Woods and his team at Winbak Farm, the third finalist in the Armstrong Breeder of the Year category.
Maintaining operations at the former headquarters of this award's namesake, Winbak Farm-bred performers posted 734 wins and banked more than $10.2 million in 2025.
"Being named a finalist for the 2025 O’Brien Awards for Breeder of the Year is a tremendous honour for everyone at Winbak Farm," said Woods. "On behalf of our owners, Joe and JoAnn Thomson, this recognition means a great deal to our entire team and reflects the hard work, dedication, and commitment that goes into our operation year after year."
While boasting the likes of top stateside stakes performers such as Happy Jack B and 2021 Canadian Horse of the Year Desperate Man, a pair of two-year-old fillies provided Woods with his highlights of 2025 not far from the Inglewood, Ont. nursery.
"Reflecting on the 2025 season, there were many memorable moments, but highlights for me were definitely Sugar Packet’s victory in the Peaceful Way and A Clean Deal winning the OSS Super Final," noted Woods. "Those performances truly represent the quality and consistency we strive to produce through the Winbak program."
Winbak Farm is now a two-time finalist in this division, finishing second in 2021. Woods and his team couldn't celebrate success in person that year due to COVID restrictions, but they'll be able to attend this year's gala as the awards ceremony makes its Forest City debut.
"We’re very grateful to the owners, trainers, and partners who support Winbak horses, and our team is genuinely looking forward to attending the O’Brien Awards night," stated Woods, a former employee of Heffering's at Tara Hills. "It will be a special opportunity to celebrate the season, the sport, and Canadian racing and breeding as a whole. It will be a great night sharing and celebrating with our friends and colleagues. Good luck to all that were nominated as finalists."
This year marks the 37th edition of the O’Brien Awards, named in honour of the late Joe O’Brien, an outstanding horseman and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee. The winners will be announced at the O’Brien Awards Gala on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at the J-AAR Expo Centre at Western Fair District in London, Ont.
(Standardbred Canada; photos of Sprite Seelster, Beau Jangles and Sugar Packet courtesy New Image Media)