After selling for $360,000 as a Harrisburg yearling two years ago, Quickest Hanover returned to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in 2021 and will head back to familiar surroundings.
Quickest Hanover sold on the first day of the 2019 Standardbred Horse Sales Company's Black Book yearling sale and was collared by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Bill Donovan, JandT Silva Purnel And Libby and Weaver Bruscemi LLC from the Hanover consignment. Now three, Quickest Hanover was entered into the mixed sale portion of the 2021 Black Book and fetched the highest price during the fifth and final session on Friday (Nov. 12). Consigned to the sale by Preferred Equine and sold as Hip 1453, Quickest Hanover (Father Patrick - Queen Of Grace) sold for $450,000 and was purchased by her breeder, Hanover Shoe Farms.
Quickest Hanover is a three-quarter sister to world champion stakes-winning millionaire Lifetime Pursuit 2,1:52.3; 3,1:50.4; BT1:50.2 ($1,065,586).
Trotting blood was in strong demand over the five days in Harrisburg, and Friday's session stayed true to that trend with trotters bringing the six highest sales figures from the final session.
Selling as Hip 1391, KYSS champ Empressive Hill was purchased by Jean-Pierre Barjon of Paris, France for $410,000. Consigned to the sale by Northwood Bloodstock, Empressive Hill (Muscle Hill - Slice Slice Baby) sports a record of 1:51.2 taken at The Red Mile as a sophomore, with a 10-2-1 from 19 career starts and $273,775 in earnings.
A sister to world champion Six Pack, sophomore trotting filly My Abigail fetched a bid of $370,000 from agent Shaun Laungani of Lexington, Ky. The daughter of Bar Hopping - Pleasing Lady, consigned to the sale by Preferred Equine, was a $350,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase of Determination in 2019. She has a mark of 1:56.1f taken at Harrah's Philadelphia with a 1-1-3 summary and $20,927 from nine career starts.
The highest priced pacing racehorse of the session was 2020 Breeders Crown champ Sandbetweenmytoes. The four-year-old gelded son of Somebeachsomewhere - Galleria paced back to his 1:48.3 lifetime mark in his most recent start at The Meadowlands in mid-September for trainer Jim Campbell, then qualified in mid-October in 1:48.4 at The Big M. Also consigned by Preferred, he sold for $305,000 to Greg Luther of Blacklick, Oh.
With 142 less horses (521) than the total sold in 2019 (663), this year's edition of the mixed sale posted a gross total of $27,012,000, just $9,000 shy of the $27,021,000 total from 2019. This year`s mixed sale average came in at a record $51,846, well above the 2019 average of $40,756 and the $28,798 average posted in 2020 at Timonium.
Canadian participants were prominent throughout both the yearling and mixed sale portions. According to data from the sale company, a total of 222 Harrisburg yearlings were purchased by Canadians, with those owners spending $11,392,000 to account for 26.8 percent of the total yearling sales.
The breakdown by home province of listed yearling buyer is as follows:
Alberta - 3
B.C. - 1
Nova Scotia - 11
Ontario - 180
P.E.I. - 1
Quebec - 26
From the 2021 Mixed Sale section, Canadians were responsible for 61 purchases with $2.26 million in total expenditures.
"It is beyond encouraging to see the local owners as active as they were this past week," said Woodbine Mohawk Park director of Standardbred racing Bill McLinchey. "It really shows their confidence in racing in Ontario, and we look forward to seeing their recent purchases race at Mohawk next summer and fall."
To view results from the 2021 Standardbred Horse Sales Company's sale sessions, click one of the following links:
• Black Book 1 Results
• Black Book 1 Totals & Averages
• Black Book Results
• Black Book 2 Totals & Averages
In Italian topped the opening session on Monday, with the hammer falling at $750,000 and Milton, Ont.'s Brad Grant the successful buyer. In Italian (Chapter Seven-Hemi Blue Chip) is a full-sister to world champion trotting mare Atlanta, a career winner of $3,269,538 with a mark of 1:49 taken in the Allerage Farms Mares Trot last month at The Red Mile. Bred by Sweden's Order By Stable and consigned by Concord Stud Farm, the filly sold as Hip 69 to Grant, one of Atlanta's part-owners.
Another trotting filly topped the bidding for the second yearling session on Tuesday as Unicorn Blue Chip was purchased for $475,000 by Lucas Wallin of New Egypt, New Jersey, acting as agent. Bred by Blue Chip Farms, the filly is by Chapter Seven out of the unraced Donato Hanover mare Dunk The Donato. She is a half-sister to world champion and millionaire Plunge Blue Chip (1:49.4 - $1,596,841), multiple Grand Circuit stakes-placed Splash Blue Chip (1:51.4 - $474,623) and recent Matron Stakes winner Threepointbluechip (1:55 - $107,100).
Trotting filly Unity Blue Chip was the third session's topper, purchased for $145,000 by Paul Kelley of Lake Worth, Florida. Bred by Blue Chip Farms, the E L Titan filly is the first foal out of the unraced Credit Winner mare Credittomyfamily, who is a full sister to Moni For Lindy ($421,821 - 1:53.4S). Unity Blue Chip's third dam is the legendary trotting mare Moni Maker.
What A Knockout turned heads at the first mixed session of the 2021 Standardbred Horse Sale. Sold as part of a mare dispersal in foal to Muscle Hill, What A Knockout fetched a bid of $595,000 from Hanover Shoe Farms. From the Peninsula Farm consignment, the six-year-old Donato Hanover-Southwind Sofia mare was a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes winner and took a mark of 1:52.4 at The Meadowlands for owner Herb Liverman. Her first foal is a Muscle Hill yearling filly The Ladys A Ten, who sold for $100,000 at last month's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale to Yankeeland Partners.