December means year-end awards season is upon us, and talented trotter Mission Brief has just added some more hardware to her owners' already-crowded trophy case.
Mission Brief has been selected as the New Jersey Sire Stakes’ Premier Division Horse of the Year for 2015 while Stayin Strong was named the Green Acres’ Horse of the Year.
The awards, which are voted annually by the New Jersey Sire Stakes Board of Trustees, are based solely on performances in races for New Jersey-sired horses, including NJSS races and other major stakes for NJ-sired horses.
Mission Brief was undefeated in NJSS competition, winning a preliminary leg of the Premier Division and the $100,000 final. Her regular driver, Yannick Gingras, handled her in both victories for trainer Ron Burke.
After her NJSS campaign, Mission Brief went on to win the Elegantimage at Mohawk Racetrack and the Continentalvictory at the Meadowlands. The three-year-old daughter of Muscle Hill won ten of 14 starts overall during the season, earning $1,062,859 overall this year for her owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Our Horse Cents Stables, J&T Silva LLC, and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. The filly was bred by Steve H. Stewart, Black Creek Farm and Andrea Lea Racing Stables Inc.
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Stayin Strong was undefeated in four NJSS Green Acres series starts at Freehold, including the $25,000 championship final for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. The son of Muscles Yankee earned $39,964 from 11 starts this season with $23,700 of it coming in the Green Acres series. Stayin Strong was trained by Julie Miller for co-owners Jason E. Allen and Douglas W. Allen of Vincentown, NJ and was bred by Lauren and Robert Tucker of Glen Gardner, NJ.
(with files from NJSS)