Dial Or Nodial, winner of both New Jersey Sire Stakes Pari-Mutuel finals, $175,000 at the Meadowlands Racetrack and $85,000 at Freehold Raceway, has been selected overall NJSS Horse of the Year for 2008.
The award, which is voted annually by the Sire Stakes Board of Trustees, is based only on performances in races for New Jersey-sired horses, including NJSS events and other major stakes for New Jersey-sired horses. In addition to the top honour, Dial Or Nodial, a son of Western Ideal, was chosen NJSS Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year.
Other divisional winners of 2008 Sire Stakes horse of the year honours are:
• Muscles Hill (Muscles Yankee), the two-year-old colt trotter who won the $700,000 Breeders Crown Championship;
• McCedes (McArdle) three-year-old colt pacer who won the $500,000 Anthony Abbatiello New Jersey Pacing Classic
• Cheyenne Trish (Artiscape), three-year-old pacing filly;
• Twist N Clout (Western Ideal), two-year-old pacing colt;
• Spam Spade (Dream Vacation), three-year-old trotting colt;
• Muscle Shirt (Muscles Yankee), three-year-old filly trotter,
• I Wanted Wings (Muscles Yankee), two-year-old trotting filly.
Dial Or Nodial, trained by Jim Campbell for the owners and breeders, Arlene and Jules Siegel, won eight of 12 career starts, earning $505,124 and taking a mark of 1:51.3. He won $166,750 in NJSS competition, as well as the Bluegrass and International Stallion Stakes at Lexington and an elimination of the Governor’s Cup at Woodbine Racetrack.
Muscle Hill, a purse earner of $817,301 overall, dominated two-year-old trotting nationally winning eight of nine starts, including the $500,000 Peter Haughton and $175,000 NJSS final at the Meadowlands and the Bluegrass and International Stallion Stakes at Lexington in addition to the Breeders Crown title he won in a World Record 1:53.3. Greg Peck trained the colt for owners Jerry Silva and the TLP Stables.
McCedes, the three-year-old pacing colt honouree, was the biggest winner of purse money in New Jersey-sired competition in 2008, with most of his overall $314,259 coming in his victory in the Abbatiello New Jersey Classic. Overall, he earned $454,801 for co-owners Silva and trainer Chris Ryder. His fastest clocking was 1:49.4.
Honours for NJSS Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year went to Cheyenne Trish, who won two NJSS legs at the Meadowlands and three NJSS legs and the NJ Futurity at Freehold to earn $156,803 of her $391,172 overall purses. She is trained by Robert Siegelman for the Cheyenne Gang and took a mark of 1:51.1.
Twist N Clout earned the two-year-old pacing filly award on the strength of her victory in the $175,000 NJSS final at the Meadowlands for the Val D’Or Farms and trainer Joe Holloway. Her New Jersey-sired winnings made up $110,500 of her overall $407,547 purse earnings that included stakes victories in Kentuckiana at Indianapolis and the International Stallion Stake at Lexington and a second-place finish in the Breeders Crown.
Spam Spade, trained by Julie Miller for the Andy Miller Stable, took three-year-old trotting colt honours by winning the $110,000 Charles I. Smith Trot and $85,000 NJSS final, both at Freehold. He earned $104,125 in New Jersey-sired competition and $206,020 overall with another win in the Bluegrass Stakes at Lexington. His three-year-old mark is 1:53.3.
Muscle Shirt, trained by Chuck Sylvester for the partnership of Liverman, Goldman, Caplan and Dickstein, earned the thee-year-old filly trotting award with a victory in $85,000 Helen Smith Trot, $85,000 NJSS final and NJ Futurity, all at Freehold. With a mark of 1:56.2, she earned $111,831 in New Jersey-sired competition and $244,338 overall.
NJSS two-year-old trotting filly of the year winner I Wanted Wings won the $175,000 NJSS final at the Meadowlands, earning $155,100 in New Jersey-sired races of her overall $339,362 purse money. Trained by Ross Croghan for the partnership of the Let It Ride and Robert Cooper Stales, she finished fourth in the Breeders Crown.
The horses will be honoured at the annual New Jersey Bred Equine Breeder Awards dinner on January 25, 2009 at the Radisson Hotel in Freehold.
(NJSS)