Pastor Stephen, the 2010 Dan Patch two-year-old Trotting Colt of the Year and a winner of more than $1 million as a two-and three-year-old, is standing this season at Premier Acres in Indiana, and his 2021 stud book is now full and closed.
"We are very happy with the response from breeders," said Dean Miller, who co-owns Pastor Stephen with Taylor Made Stallions. "He has had just a fantastic book of mares. Anytime you bring a horse like this back from Europe after missing the scene here for a few years, you can get a little nervous."
"Have to say thanks to the breeders that did come out and support Pastor Stephen," Miller added. "And not just from Indiana, but we have been getting mares from all over the country."
Pastor Stephen has been very successful in the breeding shed all across Europe, with a more than 70 per cent rate of his foals making it to the races, all despite the fact that he was held up in a court case and lost two full breeding seasons.
To see his profile, click here.
"The horse is proving himself in Europe," Miller said. "They are racing very well over there, and this year, he has had a great season there as a stallion. I get calls almost daily from Filip Van Hauwermeiren in Europe telling me about this horse and that horse, all by Pastor Stephen, who are doing well at the races.
"He is throwing nice big strong horses, and that seven-eighths-mile track at Hoosier Park will be just perfect for his foals."
"He has his work cut out for him this year," Miller said about Pastor Stephen’s stallion duties. "From August to January, we were freezing his semen to send over to Europe. Then he breeds at Premier Acres now until July, and then he heads Down Under, where I think he will be quite popular."
Pastor Stephen will later this year board a plane bound for Northern Rivers Equine, at Kyabram, Victoria, Australia, to commence his first breeding season in the flesh Down Wnder.
The two-season race career of Pastor Stephen’s resulted in 10 wins, eight minor placings, and prize money of $1,048,607 from 22 starts.
His trainer, Jimmy Takter, summed him up nicely:
“He was a really good gaited colt, an easy horse to be around and race. He was in the top three of his class as a three-year-old. Unfortunately, he got injured in a transport incident before the Hambletonian, where he finished third in his elimination and fifth in the final from post 10. After that, a coffin bone injury put an end to his career in the USA, and he was sold to Europe. I have reserved two breeding rights to him now that he is back in the USA.”
(Taylor Made Stallions)