The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (CHRHF) Induction Gala took place this evening (Wednesday, Aug. 9) at the Mississauga Convention Centre, honouring the Classes of 2022 and 2023, including some of the biggest names in Canadian Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing.
The CHRHF Class of 2022 includes Jack Darling (Standardbred Trainer), Gilles Gendron (Standardbred Veteran), Frank Salive (Standardbred Communicator), Shadow Play (Standardbred Male Horse), Eurico Rosa Da Silva (Jockey), Charles E. Fipke (Thoroughbred Builder), Court Vision (Thoroughbred Male Horse) and Alydeed (Thoroughbred Veteran).
The CHRHF Class of 2023 includes Chris Christoforou (Driver), Dr. Lloyd S. McKibbin, DVM (Standardbred Builder), Bulldog Hanover (Standardbred Male Horse), Pure Ivory (Standardbred Female Horse), Irwin Driedger (Jockey), R. Glenn Sikura (Thoroughbred Builder), Pink Lloyd (Thoroughbred Male Horse) and Formal Gold (Thoroughbred Veteran).
The gala will feature a cocktail reception, a gourmet four-course dinner with wine, and a fantastic lineup of silent and live auction items. The reception and silent auction will commence at 5:30 p.m. EDT, followed by dinner, live auction and the induction ceremony at 6:30 p.m. The ceremonies will be hosted by CHRHF Honoured Member Jim Bannon, along with harness racing personality Kelly Spencer and Woodbine Thoroughbred race caller Robert Geller.
The following is a closer look at the careers of the new Hall of Famers with reaction from tonight's induction ceremonies to come.
Dr. Lloyd S. McKibbin, DVM – Standardbred Builder
The late Dr. Lloyd Salem McKibbin, DVM is considered a pioneer in the advancement of equine veterinary medicine. He was an innovator, teacher and author as well as a very hands-on veterinarian. A graduate of Ontario Veterinary College in 1952, Dr. McKibbin, decided to specialize in equine care, and more specifically lameness, treated patients with acupuncture, cryosurgery and laser therapy. He was also among the very first people to advocate swimming horses for therapeutic purposes. Horse owners travelled from far and wide to his small, unassuming clinic in Wheatley, Ont. for treatment using the ground-breaking methods he employed, all the while acting in the best interest of his equine patients. Among the numerous horses aided by Dr. McKibbin was CHRHF 2020 Inductee Rambling Willie, who spent time under “Doc’s” care. It was the relationship Rambling Willie’s owners had with Dr. McKibbin that provided the opportunity for the much-lauded horse to race in Canada and become a three-time winner of the Canadian Pacing Derby.
“Doc” also spent considerable time mentoring other veterinarians to follow in his path, many of whom went on to open their own successful practices. His books, Horse Owners Handbook and Cryoanalgesia for Horses, continue to be used as reference manuals.
In recognition of his work, Dr. McKibbin was inducted to the Chatham-Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1989.
Dr. Lloyd McKibbin's son, Terry McKibbin, accepted the award in his honour. "It's a great honour. The Hall Of Fame is something that you never start out to achieve. You achieve it by doing something good for somebody and others," Terry McKibbin said.
"Dad enjoyed teaching. That was his place on Earth was to teach things. He wanted people to understand what he was doing and what their horses were doing," T. McKibbin continued. "He always wanted to help the horse and help the people to get a better life out of what they were dealt with."
Chris Christoforou – Driver
Chris Christoforou has been driving Standardbred horses for 33 consecutive years, beginning in 1990 and continuing until the present time. The opportunity to pilot his family’s homebred trotter, Earl, brought Christoforou into the spotlight early in his driving career, and that family connection to harness racing continues to this day. In 1993, at the age of 21, Christoforou became the second youngest driver to win a prestigious Breeders Crown race when he and Earl captured the Open Trot division at Mohawk.
Among the many other horses Christoforou achieved major stakes success with include Grinfromeartoear (1999 Breeders Crown), CHRHF Member Astreos (2000 Little Brown Jug), as well as CHRHF Member Peaceful Way (2003 Goldsmith Maid, 2003 Oakville Stakes). He has also visited the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final winner’s circle 10 times.
Over his career, Christoforou’s driving stats have reached 6,758 career wins, nearly $119 million in purse earnings and a .260 UDRS lifetime rating, and he has been presented the O’Brien Award as Canada’s Driver of the Year on four occasions.
"My whole life I waited for this," Christoforou said. "When my parents first started in this business, my father bought a horse he couldn't afford, a race bike and a jog cart. And 50 years later, here I am. I owe everything to my family - my wife Camilla, my kids - I wouldn't be here without them and so many people in this room. It's just overwhelming.
"When I was a kid, people in my school wanted to be Wayne Gretzky, they wanted to win a Stanley Cup, but honestly, and I say this with sincere honesty, my goal was to be here. I am truly thankful to the Hall Of Fame for this induction. My family is truly grateful. This is one of the greatest moments of my life."
Bulldog Hanover – Standardbred Male Horse
Sired by 2022 CHRHF Inductee Shadow Play out of Artsplace mare BJs Squall, Bulldog Hanover was purchased by CHRHF 2022 Trainer Inductee Jack Darling for $28,000 at the 2019 Harrisburg Black Book Sale. He began his race career at age two, winning four of six starts, including the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final, with Jody Jamieson as his primary driver. Before the beginning of his three-year-old season, Brad Grant was added to his ownership as a partner.
At three, Bulldog Hanover continued to impress with three Ontario Sires Stakes Gold leg wins. He stepped into Grand Circuit competition with wins in the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes and a North America Cup elimination, again with Jamieson at the lines, before rounding out his sophomore year with four consecutive wins at Hoosier Park in the Monument Circle, the Star Destroyer Pace, the Circle City Pace and the Thanksgiving Classic, just a glimpse of what was to come.
During his 2022 campaign, Bulldog Hanover won four straight races in a 21-day period, at The Meadowlands, winning a Graduate leg in 1:47, the Roll With Joe in 1:46, the Graduate final in 1:46.1 and the William R. Haughton Memorial in a world record time of 1:45.4, all with Dexter Dunn in the bike. It was those 21 days from June 25 to July 16 that captured the world’s attention and catapulted Bulldog Hanover to a new status, as he became the fastest pacer of all time en route to Horse of the Year honours in Canada and unanimous Horse of the Year honours in the U.S.
When he retired from racing at the end of 2022, Bulldog Hanover’s lifetime stats included a record of 28-4-1 in 37 starts and earnings of $2,789,271. Before starting his 2022 campaign, Bulldog Hanover bred a limited number of mares, with his first foals beginning to arrive as their sire enters the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Bulldog Hanover continues his breeding career at Seelster Farms.
When asked about a stand out moment in Bulldog Hanover's career, co-owner Brad Grant said, "There's a lot of things. One of the things, his races were phenomenal and his career has been phenomenal. But I think one of the things you learn when you have a horse like Bulldog Hanover is how he's received by everybody. And Jack and Johnny, his caretaker, they never let anybody not see this horse.
"Everywhere he went, there were lineups of people to see him, The Bulldog," Grant continued. "The Bulldog, that's all you heard. And they gave the world every opportunity to see this horse. The races are great, but the response from the people, from the ordinary people, the bettors, just people that wanted to see The Bulldog because they had heard about him - I think that was a highlight as any."
Pure Ivory – Standardbred Female Horse
Trotting mare Pure Ivory, by Striking Sahbra, has been successful both on the racetrack and as a broodmare. Bred by Diane Ingham and the late Harry Rutherford of Mount Pleasant, Ont., and owned throughout her racing career by Jerry Van Boekel, Christina Maxwell, Steve Condren and Rutherford, Pure Ivory’s racing stats include earnings of $1.44 million and a lifetime mark of 1:53.1. Trained by Brad Maxwell, the two-time O’Brien Award recipient (2005 & 2006) won 22 stakes races during her career, including Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals at age two and three, the Canadian Breeders Championship, and divisions of the Simcoe and Champlain Stakes.
Currently a broodmare owned by Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky, Pure Ivory produced the 2019 Hambletonian champion, Forbidden Trade, who was a divisional O’Brien Award winner at two and three, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2019, and amassed career earnings in excess of $2.3 million.
"Pure Ivory is truly Canadian," Steve Condren said. "She lives in Kentucky now, but she's truly Canadian. When she finally got bred to Kadabra, she produced the Hambletonian winner, our Kentucky Derby of our business, and she continues to do well for Cindy and I, that's for sure. This award is a real honour and I just want to thank the Hall Of Fame for this wonderful honour. She's very well deserving."
R. Glenn Sikura – Thoroughbred Builder
The owner/operator of Hill ‘n’ Dale Canada, located in King, Ont., R. Glenn Sikura, has contributed to Canadian Thoroughbred racing as a breeder, owner and sales agent while also holding key positions with organizations representing various aspects of the Canadian Thoroughbred industry.
Sikura has served as Chief Steward of the Jockey Club of Canada since 2018 and is the Past-President of the National and Ontario Divisions of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS), Past-President of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, a founding member and Past-President of Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association, former Director of both the Breeders' Cup and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
As owner of Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms Sales Agency, in Toronto, to date he has sold 148 stakes horses that have won more than $80 million and 2,500 races. In Kentucky, horses Sikura has sold include Arlington Million Grade 1 winner Jambalaya and Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint champion Maryfield. Other successful sales graduates include Horse of the Year A Bit o’ Gold, Dynamic Sky, Inglorious and One for Rose. As an owner/breeder, Sikura campaigned champion Serenading, Handpainted, Painting and many others.
As a horse breeder who foals mares for clients across North America, it is estimated that he personally has delivered most of the approximately 1,500 horses foaled at the farm. Sikura is also the recipient of a Blood-Horse Mint Julep Cup for lifetime contribution to the horse industry in 2016, and an Award of Merit from the CTHS Ontario Division. Sikura becomes the third member of his family to be inducted to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, having been preceded by his father John Sikura Jr., CHRHF Class of 2013, and brother John G. Sikura, CHRHF Class of 2018.
Irwin Driedger – Jockey
A native of Russell, Man., Irwin Driedger launched his riding career in 1967, at age 11, as an exercise rider. He then honed his skills at fairs in Western Canada before moving to bush tracks and eventually recognized tracks such as Assiniboia Downs in 1973, where he plied his trade until 1982. In 1979, Driedger set an Assiniboia record of 161 wins before surpassing his own accomplishment in 1980 with 180 victories. In 1981, Driedger made 214 trips to the winner's circle, a record that stood for many years. Over the next 17 years, Driedger rode at major tracks across Canada, winning 1,633 races for purse earnings of $14.6 million. The 1998 recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award, Driedger rode Sovereign Award winners Liz’s Pride, Phoenix Factor, Classy ‘n’ Smart, In My Cap, Grey Classic and Imperial Choice. When CHRHF honouree Classy N Smart’s daughter Dance Smartly was ready to start her race career, Driedger, was provided the opportunity to ride the future CHRHF Honoured Member for her first start, a five-furlong maiden race, which the pair won by a comfortable 3-1/2-length margin.
In 1990, Driedger retired from competition and became the Secretary-Manager of the Jockeys' Benefit Association of Canada, serving his first term until 2006. Under his direction, Canadian jockeys became the first in North America to wear safety vests. Driedger was also instrumental in helping to install safety rails at Woodbine. From 2006 until 2018, Driedger held the position of Director of Thoroughbred Racing Surfaces at Woodbine. In 2019, he returned the Jockeys' Benefit Association of Canada to again assume the role of Secretary-Manager, a position he held until his retirement in 2021.
Pink Lloyd – Thoroughbred Male Horse
An Ontario-bred foal of 2012, Pink Lloyd became one of the country’s most famous and popular racehorses during his career. Having missed out on his opportunity to race at age two and three due to growing pains, he certainly made up for it over his six years on the track, winning 29 of 38 starts and earning $2.4 million under the tutelage of Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Trainer Robert Tiller. Bred by John Carey and owned by Entourage Stable, including principal owner, Frank Di Giulio Jr., the gelding’s first major win came early in 2017 when he captured the Jacques Cartier Stakes, a race he would remarkably win three more times. This win would be the start of a of an incredible career record of 26-career stakes wins, all accomplished at Woodbine at sprint distances. His perfect season of eight stakes wins earned him Sovereign Awards as Champion Older Horse, Outstanding Sprinter and Horse of the Year.
Over the course of the next four years, five more Sovereign Awards were earned while Pink Lloyd reigned as the perennial Sprint Champion, often competing in record time. Pink Lloyd’s 38th and final career start in the autumn of 2021 was in the Kennedy Road Stakes, when the venerable nine-year-old gelding saved his best for the final furlong and rushed late on the outside to snatch his 29th career score before an adoring audience. Following his retirement from the track, Pink Lloyd’s connections donated him to LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, where he contentedly enjoys daily turnout and visits from his Hall of Fame trainer and his longtime groom. Now his connections will add another award to the mantle, that of Canadian Horse Racing Honoured member.
Formal Gold – Thoroughbred Veteran
Twenty-five years after the conclusion of his race career, Ontario-bred Formal Gold continues to rank among the top Thoroughbreds in North America, in terms of Beyer Speed Figures.
Bred by Mr. and Mrs. Rodes Kelly, trained by William W. Perry and owned by John D. Murphy Sr. during his race career, the son of Black Tie Affair consistently received Beyer speed ratings in the mid-120s. As a four-year-old, when beaten a nose by Wills Way in the 1997 Whitney, Formal Gold earned a Beyer Rating of 126; a 124 rating for his win in the Philip Islen and a 125 rating when he won the Woodward Stakes that same year. By comparison, current racing superstar Flightline received a 126 Beyer Rating in the 2022 Pacific Classic and a 121 rating for his victory in the 2022 Breeders' Cup Classic.
Formal Gold was ranked among the top handicap horses of 1997 with gate-to-wire efforts in two Grade 1 victories -- the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream and the Woodward Stakes, defeating Horse of the Year and U.S. Hall of Fame member Skip Away in both races. In total, Formal Gold finished ahead of Skip Away in four of their six meetings.
At stud, Formal Gold ranked among the top one per cent as sire of two-year-old winners from starters at 45 per cent and sired progeny with global earnings of nearly $16 million (U.S.), including 19 stakes winners. After initially standing at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, he was later re-located to Rancho San Miguel in California, and finally to Esquirol Farms in Alberta, Canada.
Frank Salive – Standardbred Communicator
Originally from Leamington, Ont., Frank Salive was known for over 35 years as “The Voice” of Canadian harness racing. Before moving to the announcer’s booth, Salive was a successful junior hockey player as part of the Peterborough Petes and also participated in the very first World Junior Championships when the Petes represented Canada in the 1974 tournament held in the Soviet Union. Canada earned the bronze medal and Salive was named the top goaltender of the tournament. He then moved on to a broadcasting career, which included assignments in Sudbury and Windsor, where he began to call harness races in the late 1970’s. He continued at tracks throughout Ontario and the US, including 14 years at Ontario Jockey Club/Woodbine Entertainment Group harness tracks as well as at Pompano Park, Western Fair Raceway, Clinton Raceway and Fort Erie Racetrack before his most recent role as the voice of Ocean Downs in Maryland. During his career it is estimated Salive has called close to 200,000 races at an estimated 75 different tracks, becoming a fan and industry favourite for his knowledgeable, informative calls and silky voice. Salive was also a regular writer for the Canadian Sportsman for several years.
"As a direct result of the excellence and exposure from Canadian harness racing, I got to work close to 25% of my career in the United States at tracks like Batavia Downs, Tioga Downs, and Pompano Park," Salive said. "I did most of the meet one time at the old Calder Racecourse before it was permanently closed and as recently as last year, at Ocean Downs in Maryland. And the common denominator with my Canadian coworkers and the Americans was they all treated me so well and made me feel so welcome and so much a part of the team."
Salive described one of his most emotional moments from in the press box as in the 2003 North America Cup. "It was very emotional because the winning co-owner/trainer Tim Pinske had just lost his son Brian before that race. He told me at the post-race reception that him and his wife were right under a speaker at Woodbine and they dove into each other's arms weeping because my call included Brian coming to the wire. And I thought that really reinforces the power of our words as race announcers of the modern era."
Shadow Play – Standardbred Male Horse
Shadow Play earned $1,559,822 with 20 wins, nine seconds and five thirds in 49 lifetime starts, and took a record of 1:47.4 as a four-year-old. The son of The Panderosa out of the Matts Scooter mare Matts Filly, Shadow Play was purchased as a yearling, trained and co-owned by Dr. Ian Moore along with R G McGroup Ltd. and Serge Savard for most of his racing career. His race career highlights include winning the 2008 Little Brown Jug and setting a world record for three-year-old colt and gelding pacers on a 5/8-mile track, of 1:48.2 in the elimination of the Coors Delvin Miller Adios.
As a sire standing at Winbak Farm of Canada, in partnership with Blue Chip Farms, and owned by the Shadow Play Syndicate, Shadow Play has sired six millionaires, including the fastest Standardbred in harness racing history, Bulldog Hanover (1.45.4) with earnings to date of nearly $2.2 million; three-time O’Brien Award winner and double millionaire Lady Shadow; 2021 Horse of the Year and North America Cup winner, Desperate Man; and O’Brien divisional winner, Percy Bluechip. In total, Shadow Play-sired horses have earned $56 million. Twenty horses sired by Shadow Play have records of 1:50 or better.
When asked to give three words that best describe Shadow Play, trainer and co-owner Dr. Ian Moore said, "Tough, determined, and for all of us and for all of our families and everybody who has been associated with him - unforgettable."
Jack Darling – Standardbred Trainer
Cambridge, Ontario-based Jack Darling has enjoyed a successful career as a harness horse trainer in southern Ontario over three decades campaigning 1,072 winners and conditioning horses to over $22 million in earnings, and counting. For the first two decades of his career Darling focused on overnight horses, before getting involved in the yearling business. In 1995, four fillies put Darling in the spotlight - Diamond Dawn, a winner of $175,000, Low Places (winner of a 1996 O’Brien Award), Faded Glory (winner of more than $250,000 as a freshman) and Diehard Fan (over $200,000 as a two and three-year-old). Other top horses included Northern Luck ($907,984), North America Cup champion Gothic Dream ($1,528,671) and Twin B Champ ($437,235). Darling’s latest protégé, Bulldog Hanover, recently set a new world record of 1:45.4 to become the fastest horse in harness racing history and has to date earned nearly $2.2 million. Darling is also known for significant fundraising efforts on behalf of racing related causes, and was the 2015 winner of the Lloyd Chisholm Memorial Award, presented by the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario, the United States Harness Writers Association Unsung Hero Award, and the Good Guy Award.
"When I was a little boy, I'd be asked by my parents, 'Jack, what do you want to be when you grow up?' And my answer would always be the same, ' I don't know what I want to do, but I want to do something that I like doing.' And of course, I had no idea what that would be," Darling said. "But, when I went to the racetrack for the first time and discovered harness racing, my dream came true and I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have been able to make a living doing something that I love.
"My thoughts always go back to my early days racing at Western Fair Raceway in London and how exciting it was just to be a part of it. Back then, I never would have dreamed that I'd be racing in big stakes like the Little Brown Jug, North America Cup, or Breeders Crown. And for sure, I never imagined having a horse like Bulldog Hanover," Darling continued. "But as exciting as it has been racing in all of those classic races, it was just as exciting for me back when I was racing and driving my raceway horses in those early years. I just love the good old days.
"This is a tremendous honour for me, very humbling and I really can't express how much it means to me and my family."
Gilles Gendron – Standardbred Veteran
Gilles Gendron of Saint-Eustache, Quebec, started his illustrious driving career in the spring of 1967 at the age of 22. During his career, he drove in more than 37,000 races, posted 7,053 victories, finished second in 5,008 starts and recorded 4,819 thirds. He drove horses to earnings in excess of $36.9 million. Gendron was the dominant driver at Blue Bonnets racetrack during the 1970s and 1980s. At age 27 in 1972, Gendron won the Challenge of Champions hosted by Windsor Raceway, defeating the likes of Herve Filion, Ronnie Feagan and Carmine Abbatiello. Nicknamed “Le Chef”, he dominated the Blue Bonnets driving charts, leading the driving standings 10 times between 1972 and 1984. For 14 consecutive years, he won more than 200 races and ranked in the North American top 10 seven times. Among the equine stars he drove were Hall of Famers Grades Singing and Garland Lobell. In 2009, he drove a pair of winners at Rideau Carleton to put him at 7,000 career wins to join Quebec natives Herve Filion, Michel Lachance and Luc Ouellette in the select group of North American drivers who had posted 7,000 career wins.
"You know if you're in the Hall of Fame because you're lucky, you've got to be good. You're good because you drive some good horses for good trainers and good grooms," Gendron said. "We pass our lives in the paddock, farm, and the racetrack. It's a lot of hours."
Charles E. Fipke – Thoroughbred Builder
Edmonton, Alberta-born Charles Fipke, who is now based primarily in British Columbia, is a successful Canadian geologist and prospector involved in the discovery of the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories. He entered the Canadian Thoroughbred Industry in 1981 and over the past forty-plus years, has bred and owned numerous horses that have been successful on the track and as part of his breeding operation. His Canadian racing accomplishments include breeding and owning three Sovereign Award winners - 2008 Champion Three-Year-Old Male and winner of the 2008 Queen’s Plate, Not Bourbon; 2010 Champion Older Female, Impossible Time; and 2003 Champion Male Turf Horse, Perfect Soul, who went on to become a successful sire. Additionally, he bred and owns racehorse Perfect Shirl, winner of the 2011 Breeder’s Cup Filly and Mare Turf (GI). Other Fipke-owned Grade 1 winners include champion Forever Unbridled, Bee Jersey, Lemons Forever, Seeking the Soul, Jersey Town and Tale of Ekati. Fipke bred and owned Lady Speightspeare who received the 2020 Sovereign Award as champion 2-year-old-filly, was most recently victorious in the 2022 edition of the Seaway Stakes (G3). Horses owned by Mr. Fipke have earned over $35 million. In 2020 Charles Fipke was awarded the E.P. Taylor Award of Merit by the Stewards of the Jockey Club of Canada for his contributions to the Canadian Thoroughbred industry.
Eurico Rosa Da Silva – Jockey
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Eurico Rosa Da Silva, was drawn to the idea of being a jockey from a very young age and enjoyed substantial success in his home country before relocating to Macau. In 2004, Da Silva moved to Canada making Woodbine his main base. Da Silva had back-to-back wins in the Queen’s Plate with Eye of the Leopard in 2009 and Big Red Mike in 2010. Over the next decade, Da Silva won multiple Grade 1 Stakes and was awarded the Sovereign Award as Canada's Champion jockey seven times. Other career highlights for the 2021 Avelino Gomez Memorial Award recipient include two Oaks wins, as well as upsets prior to his retirement at the end of the 2019 racing season with El Tormenta in the Woodbine Mile and with Bullard’s Alley in the Canadian International. Da Silva also had a remarkable partnership with multi-time champion, Pink Lloyd. On the international stage, Eurico claimed victory in the 2017 World All-Star Jockeys Championship in Japan. Admired by both racing fans and fellow jockeys, Da Silva was appreciated for his professionalism, unbridled joy and exuberant wishes of “Good Luck to everybody”.
Out of the saddle, Da Silva's generous spirit was evidenced by his long-time commitment to racehorse aftercare at LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society and supporting his community by volunteering with the "Out Of The Cold" program for the homeless. Statistically, Da Silva achieved 11,630 starts (2,286-1914-1567), and earnings of $102,764,264.
Court Vision – Thoroughbred Male Horse
One of the most talented and versatile colts of his generation, Court Vision was a multiple graded-stakes winner on both dirt and turf at two, and a Grade 1 winner at three, four, and five. His pedigree includes Champion Sprinter and classic sire (Gulch), out of a sister to a classic winner and classic sire (Summer Squall) and the immediate family of A.P. Indy. Of his eight graded-stakes, five came in Grade 1 races, including the 2011 Breeders' Cup Mile and the 2010 Woodbine Mile - his first of two appearances in that race. In a career consisting of 32 starts, he accumulated 9 wins, 4 seconds and 4 thirds, with total earnings of $3,746,658.
In 2012 Court Vision began his career as a sire in at Michael Byrne’s Ontario-based Park Stud and he was Canada’s leading Freshman Sire in 2015 - both in earnings and stakes horses. Beginning in 2016 his stallion career continued in Kentucky and later in Louisiana. Among his stakes horses are 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and Eclipse Champion, Storm the Court, with 13 starts (2-2-3) and earnings of $1.365 million, and Grade 3 winner, Mr. Havercamp, 14 (8-1-0) $679,558.
Alydeed – Thoroughbred Veteran
Bred by CHRHF 2015 Builder Inductee, Robert Anderson’s Anderson Farms, Alydeed was sold as part of the Three Chimneys Farm consignment in the 1990 Keeneland September yearling sale to David Willmot’s Kinghaven Farms. The son of English Two Thousand Guineas winner Shadeed, he was trained by CHRHF Honoured Member Roger Attfield throughout his career. In his only start at age two Alydeed won the Victoria Stake. The following year Alydeed developed into a prominent three-year-old in both Canada and the United States with five victories in 10 starts, including the Grade II Derby Trial at Churchill Downs. He was also a close second in the Preakness Stakes to Pine Bluff. Returning to Canadian soil, he won the Marine (GIII), Plate Trial and Queen's Plate in succession by a combined 22 1/2 lengths.
At four, Alydeed’s race success included wins in the Grade III Commonwealth at Keeneland and Grade 1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct. He concluded his race career with a record 9 wins, 2 seconds, and 2 thirds from 18 starts and earnings of $930,689. He was retired to stand stud at Windfields Farm and became Canada’s Leading Sire in 2001.
For additional information about the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, visit horseracinghalloffame.com.
(With files from Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame)