Stienams Place retired from racing at age four following a Dan Patch Award-winning career. Now, at the age of 25, she has been retired again, this time following a broodmare career that landed her in the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.
Barry Guariglia, whose Green Mountain Farms shares ownership of Stienams Place with Kentuckiana Farms, said the mare would sell her final foal during next week’s opening session of the Lexington Selected Sale. Twenty-four years ago, Guariglia and his racing partners, Peter Goulazian and James Greenwald, purchased Stienams Place under the name Tranquil Sands for $62,000 at the Kentucky Standardbred Sale.
“She’s officially retired and will stay at Kentuckiana for the rest of her life,” Guariglia said about Stienams Place, who was the sport’s Dan Patch Award winning three-year-old filly pacer in 1997 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. “She’s done well and gone a long time. It’s time for her to just relax, eat some grass, and run around.”
Stienams Place was from the first crop of Artsplace and the first foal out of Stienams Girl. Her second dam, Stienam, was a Dan Patch Award winner at age three in 1985.
Bruce Riegle trained Stienams Place and Jack Moiseyev handled the driving in all but several races. For her career, she won 18 of 31 races and earned $1.4 million. Her top win at age two came in the Sweetheart; at three, her triumphs included the Breeders Crown, Jugette, Glen Garnsey, Helen Dancer, and Matron. She won 14 of the final 15 starts of her campaign. She raced once at four, suffered a severe bone bruise, and was retired.
As a broodmare, Stienams Place has produced 10 horses to reach the races, totaling 108 wins and $4.67 million in purses. First foal Donkeys Can Talk was a Kentucky Sire Stakes champion, but her greatest successes came during the second half of her career as a mom.
Filly Showherthemoney was a world-record-setting stakes winner at age three whose victories included the Jugette, Nadia Lobell, Matron, Glen Garnsey and Miss New Jersey. She won 19 of 54 races and $871,161 lifetime.
At the same time Showherthemoney was enjoying her big three-year-old campaign in 2009, two-year-old filly Put On A Show burst on the scene by winning seven of nine races, including the Shes A Great Lady. The following season, she received the Dan Patch Award for best three-year-old filly pacer, with wins including the Breeders Crown, Nadia Lobell, and Valley Forge. She finished her career with 31 wins in 50 starts and $2.4 million. Two of Put On A Show’s offspring have gone on to be stakes winners, Come See The Show and Meadowlands Pace champion Best In Show.
Following Showherthemoney and Put On A Show, Stienams Place produced three more horses to earn six figures in purses: Good Day Mate ($597,623), Rockstar Stride ($173,240), and The Show Returns ($377,327).
“She’s had a big impact,” Guariglia said. “It took her a while to hit, but with her pedigree and performance as a racehorse, we kind of figured it was just a matter of time before she clicked. Sure enough, she did.
“As a racehorse, she was a little ornery in the stall. Bruce had to keep her with a goat (named Bunny) to keep her calmed down. It worked for her. As a broodmare, she’s been a perfect lady.”
Guariglia, whose top horses since Stienams Place include Dan Patch Award-winning trotter Manchego, said he always enjoyed following the horses produced by Stienams Place. Her final foal, a colt by Somebeachsomewhere, is named Ponzu. He is Hip No. 62 and will sell on October 1 at the Lexington Selected Sale.
“Some people say, why did you sell Put On A Show?” Guariglia said, adding with a laugh, “Well, first of all, if I knew she was going to make $2.4 million, maybe I wouldn’t have. But I wish people the best luck and I want to see them do well. People have a weird angle on that stuff; it doesn’t bother me at all. I enjoy watching (her offspring). Absolutely. It’s kind of neat.
“She was my first great horse. She was good on the track and great in the shed. All the way around, it was a great experience.”
(USTA)