Owner Daniel Plouffe of Bromont, Que. has informed Trot Insider that his horse-of-a-lifetime, the winner of the 1999 Pacing Triple Crown, Blissfull Hall, has passed away at the age of 29.
Plouffe said that since his champion finished his breeding career, the horse has lived a wonderful retirement at Bona Terra Farms near Lexington, Kentucky.
"Unfortunately, due to health conditions, and to preserve him from suffering, we had to make the very sad decision to put him down," said a sorrowful Plouffe. "He gave us so many thrills, as both a racehorse and as a sire... so many wonderful memories."
Developed and trained by Canadian Hall of Famer Ben Wallace throughout his entire 31-start career, the son of Cambest-Hundred Kisses, bred in Kentucky by Walnut Hall Limited, won four of eight starts as a freshman, all with Rick Zeron in the bike, and took his two-year-old mark of 1:53.2 while capturing the $100,000 consolation of the Metro Pace. He finished that year with a close third-place finish to The Panderosa, at The Red Mile, pacing his own mile in 1:52.
It was at age three that the colt made all of North America take notice, however. After blazing home in :25.2 to upset The Panderosa in his Meadowlands Pace elimination, at odds of 27-1, Blissfull Hall and Dan Dube suffered a blocked trip and finished seventh in the final. After that, however, the star pacer never missed the top three again, winning 13 of his final 19 career starts along the way.
It was his 3 1/2-length romp in the Messenger Stakes, on Oct. 16, 1999 at The Meadows, for his regular driver Ron Pierce, that made Blissfull Hall the Triple Crown winner, but arguably, it was his race-off victory in the 1999 Little Brown Jug that he'll be remembered for by most. After easily winning his first heat, despite being parked past the quarter in :26.3 from post position seven, he got pushed to three-quarters in 1:22.2 in the second heat and faded to third. Thus the race-off.
Lined up beside Looking For Art, Mystical Shark and Royalfush Hanover, Pierce got away in third, and allowed Mystical Shark to cut leisurely fractions, while he followed Royalfush Hanover second-over. Tipping three-wide approaching the last turn, Pierce and Blissfull Hall blew by their foes with a memorable rush, and paced home in :26.3 to easily capture The Jug.
Blissfull Hall was retired to stud just over two months later, with a stat line of 31-19-4-6, good for $1,468,648 in earnings and a three-year-old mark of 1:49.2, taken while winning the $238,000 American National at Balmoral Park. He was named Canada's 1999 Horse of the Year.
As a stallion, Blissfull Hall has sired 643 winners to $76.9 million in earnings, and 19 with marks of 1:50 or better, with millionaires Marnie Hall p,1:49 ($1,236,585) and Camelot Hall p,1:49 ($1,024,929) leading the way.
A $47,000 yearling purchase from the Tattersalls Sale in Kentucky, Blissfull Hall was a 2018 inductee into Canada's Horse Racing Hall of Fame. When interviewed for his Hall of Fame bio, trainer Ben Wallace was asked for one word to best describe the horse. Wallace paused briefly before he gave his answer. “Complete,” he said. “There was nothing lacking. I always look back and I know that he was bought right, he was owned right, he was trained right and he was driven right. It was a situation where we all had a little bit to do, but he made it a lot easier for all of us. It worked out great.”
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Blissfull Hall.
(Standardbred Canada)