Blooded Horse Spring Sale Strong

In spite of the fact that 47 Chicago racehorses were banned due to the Rhino outbreak, the Blooded Horse Spring Sale was well attended and the average was up nearly 20%.  Buyers eagerly sought competitive horses that were ready to drop in the box.

Open California pacer Du Wah Diddy topped the sale at $40,000.  Consigned by Michael Brown the son of Ball and Chain was purchased by Mickey Burke to race at Yonkers and the Meadowlands.  Trainer K William Krikorian won the bidding war for the competitive green trotter A Gift of Victory.  The handsome chestnut son of Striking Sahbra will race at Rockingham Park and Plainridge for Vartan Krikorian. 

Ohio Colt stakes trotter, The Beast, went to Keith and Claudia Hough of Allegan, Michigan on a $19,000 bid.  The nine-year-old classy claimer Ira’s Noble Boy heads to New York from Pompano on a $16,000 ticket signed by Bruce Weller.  Winning three-year-old Precious Bunny gelding TBA was purchased by Dale Wareham to race in Pennsylvania for $15,000. 

Several interesting stories emerged from the sale.  Pacing bred trotter Soul’s Best Bet heads out East to seek his fortune on a $14,000 bid by Anthony Mancini.  The Lotta Soul gelding got his first race line this spring at six years old after being discovered pulling an Amish buggy on Ohio’s back roads. 

A group of 20 USTA staff and Little Brown Jug Society members formed a syndicate and purchased the spotted (yes, bay and white spotted) two-year-old Lark’s Crown gelding Star In Stripes for $2500.  Bred by Bill Troyer of Millersburg, Ohio the trotter is out of a Paint mare and registered non-standard.  The striking gelding will be used in the upcoming USTA Drivers School and hopefully raced this summer at the Southeastern Ohio County Fairs.

Gray and roan Standardbreds have always had a significant following. Now, breeders in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are seeking our loud colored horses, as well as pleasure riders from Puerto Rico.  Brian Doyle purchased two gray stallions for different interests in Scotland and a gray mare that goes to Wales. “The showier the better,” said Doyle.  “They really like the grays.”  Doyle exports about 300 Standardbreds a year to the United Kingdom and Southern Ireland where most of the races are held on grass tracks.  Eight horses went to Puerto Rico for pleasure mounts.

Source: Release from Blooded Horse Sale