Breeding

Five Questions With Spring Farm

Dr. John Brown, who has played a critical role in the farm's success, talks about Big Screen, the outfit’s best moments, and hopes for 2025.

Sofia Vives guides Cruden Bay to victory in the $175,000 bet365 Connaught Cup (Grade II). (Michael Burns photo)

By: Matthew Lomon for Woodbine | February 4, 2025

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you're listening to an article from canadian thoroughbred.com. five questions with spring farm by: matthew lomon for woodbine. spring farm is a thoroughbred farm specializing in raising top-quality racehorses. the farm, located in prospect hill, ontario, is also home to highly regarded and highly successful stallion big screen, a stakes winner and graded stakes placed, who won or placed in 12 of 21 races. the grey captured the who’s to pay stakes at belmont park, over one mile on turf, and was second in the grade 3 poker stakes. a son of top sire speightstown, big screen earned a huge 110 beyer speed figure in a 9 ¼-length win at one mile on dirt at aqueduct. big screen is the sire of sav, winner of the 2019 la prevoyante stakes at woodbine, and cruden bay, who won the 2024 edition of the grade 2 connaught cup stakes and has recorded purse earnings of $436,295 (u.s.). dr. john brown, who has played a critical role in spring farm’s enduring success, provides an in-depth look into the outfit’s finest moments to date. advertisement scroll to continue with content q: talk about the success of cruden bay, and what that means to spring farm. “he certainly is a well-liked horse. everybody knows of him, and i think they love the way he races. he usually sits near the back, and coming down the stretch, he just runs out around all of them and is very consistent. for those reasons, he has kind of became a fan favourite. “i think he’s the type of horse that breeders love to breed, and trainers and owners love to be part of. as far as the breeder’s standpoint, it certainly gives the farm credibility to show they can produce that type of horse, and maybe helps in sales down the road, because you are viewed as a legitimate breeder. “he’s a great horse, and i hope he goes on this year to add a little more to his accomplishments for his owners and trainers.”. q: what makes big screen such a successful stallion? “i think there are four points that you look for in a stallion. one is, and this isn’t necessarily in order of preference, because it will vary between individuals, but number one, he’s got to be a good-looking horse. his conformation has to be impeccable. that probably contributes to his soundness and his athletic ability. “he’s got to have the pedigree that is sought after by most of the breeding business. one of the most important traits, as far as i’m concerned, is a horse that has speed and can transmit that speed to his offspring. big screen was a very fast horse. he acquired a beyer figure of 110 and i can’t say this with certainty, but i don’t think there’s another stallion in canada that has that. “obviously, you’re looking for a stallion with a race record that you appreciate. there are various things in a race record that are important. once again, that is speed, soundness, who they raced against, and where they raced. “another one that maybe a lot of people wouldn’t bring out is temperament. but i think temperaments are important too, when you have to work with these horses every day. “i believe the sire lines in a stallion are also very important. big screen’s sire speightstown has been very popular and very successful both as a sire and a sire of sires. he’s been a very popular sire line horse in north america. “i think big screen has all those qualities. he’s a great horse to work with, he’s very sound, conformationally correct – he had the speed. i like to think that’s what made him as successful as he is. “oscar is his stable name because if you’re good on the big screen, you win an oscar.”. q: can you liken him to a human athlete, and if so, who would it be and why? “most canadians know this athlete, andre de grasse, our canadian sprinter. “they’re both very fast and could go beyond their race, beyond their specialty. de grasse was 100 meters, but he could also go up to 200 meters. and i think that’s the way with big screen, too. they both had that determination to do it. “big screen has the ability to give you a fast horse of an out-and-out sprinter, but you can also get one that could go more distance.”. q: what is spring farm’s proudest on-track moment so far? “we bred academic who won the woodbine oaks with ease. she won it for fun, and in so doing, broke the track record, not the stakes record, but the whole track record – a filly breaking it. that was very exciting for us. “it was followed by probably my biggest disappointment, when she went to the queen’s plate as the favourite and never finished the race because of what happened at the gate between her and another horse, taking off like three-furlong sprinters, and neither one finished the race. those things happen in racing. but she did win the oaks (in 2015, at 66-1). i can’t remember who the jockey (justin stein) was, but i remember he was nowhere near the finish line, and he was standing up, waving at the crowd before he ever got to the finish line.”. q: what are you most looking forward to in 2025? “well, i’d say at this time of year, i’m looking forward to getting all my foals out safe and sound and healthy, because it’s kind of a tense time of year, and a lot of things can go wrong. another thing i would like to see is… the economics of the industry right now are pretty tight. expenses have gone up dramatically. everything else has too, not just in the horse industry, food prices, as we all know, everything. between getting a healthy foal crop and the economics of the industry helping to sustain this… i hope those two things happen.”. &<&< previous post

Spring Farm is a Thoroughbred farm specializing in raising top-quality racehorses. The farm, located in Prospect Hill, Ontario, is also home to highly regarded and highly successful stallion Big Screen, a stakes winner and graded stakes placed, who won or placed in 12 of 21 races. The grey captured the Who’s to Pay Stakes at Belmont Park, over one mile on turf, and was second in the Grade 3 Poker Stakes. A son of top sire Speightstown, Big Screen earned a huge 110 Beyer Speed Figure in a 9 ¼-length win at one mile on dirt at Aqueduct.

Big Screen is the sire of Sav, winner of the 2019 La Prevoyante Stakes at Woodbine, and Cruden Bay, who won the 2024 edition of the Grade 2 Connaught Cup Stakes and has recorded purse earnings of $436,295 (U.S.).

Dr. John Brown, who has played a critical role in Spring Farm’s enduring success, provides an in-depth look into the outfit’s finest moments to date.

Scroll to continue with content

Q: Talk about the success of Cruden Bay, and what that means to Spring Farm.

“He certainly is a well-liked horse. Everybody knows of him, and I think they love the way he races. He usually sits near the back, and coming down the stretch, he just runs out around all of them and is very consistent. For those reasons, he has kind of became a fan favourite.

“I think he’s the type of horse that breeders love to breed, and trainers and owners love to be part of. As far as the breeder’s standpoint, it certainly gives the farm credibility to show they can produce that type of horse, and maybe helps in sales down the road, because you are viewed as a legitimate breeder.

“He’s a great horse, and I hope he goes on this year to add a little more to his accomplishments for his owners and trainers.”

Q: What makes Big Screen such a successful stallion?

“I think there are four points that you look for in a stallion. One is, and this isn’t necessarily in order of preference, because it will vary between individuals, but number one, he’s got to be a good-looking horse. His conformation has to be impeccable. That probably contributes to his soundness and his athletic ability.

“He’s got to have the pedigree that is sought after by most of the breeding business. One of the most important traits, as far as I’m concerned, is a horse that has speed and can transmit that speed to his offspring. Big Screen was a very fast horse. He acquired a Beyer figure of 110 and I can’t say this with certainty, but I don’t think there’s another stallion in Canada that has that.

“Obviously, you’re looking for a stallion with a race record that you appreciate. There are various things in a race record that are important. Once again, that is speed, soundness, who they raced against, and where they raced.

“Another one that maybe a lot of people wouldn’t bring out is temperament. But I think temperaments are important too, when you have to work with these horses every day.

“I believe the sire lines in a stallion are also very important. Big Screen’s sire Speightstown has been very popular and very successful both as a sire and a sire of sires. He’s been a very popular sire line horse in North America.

“I think Big Screen has all those qualities. He’s a great horse to work with, he’s very sound, conformationally correct – he had the speed. I like to think that’s what made him as successful as he is.

“Oscar is his stable name because if you’re good on the big screen, you win an Oscar.”

Q: Can you liken him to a human athlete, and if so, who would it be and why?

“Most Canadians know this athlete, Andre De Grasse, our Canadian sprinter.

“They’re both very fast and could go beyond their race, beyond their specialty. De Grasse was 100 meters, but he could also go up to 200 meters. And I think that’s the way with Big Screen, too. They both had that determination to do it.

“Big Screen has the ability to give you a fast horse of an out-and-out sprinter, but you can also get one that could go more distance.”

Q: What is Spring Farm’s proudest on-track moment so far?

“We bred Academic who won the Woodbine Oaks with ease. She won it for fun, and in so doing, broke the track record, not the stakes record, but the whole track record – a filly breaking it. That was very exciting for us.

“It was followed by probably my biggest disappointment, when she went to the Queen’s Plate as the favourite and never finished the race because of what happened at the gate between her and another horse, taking off like three-furlong sprinters, and neither one finished the race. Those things happen in racing. But she did win the Oaks (in 2015, at 66-1). I can’t remember who the jockey (Justin Stein) was, but I remember he was nowhere near the finish line, and he was standing up, waving at the crowd before he ever got to the finish line.”

Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2025?

“Well, I’d say at this time of year, I’m looking forward to getting all my foals out safe and sound and healthy, because it’s kind of a tense time of year, and a lot of things can go wrong. Another thing I would like to see is… the economics of the industry right now are pretty tight. Expenses have gone up dramatically. Everything else has too, not just in the horse industry, food prices, as we all know, everything. Between getting a healthy foal crop and the economics of the industry helping to sustain this… I hope those two things happen.”