A brief look through the results at Hastings this season and it’s easy to see why locally-bred and raised horses are so vital to the continued success of racing in British Columbia.
This year’s Yearling and Mixed Sale on September 8 at the Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, will be a perfect opportunity to take the temperature of the local racing industry and with several schemes again in place to reward those who support the sale, there will be no lack of interest in the 72, mostly BC-bred yearlings catalogued for auction.
Although smaller in number than ideal, the 2022 catalogue is well up to standard in terms of quality. There are 24 yearlings catalogued who are out of Stakes producing mares, for instance, including Hip #11, a Palace Malice half-sister to recent BC Cup Classic runner-up AT ATTENTION; Hip #13, a Finality half-sister to former CTHS Stakes winner and multiple Stakes-placed performer CALL IT A WRAP and Hip #15 a Creative Cause half-sister to Sadie Diamond Stakes winner, DANCIN SHOES.
Nationally, the leading BC-based sire is currently NOT BOURBON, a relatively recent recruit to the Bennetts’ Flying Horse Farm after a successful stallion career in Ontario. He has just one yearling in the sale (Hip #72), a filly out of the unraced Quality Road mare ROSA DI QUALITA.
Among those sires with longer BC credentials, BAKKEN and LENT continue to be regularly represented in the winner’s circles of both Hastings and Century Mile and both have plenty of offspring on offer at the sale.
Bakken’s eight yearlings catalogued include: Hip #1, a filly and first foal out of CTHS Sales Stakes winner SAILINGFORTHESUN; Hip #41, a half-sister to former champion juvenile filly ARCHITECTURE (herself the dam of champion U DID IT); and Hip #69, a filly out of REMARKABLE LADY, making her part of an immediate family that includes the likes of STRATE REMARK, REMARKABLE MISS, CAPILANO CANYON, etc.
Lent continues to produce a regular flow of quality performers and the Emerald Acres’ sire has nine yearlings entered in the sale this year, including: Hip #12, a three-part brother to Zia Park Derby winner PASS THE BUCK (Pulpit); Hip #34, a full-sister to CTHS Sales Stakes-placed performer LITTLE BLACK DRESS; and
Hip #63, a half-sister to Sadie and Jack Diamond Stakes-placed pair KRISSY and FINDING WAYS.
BC is fortunate to have two promising young stallions coming on-stream this season and COUNTERFORCE and RALIS are both up and running already with two winners apiece at the time of writing.
Ralis, who stands at Alendal Farms near Chilliwack and was a Grade 1-winning juvenile, has seven yearlings catalogued, including: Hip #17, a half-sister to the likes of NOTICE and ACT UP; Hip #18, a half-sister to Stakes-placed performers UNDO IT, FORESTRY’S DEVIL and BACKSEAT RIDER; and Hip #50, a half-brother to the smart WE B THREE.
Road’s End Farm’s stallion Counterforce, meanwhile, has nine yearlings catalogued including, perhaps most notably, Hip #27, a filly and first foal from former champion and BC horse of the year, DAZ LIN DAWN.
Counterforce’s impressive offering also includes Hip #45, a half-brother to champion Alberta juvenile, ASYOUBELIEVE and Hip #52, a half-sister to the CTHS Sales Stakes second AMANDA out of MARCADO (Second in Command), a winning half-sister to the extraordinary HERE’S HANNAH.
SUNGOLD, who stands at Flying Horse Farm, has the most yearlings catalogued and his ten include Hip #38, a half-sister to Graded Stakes winner GLADIATOR KING, as well as Hip #26, a half-brother to the brilliant BOLD ARCH.
At the other end of the scale, the speedily-bred POP ARTIST, who has enjoyed success with just a smattering of offspring, has his first ever yearling on offer at public auction. Hip #44 is a filly out of the winning ROSBERG mare, HOLLY’S LAST CALL.
The recently deceased VALUE PLUS has had notable success this season and is a big loss to the local gene pool. He has two yearlings catalogued: Hip #35, a full-sister to recent winner Y VEE R and Hip #68, a colt half-brother to top-class Hastings’ performer WILO KAT and, more recently, Chris Loseth Handicap Stakes winner, REGAL RIOT.
Despite the imaginative array of incentive schemes aimed at attracting more horses to British Columbia, there are fewer yearlings bred outside BC in this year’s auction, although it remains a quality group that will undoubtedly receive plenty of interest.
Four with the KY suffix include Hip #8, an HONOR CODE colt out of the BC Oaks runner-up TIPTOE from the immediate family of ARCHITECTURE, U DID IT and BLUEPRINT; and Hip #25, a filly by Kentucky Derby winner ALWAYS DREAMING out of an unraced half-sister to multiple Grade 2 winner, SPANISH MISSION.
The sole Alberta-bred yearling in the sale is the aforementioned Lent half-brother to PASS THE BUCK, while Hip #55, the single Ontario representative, is by RELOAD (Hard Spun) and is out of a half-sister to Grade 2-placed MISS M V P from the family of WE MISS ARTIE.
Finally, there is a good selection of yearlings offered by stallions standing outside BC, but who are bred here in the Province and so carry the BC-bred suffix that qualifies them for all the generous incentives. Stallions represented are PRACTICAL JOKE (Hip #2), HONOR CODE (Hip #24), MO TOWN (Hip #29), DIALED IN (Hip #30), I’LL HAVE ANOTHER (Hip #31), CAIRO PRINCE (Hip #32), SMILING TIGER (Hip #53) and ENGLISH CHANNEL (Hip #70).
Mares Catalogued for Sale:
There are more in-foal mares in this catalogue than in recent years, although the classy quartet being offered may represent the perfect opportunity for someone just starting out as a breeder to recruit some solid BC bloodlines — and they are certainly well-bred enough to complement any current BC breeder’s broodmare band.
Hip #74 FAR OUT (Outwork) is an unraced half-sister to former Champion BC two-year-old Finality’s Charmer and is in-foal to Lent;
Hip #75 GOLDEN ROAR (Roar), a winning half-sister to Stakes winner Golden Remark offered in-foal to Counterforce;
Hip #76 LANA’S FORTUNE (Harlan’s Holiday), a winner-producing half-sister to Stakes winner Sir Dudley Diggs to be sold in-foal to Bakken;
Hip #77, MARCADO, a Stakes-placed mare by Second in Command who has already foaled a good one in AMANDA and who is in-foal to Counterforce. Oh, and by the way, the mare is a half-sister to HERE’S HANNAH!
Stallions with Four or More Yearlings Catalogued:
SUNGOLD (A P Indy) – 10
LENT (Pulpit) – 9
COUNTERFORCE (Smart Strike) – 9
BAKKEN (Distorted Humor) – 8
RALIS (Square Eddie) – 7
FINALITY (Dehere) – 4
NUMANY (A P Indy) – 4
Broodmare Sires of Stakes Producing Mares with Yearlings Catalogued:
WESTERN TRICK (Seattle Slew) — Hip #10
QUALITY ROAD (Elusive Quality) — Hip #11
WILD RUSH (Wild Again) — Hip #12
LEMON DROP KID (Kingmambo) — Hip #13
GONE WEST (Mr Prospector) — Hip #15
CATIENUS (Storm Cat) — Hip #17
ORCHID’S DEVIL (Forty Niner) — Hip #18
KATAHAULA COUNTY (Bold Ruckus) — Hip #23
ALPHABET SOUP (Cozzene) — Hip #28
HENNESSY (2) (Storm Cat) — Hip #32, #38
FINALITY (3) (Dehere) — Hip #34, #40, #56
VYING VICTOR (Flying Paster) — Hip #36
YANKEE GENTLEMAN (Storm Cat) — Hip #41
UNTIL SUNDOWN (Smart Strike) — Hip #43
CAUSE TO BELIEVE (Maria’s Mon) — Hip #45
FLATTER (A P Indy) — Hip #46
LANGFUHR (Danzig) — Hip #50
MASS MARKET (Marquetry) — Hip #54
OFFICER (Bertrando) — Hip #60
GILDED TIME (Timeless Moment) — Hip #63
ON TARGET (Forty Niner) — Hip #68
Incentives: It Pays to Own a BC-Bred
There will be an exciting and generous array of incentive schemes to encourage potential buyers at the sale, and it really is worth reiterating just what a wonderful opportunity these programs represent to anyone considering buying a yearling for the first time.
Anyone purchasing a BC-bred yearling, for instance, will receive an immediate rebate of $1,500, while ALL BC-breds purchased this year will qualify for a 35% bonus on purse-money for four years up to 2026!
In addition, BC-bred yearlings purchased at the 2022 sale will have an additional 15% added to BC-bred bonuses in certain races to make an incredible 50% bump in prize-money for qualifying graduates’ two- and three-year-old seasons.
And don’t forget that even non-BC-bred graduates of the sale qualify for the valuable CTHS BC Sales Stakes Series.
