The Assiniboia Downs’ The Inside Track newsletter recently featured owner and breeder LARRY FALLOON and his stallion NONIOS.
Manitoba breeders are starting to get excited about the upcoming racing season and breeder Larry Falloon is leading the pack.
The 62-year-old grain farmer from Foxwarren bred, and co-owns, last year’s runaway winner of the 2021 CTHS and Buffalo Stakes, Lucky Chuckee (Bird Song – Blazing Sasha by Langfuhr), and he is also the co-owner of Manitoba stallion Nonios, whose first substantial crop of 2-year-olds will make their local debuts in 2022.
Lucky Chuckee, also owned by trainer Shelley Brown and Anne Champion, won the Buaffalo stakes at 1 mile by 19 lengths following a nine-length score in his debut.
As for Nonios, Falloon bought the stallion in 2018 from Colebrook Farms in Ontario, with partners Andrew Clarke and Denis Huberdeau. Nonios had 10 yearlings in last year’s Manitoba CTHS Yearling Sale and there are at least that many and more galloping around in the snow right now on Manitoba farms.
“I think we bred 27 or 28 mares with Nonios last year and the same the year before, which is pretty good,” said Falloon. “His first babies in Manitoba will hit the track this year and they’re looking pretty nice. I’ve got five mares in foal to him, and we have a few more to breed to him this year, including Stevie Mac.”
Local fans will remember Stevie Mac as one of the toughest most consistent mares on the grounds at Assiniboia Downs. Trained by Shelley Brown, the daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Munnings won the La Verendrye Stakes and earned $104,551 from a record of 11-7-3 in 35 starts. Falloon is excited about the new mares he’ll be breeding to Nonios this spring, which also include Sweetdetermination and Franchesca.
Sweetdetermination is a daughter of 1996 Breeders Cup Classic (G1) winner Alphabet Soup and is a half sister to 2011 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) runner-up Force Freeze and Super Derby (G2) runner-up Declan’s Fast Cat. The four-time winner earned $240,213 in allowance races at Woodbine.
Franchesca is an unraced daughter of multiple Grade 1 winner and 2008 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) runner up Henrythenavigator and a half sister to Queen of the Green Handicap winner Abbey Bridge.
If you’re going to build a powerful broodmare band in Manitoba, the above three mares are certainly a great start! And Nonios has already sired 10 winners from limited foals, his latest being Alacritous, who won a tough non-winners-of-four lifetime race at Mahoning Valley Racecourse in Ohio on December 30, 2021, to improve his lifetime record to 6-4-4 for earnings of $192,684.
Nonios is by 2003 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Pleasantly Perfect. His biggest win came in the Affirmed Handicap (G3) but he also finished second in the Swaps Stakes (G2), Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1), Awesome Again Stakes (G1) and Native Diver Stakes (G3). Both the Affirmed Handicap and the Native Diver Stakes are well worth watching.
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