Harrisburg, PA – Cambridge Hanover (Walter), a three-quarter brother to standout two-year-old male trotter Maryland, on Monday became the third yearling in harness racing history to sell for seven figures when he was purchased for $1 million by trainer Andrew Harris as an agent for Bill Pollock Opening session of the 86th Annual Standardbred Horse Sale.
The price was a record for the Standardbred Horse Sale, surpassing the $825,000 paid for harness racing stallion Detour Hanover in 2011.
Cambridge Hanover joined the million-dollar club of trotting stallions Maverick and Damien, both of whom sold at the 2019 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Maverick was purchased for $1.1 million, while Damien fetched $1 million.
Cambridge Hanover is the second foal from the mare Crucial. Her first, the Chapter Seven-sired Maryland, has earned $1.14 million this year and counts the Breeders Crown, Mohawk Million, Peter Haughton Memorial and William Wellwood Memorial among his five wins.
The family also includes Dan Patch and O'Brien Award winner Venerable and Grand Circuit winner Voguish.
“I wanted this; I loved that horse,” Harris said. “If you watch the video and then watch him in the field, I've never seen a horse move like that. If a horse can move like that, it's challenging to find them. Especially with family. We have Voguish, who is also related to him, and then Maryland too. It's a really nice family.
“He has to perform, but he’s the guy where if you want to shoot him, you have to shoot him.”
Cambridge Hanover was bred and shipped by Hanover Shoe Farms. He is licensed to practice in Fresh Jersey.
In addition to setting the Standardbred Horse Sale record for Cambridge Hanover, trotting filly Swinging Loyalty sold for $760,000, making her the most exorbitant female yearling ever purchased at the Harrisburg auction. Richard Gutnick signed with Swinging Loyalty, who is coached by Linda Toscano.
Swinging Loyalty is a daughter of Walter-Swinging Royalty and three-quarter sister of the two Canadian Trotting Classic winners, Ahundreddollarbill and Killedand a 2024 Fresh York Sire Stakes champion, Royal Mission.
“This was our first choice from the start,” said Gutnick, who will share the filly with several partners, including Brad Grant. “Linda loved her. It is phenomenally built and does everything effortlessly. I expected it to cost $650,000 to $700,000. I wasn't really prepared to go that high. I have some partners who say if I'm in, they're in. So that makes life a lot easier.
“(Linda) kept telling me it was too much. And it was too much. But you only live once.”
Concord Stud Farm was the consignor of Swinging Loyalty, who was bred by Jonas Schlabach. The filly is registered for Fresh Jersey.
Cambridge Hanover and Swinging Loyalty were among eight yearlings that sold for at least $400,000 at the Pennsylvania State Farm Show Intricate on Monday.
In total, 150 horses passed through the auction ring in the first auction session, for a total of $16.5 million and an average value of $110,387. Last year, 153 horses sold for $15.2 million on opening day, averaging $99,497.
“It was a fantastic day. Just incredible,” said Dale Welk, president and operations manager of Standardbred Horse Sales Company. “I can't thank the buyers enough. It really set the pace today and it kept going.”
Of the sale’s first million-dollar yearling, he added: “That was a goal. I wanted to sell a million dollar horse. I became emotional. I'm still a little confused about this. It's a great feeling, especially with all the others we've sold. I’m just content for all the entrants.”
Two yearlings topped the half-million dollar mark on Monday: trotting colt Apex and trotting filly Art Of The State both sold for $525,000.
Apex, a son of Walter-Mission Brief, was purchased by Jeff Snyder and is trained by Marcus Melander. He is a three-quarter brother to Kadena, a 2-year-old filly who finished second in the Kentucky Sire Stakes Commonwealth Series championship and was a Breeders Crown finalist.
Snyder is co-owner of Kadena, which sold for $800,000 at the Lexington auction last year. The stallion Tactical Landing also belongs to the family.
“I thought the pedigree was as good as anything,” Snyder said. “We have high hopes for Kadena and she has a (three-quarter) sister, Jaya Bae, who has shown tremendous speed. This one looked racier than Kadena and racier than Jaya Bae. She checked all the boxes and the whole family is wonderful. We are content.”
Apex was consigned by Hunterton Sales Agency for breeder Mission Brief Stable. The colt is registered for Fresh Jersey and Kentucky.
Art Of The State, a daughter of Chimpanzees-Amour Heiress, was purchased by Melander for Snyder and SRF Stable. She is a half-sister to the Melander-trained Periculum, who has career earnings of $1.2 million and counts the Maple Leaf Trot among his wins this season. She is also a half-sister to stakes winner Spy Booth, King Alphonso and Mosquito and a three-quarter sister to stakes winner Crown. Her family also includes the 2014 Hambletonian winner Trixton.
“She’s the first filly in this family,” Melander said. “We had some of the stallions. It's a great family. We liked her very much. For what these fillies do, it's about what you'd expect to pay. But she’s a lovely filly and the pedigree speaks for itself.”
Art Of The State was supplied by Concord Stud Farm for Stable AB's breeder contract. The filly is eligible for the Kentucky and Kentucky Stallion Bonus.
The best-selling pacer on Monday was Sea Bistro Hanover, which David McDuffee bought for $410,000. The colt, a son of Captain treacherous-Santa Rosa is a half-brother of Dan Patch and an O'Brien Prize winner Pebble beach. His family also includes millionaires Vintage Master and Great Vintage. He was delivered by Hanover Shoe Farms and bred by Brittany Farms. He is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania.
The second session of the three-day yearling sale begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The last meeting begins on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
“I feel really good for tomorrow,” Welk said. “I think our middle class will do well. We have some really good yearlings for sale. Almost every consignor has something good to sell. I probably could have used 50 or 60 more (yearlings) today.”
For Standardbred horse sale results: Click here.
For the yearling catalog Click here.
For the auction livestream: Click here.
from Ken Weingartnerfor the USTA
