Sometimes, your entire life changes in an instant simply by raising your hand.
September 17, 2009 was a relatively cool, rainy day by Oklahoma City standards, but Bryn and Carol Robertson had other things on their minds as they attended the Heritage Place Quarter Horse Yearling Sale and scouted for potential prospects to take back to Ontario for their burgeoning racing operation based in Hillsburgh.
It was getting near the end of the first of three sale days in which nearly 1,000 Quarter Horses would be sold when Hip #220, a large Hadtobenuts filly out of Grim Fandango, strutted into the ring.
Carol leaned over and said to her husband, “Oh, there’s a nice big filly. Why don’t you bid on her?”
Bryn raised his hand. The hammer fell shortly after and the next thing he knew, a man handed him the sales slip, asked him to sign and said, ‘You bought her.’”
“It was a fluke,” Bryn said on Monday as he recounted the moment.
Had To Be Fandango's catalogue page from the 2009 Heritage Place Quarter Horse Yearling Sale.
The final price was a modest $2,000 but Had To Be Fandango would prove to be worth nearly 500 times that to the Robertsons just in terms of money – and this is about much more than money.
Had To Be Fandango and all five of her progeny – all Ontario-breds – have collectively earned $949,761 racing in the province.
“She had five foals, all of them have been winners and I think four of them have been stakes winners and all of them have been stakes placed,” Bryn said. “They've all won quite a bit. Every horse she's produced has been a hell of a baby.”
Had To Be Fandango herself had a record of 7-7-2 in 24 starts (all but one made at Ajax Downs) and earned $150,512. Her foals, in birth order were:
- Had To Be Ivory (sired by Ivory James) - 40 30-4-3, $372,321
- Five Bar Fandango (Five Bar Cartel) - 34 12-4-7, $104, 907
- Had To Be Relentless (Hes Relentless) 41 10-14-7, $150,775
- Had To Be Ivy (Ivory James) - 24 9-2-5, $87,229
- Had To Be Fabulous (One Fabulous Eagle) - 10 9-0-0, $83,947 (as of July 15)
Including Had To Be Fandango's racing career, the six horses have a combined record of 77-31-24 in 173 starts, all in Ontario.
Bryn and Carol Robertson with Had To Be Fandango (courtesy Carol Robertson)
But Had To Be Fandango’s incredible legacy goes far beyond wins and earnings. Four times in seven years her offspring have earned the high honour of being named the American Quarter Horse Association’s (AQHA) Canadian Racehorse of the Year.
Had To Be Fabulous, the last of Had To Be Fandango’s foals (the mare died in February of 2023), is the latest to earn the distinction. The AQHA announced its 2024 champions the same day Had To Be Fabulous won the Ontario Bred Derby on July 2 at Ajax Downs.
Had to Be Fabulous (Ismael Mosqueira) winning the Ontario Bred Derby on July 2 at Ajax Downs. (New Image Media photo)
Had To Be Fabulous is a half-sister to gelding Had To Be Ivory, who was named the AQHA’s Canadian Racehorse of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2022.
Had To Be Ivory provided an auspicious start to Had To Be Fandango's broodmare career. He won 30 of 40 career starts, multiple stakes, more than $370,000, those three AQHA Canadian Racehorse of the Year awards and two Quarter Racing Owners of Ontario Inc. (QROOI) and Ajax Downs Horse of the Year awards (2019 and 2022).
“We’re pretty proud of [the family],” Bryn said. “The great thing is we bred them all. They’re all our own babies.”
In one way or another, the entire Robertson family is involved in the success story.
Bryn has trained every member of Had To Be Fandango’s family. Bryn and Carol’s son Michael is a farrier that has shod every horse in the clan and doubled as their exercise rider. Michael’s wife, Jaime, shares the breeding and ownership credits with Carol. Even Bryn and Carol’s two daughters, Kim and Jodi, help with the horses, as do the grandchildren when they are visiting Hillerin Farm, the 150-acre property originally purchased by Carol’s parents and where Bryn and Carol have lived for more than five decades.
“It’s a big family and we all work on it,” Bryn said.
As for Had To Be Fandango’s family, it’s still growing and succeeding beyond Had To Be Fabulous.
“I’ve got a nice yearling here now out of one of [Had To Be Fandango’s] daughters, Five Bar Fandango,” Bryn said. “I’ve got two babies out of her now… So, we’ll see if one of her babies will run. It’s hard to say, but they look good. Next spring we may be running a 2-year-old out of her daughter.”
One day, Bryn hopes Had To Be Fabulous will also become a successful broodmare – when the filly’s racing days are done, of course.
In 2024, Had To Be Fabulous won five of six starts – including the Alex Picov Memorial Futurity and QROOI Bonus Futurity – and earned $49,806 en route to the High Point 2-Year-Old Filly of the Year award at the QROOI and Ajax Downs awards banquet. This year, Had To Be Fabulous is a perfect four-for-four, meaning she sports a career record of 9-0-0 in 10 starts and earnings of $83,947.
Bryn said when this year’s racing season is over, he may have some embryos flushed from Had To Be Fabulous and see if he can produce three or four babies out of her via embryo transfer.
Bryn and Carol Robertson. (courtesy Carol Robertson)
For now, it’s all been one heck of a 16-year thrill ride for Bryn and Carol since that September day when they puchased Had To Be Fandango on a whim for $2,000.
Ever since, Had To Be Fandango and her family have been tremendously good to the Robertson family.
On top of the previously-mentioned accolades, Had To Be Fandango and her family were instrumental in Carol and Jaime being named the Canadian Quarter Horse Association’s (CQHA) Racehorse Breeders of the Year in 2023 and Bryn being voted the AQHA’s Canadian Trainer of the Year the year before. It appears more honours will be coming the Robertsons’ way if Had To Be Fabulous continues to win at Ajax Downs.
Today, Had To Be Fandango is laid to rest in a place of honour at Hillerin Farm.
“We buried [Had To Be Fandango] on the farm,” Bryn said. “We put a tree there and a big rock there for her for decoration and we go down there and keep the grass cut and everything to remember her.”
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