Greg Blanchard can point to several reasons why he thinks the London Classic Yearling Sale (LCYS) may be a record-breaking auction. Chief among them, said the sale manager, is U.S. tariff and border concerns that led more consignors to sell more of their horses in London. This year, some 290 Standardbred yearlings will go through the sales ring between Oct. 14 and 15 at the J-AAR Expo Centre (formerly the Agriplex) at Western Fair District.
“With the political climate the way it was when we opened for entries [in the spring] – and so much uncertainty around the potential of tariffs and how they were going to impact things – we had consignors reach out and tell us that they were going to enter everything [in the London sale], and then kind of see how it played out,” Blanchard said. “They are still taking their American-breds south to Lexington and Harrisburg. But some consignors have brought better quality yearlings here this year than maybe normal.
“When the entries were coming in, and we started to go through them, I could tell that the quality was at a different level this year than we had seen. Since then, I've had several people give me an unsolicited opinion that, if not the strongest, it’s one of the strongest catalogs ever offered in Canada.”
Jenna McNiven, the farm manager of Twinbrook Farms in Embro, ON that will sell 15 horses in London, said that’s exactly how it worked out for her family’s yearlings. Normally, Twinbrook sells the bulk of its yearlings at the Standardbred Horse Sale Company’s auction in Harrisburg, PA. This year, more of their yearlings will be sold in London.
“Part of it was the unpredictability with the tariffs,” McNiven said. “We weren't sure what was going to happen come fall, and we just thought that we'd leave them up here. We didn't really have a choice with our American-breds [that we’re still selling in Harrisburg], but with our Ontario-breds, we left them up here.”
Jesse Belore’s Princeton Farms will sell 22 yearlings in London this year. He said there seems to be more of a buzz around the London sale this year, which follows the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale held Sept. 29 through Oct. 3 in Kentucky.
“I think the buyers are excited,” Belore said. “I know a lot of [Canadian] buyers did not go to Lexington. A lot of Ontario buyers traditionally don't buy in Lexington, but they go for a holiday. Many didn't even go this year. So, I think there is a little more buzz behind [the London sale].
“We’ve had a lot of people out to the farm this year and some new people that haven't come out in a while. So, that's a positive. I do think people are going into it a little more excited than in previous years.”
LOW CANADIAN DOLLAR INCREASES LIKELIHOOD ONTARIANS BUYING IN LONDON
McNiven said the low conversion rate of Canadian to U.S. dollars is also a reason she is optimistic London will be a strong sale. As of Friday, the Bank of Canada had the Canadian dollar trading at 71 cents U.S.
“With the dollar difference, it's better for Ontario people to buy right here at home,” McNiven said. “So, we thought that that would also benefit the buyers and us.”
It also means U.S. buyers are able to purchase top Ontario-sired horses at a premium.
“For Americans, their dollar goes so much further here. They’ve got a chance of that home run horse out of this sale and, also, the [Ontario-sired horses] are eligible to one of the most lucrative programs in North America,” Blanchard said of the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS). “And, as we've seen, a lot of the Ontario-breds are competing on the Grand Circuit and are some of the best horses in harness racing.”
Also, the sale is positioned right after this weekend’s lucrative OSS Gold Super Finals at Woodbine Mohawk Park, giving some buying customers extra money to spend at the auction.
Now in its fourth year since being acquired by the Western Fair Association and rebranded as the London Classic Yearling Sale, Blanchard said the sale has been a proven venue for selling champions.
“We’ve had a number that have really shown up on the racetrack in a big way this year,” Blanchard said. “For example, Flowing Tribute, arguably the best rookie trotting filly in Canada this year, she sold here last year. We've got a sibling to her selling this year. That's just an example of some of the quality that we have.”
EXCITING GROUP OF NEW ONTARIO STALLIONS
Blanchard said a new class of stallions standing in the province is also reason for optimism.
“Look at the stallions in Ontario and how excited people were for Bulldog [Hanover’s] first crop and how they’ve shown up. We expect even better in that second crop where he had a better group of mares. Then, the Cattlewashes. He's just sending ripples through the harness racing world this year with what he's doing. When you look at our catalog, we’ve got some 30 Cattlewashes in the sale.
“I was excited last year when Cattlewash sold his first crop here in Canada. I was excited to see what he could do. I had a good feeling. And I've got that same feeling about King Of The North on the trotting side.
“I remember the way he won the Breeders Crown here to end his 3-year-old season. That sticks in my in my mind. He’s got a tremendous pedigree. The videos we've seen of his offspring look fantastic. So, you know, you add him into the mix with Green Manalishi, Muscle Mass and Archangel, those are trotting stallions that can compete anywhere. And I think that's what we've seen is horses bred in Ontario can compete with any anyone on the planet. And we've got a tremendous offering this year.”
Belore agreed that there is excitement in the Ontario Standardbred community about the new stallions.
“I know we've had Bettors Delight, I know we've had Muscle Mass, but I think people are actually like, ‘Wow, we have some really amazing stallions.’ I think there's a big buzz behind that,” Belore said.
“Cattlewashes and Bulldogs and Green Manalishis and King Of The Norths, they all look good. They all look the part. They look like you should be selling nice yearlings from them.
“And then the best part about all these stallions is they all, generally, cross against each other. Now we have a son of Shadow Play [Bulldog Hanover] and a son of The Beach [Cattlewash] on the pacing side.
Belore said he is selling yearlings this year from all of those top sires.
“We've got a lot of what everybody wants,” he said. “We have King Of The Norths, Green Mans, Bulldogs, Cattlewashes and then we’re lucky because we still have Archangels and Bettors Delights and Muscle Mass…I feel like, across the board, we have the stallions that everybody wants.”
McNiven said three of Twinbrook’s better Ontario-bred horses selling this year in London likely would have been sold in Harrisburg in previous years.
“I think they'll stand out nicely here,” McNiven said of Hip #51 Twin B Kingsley, a filly out of Affair Hall that is from the first crop of trotting sire King Of The North, Hip #150 Twin B Sheila, a Bulldog Hanover filly out of In The Pink and Hip #281 Twin B Smokeshow, a Muscle Mass filly out of Showstopper.
“[Twin B Kingsley] is a sibling to Twin B Archie, who was an O'Brien award winner. Deeper down in the pedigree it's more of an Angus Hall family, just a really great family. If you take the paper away, we just love her as an individual, too. She's very full of herself, and she stands great, has great confirmation.”
As for Twin B Sheila, McNiven touted the fact the yearling is a daughter of Bulldog Hanover.
“Bulldog is very exciting for Ontario,” McNiven said. “I think from his limited first crop [racing this year as 2-year-olds], he's surprised a number of us. So, we're pretty excited about Bulldog. And then the dam has been a really good mare for us. Two of her colts have raced in the Metro Pace and then her 2-year-old filly was in the She’s A Great Lady this year.
“Both those fillies, Kingsley and Sheila, they're residual value after racing is pretty nice also. In today's game, I think people do look at that to see what kind of value they would have after [racing] as well.”
Twin B Sheila may also have some powerful karma on her side.
“With that In The Pink mare, we've done a bunch of breast cancer awareness events,” McNiven said. “Sheila is named after probably my parents’ best friend, who is a cancer survivor. She's been bugging us for years to name a horse after her, just jokingly… She had breast cancer last year, and she kicked it in the butt and then we had Twin B Sheila come along out of In The Pink, so [Sheila] got the namesake that she was looking for.”
McNiven said Twin B Smokeshow, “is just a powerhouse of a filly. We think she's pretty nice… She’s always been good looking.”
In the end, Blanchard said the strength of the London catalog should win out.
“In recent years, you might see the very best-bred [Ontario-sired yearlings] selling at Lexington or Harrisburg,” he said. “I think we've got a larger share of those top-bred Ontario horses here [this year]. So, the big hitters that love to go for Ontario-breds that typically shop at those other sales, I think this year they have to have a look at our catalog, because there's going to be some future champions there.”
Both the Oct. 14 and Oct. 15 sale sessions begin at noon.
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