The Ohio
Sire Stakes program is undergoing a transformation unmatched by any other.
While neighbors to the east and west, Pennsylvania and Indiana, made no permanent
significant on track additions to their stallion ranks, aside from Ponder’s
move to Pennsylvania and Lucky Chucky and Bettor’s Delight making brief
appearances before returning to New York and Ontario, respectively. The Buckeyes
have seen major upgrades come online in 2016. First crop trotting sire
Dejarmbro is in the throes of a terrific debut; Triumphant Caviar is proving
that his initial offering was no fluke; Break The Bank’s first modest Ohio crop
of 36 is doing well; and then there are the pacing stallions.
Seventeen-year-old
McArdle, who was named after Nevele R Stud’s founder Bob McArdle, won 28 of 54
starts for Chris Ryder, David Miller and Mike Lachance. He earned more than
$2.4 million, but was not King of his crop. The son of Falcon Seelster won his
Cup and Pace eliminations and finished second to Mach Three in the latter, but
he was second, 167 votes behind Art Major, in freshman Dan Patch voting; and he
was second again, 167 back of Art Major, at four.
This is
McArdle’s tenth crop. He sired two in New Jersey before being shipped out due
to questions about his ability to be competitive in that environment. This was
followed by seven years in Pennsylvania, before relocating to Ohio in 2013. One
More Laugh, McWicked and Big McDeal notwithstanding, the Keystone State was not
an ideal environment for him: There’s a lot of restricted money up for grabs,
but not enough of it went to his get. His last two crops there consisted of 37
and 26 foals. Contrast that to the 176 mares he bred his first year in Ohio,
resulting in the 97 foals in this crop.
July 28 at
Scioto Downs there were five $32,000 pacing splits of the Buckeye State program
at Scioto Downs: the freshman gelding Barnabas took one in 1:53., after having
already captured two $40,000 divisions of the OSS at Scioto and Northfield;
McThriller, already the winner of a $40,000 OSS split at Scioto, won his from
the 10 post in 1:54.2 for Ronnie Wrenn Jr and Brian Brown; and Scotch McEwan, a
gelding, won the final split in a track record 1:52.3 from the 9 post for Josh
Sutton and Jim Dailey. And the previous night Brian Brown’s filly,
Bellasbrowneyedgirl, beat a 1/9 shot at 47/1 in a division of the State Fair
Managers Pace.
On July 4
there were eleven $40,000 OSS divisions raced at Scioto and seven of them went
to McArdle freshmen: Ohio Larry, Barnabas, My Superman, McThriller, Stanley K ,
McRaven and Scotch McEwan all won.
On July 11
at Northfield, McRaven, Barnabas, Jim McRhody and McSpidey all won $40,000 OSS
splits.
Results like
that have become the norm for McArdle, who appears to have finally found his
niche, after all these years of not syncing with his surroundings. He’s second
to SBSW on the earnings list for freshmen pacers and he already has 29 winners
to his credit.
In a year
when stud fees were dropping across the board the immensely popular McArdle saw
his jump 20%. Home at last.
Unlike
McArdle, Art Official had no success to speak of in restricted races or on the
Grand Circuit during his three-year stint in Pennsylvania. His fee gradually
dropped from $7,000 to $3,000. Let’s Drink On It and Cinamony are good journeyman
pacers, but they can’t be your king and queen.
All that
seems to be changing for the better with his first Ohio crop, however. Type A
Grey, a grey filly out of the American Ideal mare Just My Type, is the richest
freshman filly in North America. She’s three for three, with a pair of romps in
$40,000 splits of the OSS and another cruise job in a $35,800 division of the
State Fair Managers Pace. This head turner doesn’t appear to be staked outside
the program.
Corner Con
Artist is another OSS winner by Art Official, driven by Ronnie Wrenn Jr and
trained by Brian Brown. And the colt Official Delight was second in that race.
DaVinci Artist is another good one. Seventeen of his 35 starters have won.
The
Rocknroll Hanover stallion Foreclosure N is garnering attention with his single
Ohio crop of 20 foals. The winner of 15 races and almost $808,000, who raced
for Peter Heffering and Richard Young, and finished his career in the Burke
Barn, was sold to European interests in March, 2015. He was relocated to
Ireland.
Thirteen of
the 20 have raced and six have won. Drunk On Your Love and Rosemary Rose are
both multiple winners in the Ohio SS. The former took a mark of 1:54.3 and the
latter 1:54.4, both at Scioto Downs. Pace Car, the fastest of them all, with a 1:54
win in the Ohio SS at Northfield. He is a son of the rugged mare Breakheart
Pass, who won 27 times and banked more than $600,000. He races for Ron Burke.
Please return to sender, Ireland.
Twenty-year-old The Panderosa, the sire of
Shadow Play, Ponder and Yagonnakissmeornot, stood for 13 years in Pennsylvania
before moving to Ohio in 2013. His last two Keystone crops consisted of 35 and
27 foals. His stud fee, which was $10,000 back in 2008, dropped to $3,000 when
he relocated to the Buckeye State. His current 2-year-old crop consists of 46
foals and 29 of them have started. Air Raid, Ron’s Pro and Rosa’s Touch all
scored wins in the state bred program. The Panderosa was a lost soul in
Pennsylvania, perhaps his moribund stallion career will also find new life in
this home of second chances.
Joe
FitzGerald
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