‘Hambo’ winner bred to be top trotter

Apex (Walner), the record-breaking winner of the $1 million Hambletonian at The Meadowlands last Saturday (August 8), is a three-year-old colt boasting a pedigree replete with ‘black type’ harness racing performers on both sides of his family tree.

A $525,000 purchase at the Black Book Sale at Harrisburg in 2024, Apex is a product of the world champion two-year-old colt Walner and the world champion two-year-old filly Mission Brief.

He is the first progeny of his sire ever to win North America’s most revered trotting classic.

Mission Brief won a heat of the Hambletonian in 2015 before finishing second in the final to Pinkman, while her sire Muscle Hill made a clean sweep of the ‘Hambo’ series in 2009.

Big Range, the overwhelming favourite and runner-up in this year’s Hambletonian, is a son of the new Yabby Dam Farms stallion Big Range, whose sire Bar Hopping won a heat of the ‘Hambo’ in 2016. Bar Hopping himself sired the third placegetter Minoan.

The $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks fell the way of the Nezuko Kamado S, a Swedish bred, North American raised three-year-old daughter of Chapter Seven and the Muscle Hill mare Zefira Kronos.

The minor placegetter Setyoursightshigh was sired by In Range.

Besides Apex, Walner produced the quinella pair, Wall Of Fame and Nevis Peak, in the $225,000 New Jersey Sires Stakes Final for two-year-old fillies and the winner of the $50,000 Muscle Hill in Inexpressable.

Chapter Seven, the leading North American trotting sire for four of the past five years, had a massive Hambletonian Day. He also figured as the sire of Super Chapter, who won the Grade 1 $281,200 John Cashman Memorial for open trotters.

The European stallions Ecurie D (Denmark) and Face Time Bourbon (France) left the winners of the $180,000 New Jersey Sires Stakes Final for two-year-old colts and geldings in and the $60,000 Vincennes in Lifetime Dreamer and Bourbonista S respectively.

The $30,000 Continentalvictory for three-year-old trotting fillies was won by Southwind Chaska, a daughter of the 2018 Hambletonian heat winner Tactical Landing.

On the pacing side, Sweet Lou left the winners of the Grade 2 $310,750 Cane Pace in Sweet Lovin Lou and the Grade 2 $138,650 Sam McKee Memorial in Women Layer, while Captaintreacherous was represented by the winners of the Grade 2 $139,900 Sam McKee Memorial (Captain Albano) and the Grade 3 $123,200 Shady Daisy in Sangria Summer.

Miki And Minnie, a four-year-old daughter of Always B Miki, took out the Grade 2 $156,500 Lady Liberty for mares.

 

by Peter Wharton, for Harness Racing Victoria