The Battle of the Big Guns series in 2015 attracted 12 of Great Britain and Ireland’s top pacers. With six legs staged across five different tracks, varying in size, surface and distance, it was seasoned Free For Aller Stoneriggs Mystery who reigned supreme.
The nine-year-old gelded son of Village Jasper out of the Todays Man mare, Stoneriggs Quality, was a worthy winner of this series and proved himself to be the top all-round pacer on these shores, winning four of the six legs of the series sponsored by the Standardbred Sales Company.
Unlike his main rivals, Stoneriggs Mystery is bred from a British-bred mare, the broodmare sire being Todays Man, a son of the great Abercrombie out of the World Champion mare Silk Stockings. However, the importance of North American bloodlines is evidenced once again in the form of his sire, Village Jasper. Village Jasper won over $1 million in his sophomore season, including victories in the Breeders Crown and Confederation Cup.
Stoneriggs Mystery is a truly international horse in terms of Standardbred breeding. He combines some of the best North American bloodlines with the best British dam line of the past 25 years. Both his dam and grand-dam were Open Free For All competitors, with Stoneriggs Quality being exported to race in Pompano Park, Florida.
As mentioned, Stoneriggs Mystery was the anomaly in terms of breeding. The runner-up in the series, Meadowbranch Josh, an eight-year-old gelded son of The Cammissioner, is out of the 1994 Harrisburg Sales purchase Churchill Queen (ex This N Matt, Matts Scooter-Inside Joke-Albatross).
Churchill Queen was purchased by N & S Lee of Churchill Stud, England; was trained at 2 & 3 by Steve Lees and competed at the highest level as a juvenile, but it is as a broodmare at Meadowbranch Stud, Ireland, where she has excelled. The importance of modern bloodlines has shone through, with her offspring competing at the top level of UK harness racing for over 20 years.
These include: Meadowbranch Giglo (exported to race in Ontario), Meadowbranch Frank (exported to race in North America), Meadowbranch Liath (the fastest Standardbred mare in British and Irish history), and Meadowbranch Romeo (Famous Musselburgh Pace winner and competitor in the Inter Dominion qualifying series in 2015).
The third placed horse, Stamp Hill, is a five-year-old stallion by Armbro Deuce out of the 2008 Harrisburg Sales purchase, Teatime Hall (Blissfull Hall-Town Tramp-Big Towner). Teatime Hall was purchased by S Taff, and her first UK-born offspring, Stamp Hill, became the first two-year-old to break the two minute barrier, and in doing so set the British record for two-year-old pacers which still stands today.
Stamp Hill went on to win the Welsh Dragon Triple Crown at 2, 3 and 4; as well as one of the legs of this series at Wolverhampton Racecourse. Teatime Hall’s second foal on UK soil (f. The Preacher Pan) recently sold at public auction for £10,000; not a bad return on a mare which cost $1,500, which proves that there is quality at both ends of the market at Harrisburg.
Brywinsmagicpotion, the eight-year-old gelded son of Camotion out of the 2006 Harrisburg Sales purchase, Lifes Magic Girl (Life Sign-Buddys Girl-Troublemaker), finished fourth in the series and was runner up in the 2015 Inter Dominion qualifying series. Brywinsmagicpotion has amassed £29,835 in a career spanning six seasons and has a lifetime mark of 1.56.
His victories include: the famous Musselburgh Pace final, the Billy Williams FFA, Aberystwyth FFA, a leg of the Inter Dominion qualifying series and the Meadowbranch Flying FFA Pace. Once again not a bad return from a mare costing $6,000.
The dam of the fifth placed horse, Ayr Regal (Hasty Hall-Ayr Queen-Albert Albert), also hails from a Harrisburg Sales purchase. Ayr Queen is a daughter of Albert Albert out of the 2003 Harrisburg Sales purchase Dear Me (Laag-Gentle Miss-Adios Vic).
From limited starts, she won a major handicap final, before being retired to the breeding barn where she has cemented herself as one of the UK’s leading broodmares, winning the Breeders Crown Top Broodmare award two years in a row and being one of only two mares to field two competitors in this Big Guns Series (the other being Churchill Queen – Meadowbranch Josh and Meadowbranch Romeo).
The youngest competitor in the series, Ayr Regal is a four-year-old son of Hasty Hall, and in his short but successful career so far has amassed £30,220 and has competed and won at the highest level at 2, 3 and 4, including the Breeders Crown at 2 and 3. His half-brother and fellow competitor, Ayr Majesty (Daylon Alert), has earnings of £18,770 and a lifetime mark of 1.57.9. Together, they were the first siblings to compete against each other in the Crock of Gold final in 2015.
Dear Me, unlike Teatime Hall and Lifes Magic Girl, produced a filly foal following her purchase for $6,000; Ayr Standardbreds successfully raced the filly and then retained her, proving that purchasing from Harrisburg can be both a short term and long term investment, due to the strength of these North American bloodlines.
On this occasion, it was Stoneriggs Mystery who was the champion. It will be interesting to see if he can retain his title in the series next year with so many up and coming young horses who stem directly from Harrisburg or breeding linked to Harrisburg, hot on his heels.
By Sarah Thomas, for Harnesslink.com