The influence of the top American sire Walner on the trotting world knows no bounds….
A world record-breaking two-year-old and a Breeders Crown champion, Walner ascended to the top of the USA trotting sires’ premiership in 2023 with just his third racing crop. He was the leading sire of two-year-olds and three-year-olds the previous year and has finished runner-up on the all aged list in the last two seasons.
From only five crops racing in North America, Walner has sired the winners of $50 million at an average of an amazing $124,317 per starter and $106,144 per foal!
He has five in the 1:50 list, nine million dollar winners and 119 $100,000 earners.
Standing at Southwind Farms, New Jersey, Walner has commanded a full book of mares in each of his eight seasons at the stud at a service fee of $US50,000.
Among his progeny are the dual USA Trotting Mare of the Year Jiggy Jog S ($3 million), the world champion and Hambletonian Oaks winner Warrawee Michelle ($1.5 million), the Breeders Crown champions Winner’s Bet and Special Way, the 2YO Trotting Filly of the Year Venerable, the 2YO Trotting Colt of the Year King Of The North and the Kentucky Futurity winner Emoticon Legacy.
Walner topped the sire’s list at last year’s Kentucky Selected Yearling Sale with 80 head averaging out at $131,000 including the top two prices paid at the sale at $1million and $900,000 and was second at the Harrisburg Black Book Sale with 23 lots selling at an average of $132,000.
In New Zealand, a Walner filly out of the Love You mare Egee Money sold for the record price of $290,000 at the NZB yearling sale at Christchurch, while another filly realised $240,000 and a colt made $150,000 at Auckland, giving him an overall average of a phenomenal $220,000.
Walner is represented by four yearlings at the Nutrien Equine Melbourne sale to be held at Oaklands Junction on Sunday, April 12.
The quartet – the only Walner yearlings to be offered anywhere in Australia this year – include two royally-bred fillies from the draft of Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms.
Lot 257 is a daughter of the multiple Group winning Love You mare Arboe NZ (1:55.5), a half-sister to eight winners including the Group 3 victor Ima Bourbon Girl and the NZ Listed winner Le Reveur and a member of the same family as the NZ superstar Lyell Creek.
The filly is bred on the desired Walner-Love You cross which has produced seven $100,000 winners from only 10 foals in North America.
Lot 283 is the third foal of the Great Southern Star and Grand Prix winner and dual Trotting Mare of the Year Dance Craze ($551,780), a Muscle Hill daughter of the champion racemare La Coocaracha and thus a half-sister to the Inter Dominion champion and nine-time Group 1 winner The Locomotive ($635,944).
Dance Craze’s second foal, a colt by Face Time Bourbon, sold for $240,000 at last year’s sale at Auckland. Named Duke Of Bourbon, he qualified for Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan at Pukekohe Raceway recently.
The filly is bred on the identical cross as the Mohawk Million winners Venerable ($1.2 million), the Breeders Crown winner Special Way ($1.2 million), Ari Ferrari J ($1.2 million) and Walner Payton ($800,000).
Walner is also represented by two superbly bred colts, both consigned by Aldebaran Park and both boasting strong international pedigrees. Lot 198, Aldebaran Raptor, is out of the 1:52 American-bred mare Aldebaran Revani USA, while Lot 230, Aldebaran Tobbe, is from the Swedish mare Aldebaran Teal Swe.
ARTICLE COURTESY OF YABBY DAM FARMS
