NEWS
Pennsylvania breeders crown Hard Spun their first horse of the year
Posted: Saturday, May 31, 2008 4:55 PM
HARD SPUN
Lou Hodges Jr. photo
by Tom De Martini
Fox Hill Farms’ multiple graded stakes winner Hard Spun was named the first Pennsylvania-bred horse of the year on Friday night at the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association’s Iroquois Awards Dinner.
The 29th annual event, held at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pennsylvania, honored 2007 divisional winners and breeders of all state-bred stakes winners. This year marked the first time a state-bred horse of the year was named.
Co-breeder Betty Moran of Malvern, Pennsylvania, accepted Hard Spun’s awards for both three-year-old male and horse of the year on behalf of her son, Michael Moran, and Brushwood Stables.
“Michael owned and trained [Hard Spun’s dam, Turkish Tryst] and we bred her to Danzig,” Moran said. “We had [a $485,000] reserve on Hard Spun at the [2005 Keeneland September yearling] sale and he didn’t get it. We were pushing and peddling and no one wanted him until Rick Porter [of Fox Hill Farms] stepped up.”
Hard Spun won four of ten starts as a three-year-old in ’07 and finished second, beaten by eventual Horse of the Year Curlin in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) at Monmouth Park. He earned victories in the ’07 King’s Bishop Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, Lane’s End Stakes (G2) at Turfway Park, and the Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds.
The Larry Jones-trainee finished second to Street Sense in the ’07 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and was third to Curlin in the Preakness Stakes (G3). He also earned a second-place finish in the Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) at Monmouth while earning $2,572,500 for the season.
Moran also took home Iroquois Awards for multiple graded stakes winner Master Command as top Pennsylvania-bred older male and Turkish Tryst as top broodmare.
Patton, who stands at Peter Giangiulio’s Castle Rock Farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania, was the state’s leading stallion.
George Strawbridge Jr.’s Augustin Stable was honored as the leading overall breeder of state-breds, and Judith Barrett was the leading breeding fund award recipient.
Other divisional winners were:
- Two-year-old male: Notgivinmyloveaway, bred by Margaret Addis;
- Two-year-old filly: Extra Sexy Psychic, bred by Toni Kirwan and Ed Hipps;
- Three-year-old filly: Mrs. Lindsay, bred by Derry Meeting Farm;
- Older filly or mare: Redaspen, bred by Equivine Farm;
- Turf horse: Lucarno, bred by Augustin Stables;
- Sprinter: Fabulous Strike, bred by Tea Party Stable;
- Claiming horse: Speechifying, bred by Judith Barrett; and
- Jumper: Mixed Up, bred by Jonathan Sheppard and William Pape.
Tom De Martini is a New Jersey-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent
