by Dave Briggs

It’s only fitting that Bob Boni’s Northwood Bloodstock has a number of nice Always B Miki fillies selling at the Standardbred Horse Sales Company’s (SHSC) auction in Harrisburg, PA that begins Monday (Nov. 8). After all, Boni is a part-owner of the world’s fastest standardbred turned stallion.

“Hip 281 (Miki Angelo) in particular and Hip 276 (Dancinoutthedenim). They are both out of stakes producers. It’s the first Miki out of them,” Boni said. “There’s another Miki filly with a big family, big pedigree – Hip 292 (Miki Dee). She’s only had one other foal and that 2-year-old has got a record, but this is the first Miki out of all of those three. So, I think that’s kind of significant.”

Boni also mentioned Hip 271 Overhaul Session, an “Andover Hall (filly) with a big pedigree. She has a bunch of brothers and sisters that have been very successful so I would look at her.”

Northwood also has considerable depth in its mixed sale offerings.

“Empressive Hill (Hip 1391). She goes back to a great pedigree – Pizza Dolce – that everybody loves and everybody is willing to pay for. Other than making a break and getting locked in once, I think she’s eight-for-12 now,” Boni said. “She’s the fastest 3-year-old trotting filly in the sale with a record of :51.2 and hasn’t really been extended. I’ll be anxious to see… how she’s received. She’s obviously got future breeding value, but above and beyond that, she’s a quality racehorse. She’s made $240,000 or so this year and she’s been dominant in her performances. Her :51.2 mile was a pretty simple mile for her. With the opportunity for these horses to race at four or five or whatever, she should be as appealing as any race filly in the sale. She’s a daughter of Muscle Hill from a family that people love to buy and sell from, so I think she should be very, very appealing.

“I’ve got another trotting filly that I think should be one of the more appealing fillies in the sale. She’s the Swan For All filly (Hip 1394, Shirley Goodness). She’s made a bunch of money this year. She’s a legitimate filly. She was fifth in the Breeders Crown. She got a little bit of a shuffle, but she was fifth racing against the best fillies going. She’s showed that she can compete. She’s made $260,000 this year. The 2-year-old sister to her is a stakes winner, so she’s got a pedigree. She’s by Swan For All, who has obviously shown that he can have horses compete on a very high level. She’s another with a big pedigree… she’s another one that’s got racing and breeding. That’s kind of a little bit of separation on these.

“I’ve got one other, Landry Seelster (Hip 1393). That’s the sister to Lawless Shadow. She’s a stakes winner. Unfortunately, Lawless Shadow’s year was cut short, but there was a point in time when he looked like he could’ve been the best of this group. Not taking anything away from anyone that’s raced since then, but he won the Meadowlands Pace – obviously there was a disqualification – but he came back and won the Hempt. He was very impressive winning the Hempt. Put it this way, the division was there for him to take. He looked like he was in a position to take it and unfortunately he suffered an injury. She’s a sister to him and I would think, more as a breeding prospect than anything else… bred to any kind of marketable stallion, the foal would be pretty appealing.”

Boni also mentioned a couple of broodmares: Hip 1077 Kadena Reef — “That’s a stakes-producing young mare and she’s in foal to Gimpanzee” and Hip 1142 American Truth “is one of the few mares in the sale in foal to Tall Dark Stranger. She’s the only multiple stakes producer in foal to him. I think it’s safe to assume that Tall Dark Stranger is going to be pretty well-received. Here’s an opportunity.

“I’ve got mares in foal to Cantab Hall, What The Hill, Muscle Hill, Tactical Landing, Six Pack. On the pacing side, Huntsville, Tall Dark Stranger… variety is a strong part of what we are selling.”

On the racehorse side, Boni mentioned Hip 1515 Belmont Major N.

“He’s a racehorse that I’m very pleased to have. He’s made over $100,000. He’s a relatively recent import and he hasn’t made that many starts here. He’s raced with the very best and he’s been competitive with the best at Yonkers. He’s won in :52 a couple of times at Yonkers and beat good horses. I look at him as good as he gets around a half, not that he can’t get around elsewhere, I would have to consider him something for the MGM Pacing Series, which used to be the Levy. He gets around a half so good, you’d have to give that some consideration. He’s just one of a number of pretty good racehorses.

Overall, Boni said he expects the SHSC auction to be a good sale.

“Every other one has been good, so I don’t know why this would be any different,” he said. “As always with Harrisburg, it’s the last chance. So, I think that has the tendency to bump up the lower and middle end a little more because this is it. If somebody wants to buy one, there’s no tomorrow. Either you buy it here or you don’t buy it.”

Boni likened the SHSC sale to being in a casino.

“You don’t even know what time it is half of the time,” he said. “One of the things about Harrisburg that I’ve always liked is that you go in, you take your jacket off and you walk around and you’re relatively close to any horse you want to see.

“One of the differences at Harrisburg is that you’re looking at horses while horses are being sold, so you’ve got to be a little more discreet with your time, but the convenience factor outweighs the other factors. It’s very easy to get from one consignment to another – to look at horses or go back and look at one if you’ve missed one. I think there’s a lot to be said for that.

“I’m not going to be very tolerant of anybody that complains about Harrisburg, I think, if nothing else, last year taught you the lesson, ‘Be careful what you wish for’ because the convenience, the accessibility of Harrisburg is something that I don’t think should be underestimated. I think it really sets things up to be something good.”