by James Platz

Buyers won’t have to wait long to get their first glimpse of a Concord Stud Farm yearling in the Standardbred Horse Sales Company’s sale ring in Harrisburg, PA. The Cream Ridge, NJ-based nursery will kick off the 2023 sale, offering Muscle Hill filly Swing Girl, the first of its 70 babies, as Hip #1 Monday afternoon (Nov. 6) at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. A Concord yearling was also the first through the ring in Lexington last month.

“Once again, we get to sell #1,” said Concord’s Julie Meirs with a laugh. “I think once you sell #1 you should get a couple year pass before you have to sell #1 again.”

The Concord roster includes a full-brother to Mohawk Million winner T C I. He is not in the first slot, but will headline the consignor’s Day 1 offerings. Hip #41 Hatfield will benefit from the achievements of his older brother, most recently runner-up in the $700,000 Breeders Cup final for freshman trotting colts. With over $1.2 million on his card, T C I is now the sport’s richest 2-year-old trotter. Hatfield is the third straight Cantab Hall colt from dam Nicole’s Promise.

“We very rarely breed a mare three years in a row to the same stallion,” Meirs said. “This is her third Cantab in a row. The first one we bred turned out to be Global Pandemic, who died of colic between his second and third year. Then T C I came along. Now we’ve got our third colt. The reason there are three in a row is because we were looking for a filly and she didn’t give it to us. That’s why we have a full brother.”

And how does Hatfield stack up? Meirs’ succinct response: “He looks the part. We are super excited.”

Looking beyond the Cantab Hall colt, the Concord roster features a little bit of everything for buyers, with a variety of sires representing multiple racing jurisdictions.

“We are lucky in that we sell for a lot of different people, so we’ve got the whole gamut of states,” said Meirs. “We’ve got some dual eligible horses. We definitely have Canada covered with a bunch of Green Manalishis and Muscle Masses, Bettor’s Delights. First year stallions with Papi Rob Hanover and Tall Dark Stranger. We’ve got a good number of Chapter Sevens, Muscle Hill. We’ve got a little bit of everything for everybody.”

Meirs identified two trotting fillies among the top of the consignment. Walner filly Hip #31 Walner Maga Girl sells on the first day. Out of Yankee Glide mare Margarita Nights, the yearling is a sister to Breeders Crown final runner-up Behindclosedoors. Selling later in the session is Chapter Seven filly Hip #87 Royal Mission. She is out of 100-per cent producer Swinging Royalty, dam of Canadian Trotting Classic winners Ahundreddollarbill and Slay, as well as Empire Breeders Classic champ, Royal Filly.

The recently-concluded Breeders Crown will also have an impact on what is in demand at the sale. Meirs believes some of the horses in the Concord consignment stand to benefit.

“Breeders Crown has to play into it,” she said. “Look at the Tactical Landings. While they were strong going into Lexington, I think they came out of the Breeders Crown stronger. We’ve got a Captain Crunch selling on Day 1 [Hip #19 Critical Point], and I hope that is going to help him.”

Concord is selling one by Tactical Landing, a colt, Hip #75 Uncle Bjorn, out of the champion mare Solveig, dam of Trotter of the Year Shake It Cerry. They also have a Muscle Hill colt out of Ilia, Hip #44 Go Boom. The colt is a brother to Breeders Crown final runner-up In Range, Tight Lines and Long Tom. The consignment also includes a Chapter Seven first foal out of Live Laugh Love. Hip #28 Man At Arms Mearas offers a pedigree that includes the millionaire Poof She’s Gone.

A trio of Gimpanzee yearlings are part of the consignment, as are a quartet sired by Green Manalishi.

“We’ve just had some really flashy ones,” Meirs said of Green Manalishi’s first crop. “They’re very well put together. The couple that we have raised at the farm (Hip 298 Long Legs and Hip 552 Soul Stealer), we have liked them from the beginning.”

Meirs also singled out a few pacers from the consignment that she feels are highlights.

“We’ve got a pair of nice Sweet Lou colts, Hip #349 [Louis Prima] and [Hip #]376 [Waitingforguffman], that both sell on Tuesday. And a very nice Papi Rob Hanover colt that sells on Monday, Hip #112 [Sugar Man],” she said.

And potential sleepers? Meirs identified a pair from the roster.

“We’ve got an E L Titan filly [Hip #620 Killemwithkindness] that sells on Wednesday that had a really nice video,” Meirs said. “She could definitely be a sleeper. We’ve got an Uncle Peter filly [Hip #594 Up] that sells Wednesday as well.”