by Matthew Lomon

There was no shortage of Canadian content at this year’s Standardbred Horse Sales Company auction in Harrisburg, PA as buyers from the Great White North were not shy about opening their check books.

As a whole, Canadian buyers accounted for $7,679,000 or 20 per cent of the total yearling sale gross of $37,091,000.

Ontario, the nation’s most populous province, was also well-represented.

Shoppers from Ontario spent $4,779,000, or 13 per cent of the total gross, over the three-day yearling sale.

Ontario-sired yearlings were a hot commodity for buyers, as well.

Some 142 Ontario eligibles sold for a grand total of $5,357,000, good for an average of $37,725 per yearling.

Québec-based powerhouse Determination, which paced all yearling purchasers with a total of $1,905,000 spread across 13 horses, showed a particular interest in its border buddy’s youngsters.

Racing primarily on the Woodbine Mohawk Park Circuit, the prominent North American operation acquired six Ontario-sired yearlings.

Of that half-dozen, four ranked within the five most expensive Ontario-eligible yearlings sold.

That group of premium neophytes includes Hip #458 Taven On the Green, a Green Manalishi S colt purchased for $225,000, a pair of Bettors Delight colts in Hip #98 Ceylon Spice and Hip #277 Studio Boss for $200,000 apiece, and Hip #2 Bettor Story, a Bettors Delight filly bought for $150,000.

Ontario-based trainer Luc Blais, the man responsible for reigning in prized yearlings on behalf of Québecois mogul Serge Godin’s Determination, is encouraged by the prospects of this year’s crop of Ontario eligibles.

“We are very happy with what we got, that’s for sure,” Blais said. “We bought three Bettors Delight, two Muscle Mass fillies, and one Green Manalishi [S].”

But as Blais noted, demand was by no means in short supply.

“It was tough to buy Ontario this year with the way the market is right now,” Blais said. “It’s a good circuit, and everybody wants a piece of it.”

The Ontario program has long been integral to Determination’s success.

And that was not going to change, despite added pressure from greater competition.

“Our farm is 10 minutes from Mohawk, and that’s obviously a great place to be,” Blais said. “In the past, we’ve had lots of success with Ontario-breds. It’s an excellent place to race young horses.

“Sometimes they make the Grand Circuit – we had a few like that. All the best horses we had, like Forbidden Trade and Emoticon Hanover, were from Ontario.”

Like Blais reminds, sticking to the formula that produced elite talents in Hambletonian winner Forbidden Trade (68: 26-9-9 with over $2.3 million banked) and Emoticon Hanover (74: 27-16-13 with more than $2 million earned) is the wise move.

While that’s more difficult some years than others, the lifelong horseman has become somewhat of a Harrisburg Sale savant over the years.

Based on Blais’ calculations, he’s been a regular at the sale for about three decades. In that time, the Campbellville, ON-based conditioner has learned that no matter how much money he had to invest, he would always find something he liked.

And that’s come in handy for an outfit that relies on the Pennsylvania sale more than any other.

“It looks like it’s easy, but it’s not easy having a budget sometimes,” Blais said with a laugh. “You want the best. I know we want the best, but nothing is for sure.

“Sometimes it can be tough because we don’t buy a lot. We try to be selective. And that’s not always easy because you’ll find two, three horses you like equally, and you just need to make a choice on the one you feel the strongest about.

“But that’s a good problem to have, and I always enjoy my time at the sale.”

Part of what makes the Harrisburg sale so memorable for Blais is that it truly is a team effort.

And working alongside the distinguished Godin, a member of the Order of Canada and Ordre national du Québec, to bring the right horses into the Determination family has been equally as delightful.

“Serge is very active in the sale process,” Blais said. “He knows everything that we buy. He came a day before the sale for a tour of the horses we had our eyes on.

“He’s been in the game for at least 40 years. He checks the pedigree and the day before the sale, we check all the horses we picked, not just I picked, and we make a list and go from there.”

Although Determination needed to shell out a pretty penny for this year’s roster of Ontario-sired yearlings, Blais is confident in where the industry is headed.

“I know the market is very high right now, but I think that’s a good sign,” he said. “I hope that’s why it’s tough to buy horses.

“If you have more people wanting the same horse or horses, I think that means there’s an increase in overall interest in the game.”