Tara Hills Stud stallions sit atop OSS leaderboard

Pacer Cattlewash and trotter Green Manalishi S are making a mark in the Ontario Sires Stakes standings.

by Matthew Lomon

At the peak of the current Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) stallion standings — pace and trot — are a pair of newer faces in Cattlewash and Green Manalishi S.

Each known for strong on-track careers, the duo standing at Tara Hills Stud in Port Perry, ON, continues to leave their mark on the next generation of standardbreds – and the farm they call home.

“It’s still early, and [Tara Hills stallion] Muscle Mass is right in the thick of things too, but it’s a big deal to see [Cattlewash and Green Manalishi S] up there [in the standings],” said David Heffering, owner of Tara Hills Stud, which in 2023 earned its first O’Brien Award as Armstrong Breeder of the Year.

“It shows that the work is paying off, but I think a lot of the praise also belongs to our clients, the stallion owners, and the shareholders. That’s who I’m happy for.”

Joy has been easy to come by through the series’ first three months, as OSS competitors out of both Cattlewash and Green Manalishi have combined for 44 wins and nearly $2 million prize money (through Aug. 13).

Cattlewash’s pacing progeny has supplied 16 of those victories, along with 11 seconds, 10 third, 11 fourths, and 7 fifths, and $850,272 of the grand earnings total.

Green Manalishi’s army of trotters, on the other hand, account for 28 wins, 18 seconds, 17 thirds, 22 fourths, 25 fifths, and a lion’s share of the prize yield ($1,327,842).

Meanwhile, Muscle Mass was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame on Aug. 6.

For the humble Heffering, whose late father, Peter, founded Tara Hills in 1995 and is also a Canadian Hall of Famer, the standout studs are a testament to the caliber of Ontario sires.

“Ontario isn’t necessarily the easiest place to convince people to stand their stallions,” said David. “Sometimes people look down on Ontario a bit because they think they don’t have the [mare] pedigrees, but I always tell the stallion owners, you’ve got just as much of a shot here as you do anywhere else.”

The team behind Green Manalishi — owner Anders Ström and agent Robert Lindstrom — were already well aware.

“Owners take a lot of faith in putting their stallions with you,” said David. “I talked to Anders, and it didn’t take very much convincing. Robert was also quite helpful in that regard.”

David reached an agreement with Strom’s Courant Inc., to have Green Manalishi stand at Tara Hills for the 2021 breeding season, where he has remained since.

The now 9-year-old son of Muscle Hill—Naga Morich S saw his offspring reach $1 million in OSS competition well before any other sire on the trotting side this year.

While the milestone says a lot about Green Manalishi’s ability to produce consistently as a sire, David prefers to take the cautious route.

“If you know me — Nora, my wife and business partner, hears me say this all the time and she gets frustrated with me — I’m definitely a glass-half-empty kind of guy,” said David. “Sure, it’s nice to get the recognition and for these horses to get the recognition, but I always feel much more comfortable once they get into their second year and they are doing just as well as their first year.

“I always feel like they should have two solid years in them before you get ahead of yourself.”

Green Manalishi, who was atop the 2024 OSS standings with his freshman crop, has certainly checked that box.

“That’s how I feel about this horse,” said David. “Let the public, trainers, and breeders tell you. People love him. Everybody you talk to will say, ‘Man, we really like our Green Manalishi.’

“Of course, there’s going to be some that don’t work out, but it seems like he’s going to be a bit like Kadabra. Even if the foals didn’t have the best conformation, they all wanted to race.”

Some of Green Manalishi’s top foals include O’Brien Award and Peaceful Way winning trotter Monalishi, Gold Series leading 3-year-old filly trotter Sprite Seelster, and ascending 2-year-old trotting filly Flowing Tribute who sits atop her Gold Series division.

Cattlewash’s imprint on the pacing gait has been equally noticeable.

Remembered for his world record 1:46.4 mark at The Red Mile as a 3-year-old, the champion son of Hall of Famer Somebeachsomewhere, joined Tara Hills’ stallion roster for the 2022 breeding season.

Now a force in the OSS ranks as a sire, Cattlewash’s trademark early speed has been on full display in his foals.

“He leaves early speed with his 2-year-olds,” said David. “He did it in New Jersey and he’s doing it here in Ontario, and they’re good-looking horses. That’s what we get back; people are really impressed with how they look and their ability to want to race, too.”

Beau Jangles, a 2-year-old colt out of the Art Major mare Mrs Major Hill, undoubtedly fits the mold of his famous sire.

The latest star Cattlewash pacer took the Ontario standardbred circuit by storm earlier this month after setting a new divisional track record for 2-year-old male pacers at Grand River Raceway.

Bred by Tara Hills, Beau Jangles captured the Battle of Waterloo in 1:51 to stay undefeated through three starts. On Thursday (Aug. 14), he added his third OSS Gold victory of the season to push his unbeaten streak to four.

The tantalizing rookie has been a source of pride for Tara Hills, and David especially, who recalled the process of finding the right mare to pair with Cattlewash.

That mare turned out to be Mrs Major Hill, whose lineage has deep roots at Tara Hills.

“I went to a sale to look for a broodmare,” said David. “This mare was particularly interesting because we had bred Bunny Lake, who [pedigree expert] Bruce Brinkerhoff bought for one of his clients, and this mare goes back to that family.

“When the consignors brought her out, I looked at her, sent Bruce pictures, and said, ‘Wow, she’s a very good-looking mare. Great size.’”

Contrary to David’s expectations, Mrs Major Hill didn’t spark a bidding war – leaving the door wide open.

“She sat at a low number for a while, and I ended up making one bid and bought her.”

Both the price, and timing, was right.

“As a friend of mine said to me, ‘Every once in a while, a blind squirrel will find a nut,’” said David. “That’s how that one came about. She had the pedigree, Bruce loved how she looked, and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time and nobody else wanted her.”

That team-first philosophy has been a guiding principle for Tara Hills on both sides of the transactional coin.

Between David, Brinkerhoff, and farm manager Matt Harrison, who strategize potential stallion-mare connections, the end goal remains finding the right combination for Tara Hills clients.

“You’re always thinking about your clients and trying to do something for everybody,” said David. “It’s not just for us. We want to do what’s right for everybody.

“We’ve had such a good client base. We have an idea of what our clients can afford, what they can do, and what there is out there for mares.”

Sometimes, that means laying up short of the green.

“I have to be realistic, too,” David said with a laugh. “Certainly, you would like to always go after the big dogs, but I have to be realistic, because it’s about what people can afford in Ontario.

“Everybody has to agree to a price that they’re happy about. We don’t want to over promise and under deliver, that just doesn’t work well for any of us.”