Kountry Lane selling independently for the first time in Lexington
by James Platz
Kountry Lane Standardbreds is a new listing in the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale catalog’s index of consignors, but the Wakarusa, IN breeding operation is no stranger to the Bluegrass. The farm, owned by Ola Yoder and managed by Duane Miller, has sold yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in the past, doing so with Anvil And Lace serving as agent. This year they are going out on their own.
“We’ve just gotten bigger,” Miller said. “We’ve gotten enough numbers that we thought now was the time to do it. We have more help at the farm, which makes it possible to prep them.”
Miller explained that before Kountry Lane took on the endeavor of prepping and selling their full consignment, they conducted a test run with six yearlings sold at last year’s Harrisburg sale. The results were fruitful. Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky, who consults for the farm, suggested Kountry Lane could tackle the duties of prepping the babies for Lexington.
“They sold really well at Harrisburg,” Miller said. “Dr. J was really happy with the job we did. After the sales we get together, have a meeting and decide what to change. She actually brought it up. She says there’s no reason we can’t prep our own. We have the help now, we have better mares now, and we have more numbers, so we decided to give it a go.”
Kountry Lane’s consignment of seven yearlings may be small, but Miller said each is a good fit for the Lexington Selected catalog. Four of the babies sell on Monday (Sept. 29) with the balance cataloged for the Tuesday’s (Sept. 30) session. He was particular with what the farm entered, aiming for the first two days.
“If I’m going to Lexington, I want to sell everything Day 1 and 2,” Miller said. “So, if we look at the individual, we look at the pedigree and think we’re not going to go Day 1 or 2, we entered them at Harrisburg. This is a pretty strong group that were kind of hand-picked to go down there. A lot of them are first foals, or from mares that have produced.”
The roster is solid from top to bottom with the sire power of Walner, Muscle Hill, Chapter Seven, Bulldog Hanover and King Of The North. Kountry Lane’s first horse through the sales ring will be Kountry Sam, Hip #11 in the catalog. The Walner colt is dual eligible and the second foal from Trixton mare Spoiled Princess. Hip #48 Kountry Infusion will be next through the ring. The Muscle Hill colt, also dual eligible, is the first foal from graded stakes-placed Cash Infusion. The mare is also a sister to Swinging Royalty, whose Walner filly, Swinging Loyalty, brought $780,000 at Harrisburg last fall.
“That one just kind of fit the bill to go to Lexington, I thought,” Miller said. “He’ll fit in real well with that crowd. That’s just a family that sells real well.”
Kountry Lane will round out the first session with Muscle Hill colt Kountry Hill, Hip #100 and Chapter Seven filly Kountry Plunge, Hip #112. Kountry Hill is the second foal out of Cantab Hall mare May Carp, sister to Hambletonian Maturity winner Elista Hanover.
“The first foal was injured, so this is the first trainable foal out of her,” Miller said. “It’s the family of Elista Hanover, which is one of the hottest trotting mares out there, at least in the older ranks.”
Kountry Plunge is the second foal from millionaire and world champion Plunge Blue Chip. The filly is New York and Kentucky eligible, and her full sister, Sonmar Pond, is a $100,000 winner timed in 1:53.1.
“It’s only the second foal out of the mare,” he said. “And you know what a great mare she’s been. We figured a nice trotter like that will hold her own against any pedigree down there.”
Hip #184 Kountry Win leads the Day 2 offerings. The King Of The North colt is a dual eligible brother to KYSS Championship Series leg winner Winnpanzee 3, 1:52-’25 ($187,820).
“Typically, we would have sold him at Harrisburg,” Miller said. “But it is just hard to fault him. When you look at him, he just catches your eye. I think he’ll fit in with the Lexington group.”
The lone pacer in the consignment, Kountry Tale, is a Bulldog Hanover colt out of Dragon’s Tale. Cataloged as Hip #244, he is an Ontario and Kentucky eligible brother to millionaire Workin Ona Mystery.
“Obviously the mare has produced,” Miller said. “She’s a standout mare. He’s such an athletic, real nice individual. And we thought why not take a shot? I think he deserves a shot at Lexington. I think he’ll fit in real well down there, too.”
Handling Lexington preparations for the first time, Miller is anxious, but excited for the opportunity. He has prepped yearlings of his own, selling in Indiana under the banner of Legacy Lane Farm, for more than two decades.
“I’m pretty excited to give it a whirl,” he said. “All I’ve ever done is Indiana for 20 some years at the Hoosier Classic. So this is going to be a new adventure that’s pretty exciting. And it’ll be that much better if we have a good sale.”
