Icy Stable’s Jim Laird predicting strong results in Harrisburg
by Chris Lomon
Icy Stable, the farm that bred and sold 2024 Peaceful Way and Champlain Stakes winner Monalishi, will once again showcase a strong stable of pacers and trotters at this year’s Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling auction in Harrisburg, PA.
Nom du course of the husband-and-wife team Jim and Kim Laird, Icy Stable, located just outside of London, ON, will open the door for eight yearlings in the Keystone State.
“We are ready,” Jim said. “We are feeling very good about the sale. Looking at the results from the Lexington and London sales, I think the strong results will carry on to this one.”
The Lairds, who in 2019 teamed with major real estate developer Shmuel Farhi to acquire, breed, raise, and sell top standardbreds, have found great success at the sales over the past handful of years.
Icy Stable graduates include 12-time winner and lifetime earner of nearly $320,00 Cant Stop Lou, Full Of Muscles, a trotting son of Muscle Mass, who has recorded nine wins to go along with close to $290,000 in purse earnings, along with the aforementioned Monalishi, an O’Brien Award recipient, who recently won her $300,000 OSS Gold Super Final and finished third in the Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Filly Trot.
For this year’s sale, Icy Stable has three pacing colts, two trotting colts, two pacing fillies and one filly trotter.
Having bred horses for nearly 20 years, Icy Stable, who will mark its sixth consecutive appearance at the Pennsylvania State Farm Show Complex, will feature yearlings from popular sires such as Downbytheseaside, Sweet Lou, Tall Dark Stranger, Bulldog Hanover, and Captaintreacherous.
“We are bringing four Canadian and four American horses,” Jim said. “They all look great, and we are really excited about the sire lineup we have for this sale.”
Jim is bullish on Hip #169 Queen G, a daughter of King of the North out of the RC Royalty mare Pretty Phylly G.
“We are very, very excited about her,” Jim said. “She is a half-sister to Monalishi. She has a great look about her. She is a solid, mostly black, filly. She is an extremely smart filly, too. Out in the paddocks and in the field, she can trot – she shows a lot of speed.”
The roster includes Hip #382 Wouldyoulikeamint, a son of Downbytheseaside out of the Bettors Delight mare Double A Mint.
“Downbytheseaside had a strong sale in the Lexington book,” Jim said. “He is a highly sought-after sire, and this colt certainly looks the part. He is a big, strong-looking individual and he moves very well. He is one of the best-looking individuals, in terms of conformation, to come out of Double A Mint.”
Hip #18 L A Captain, a son of Captaintreacherous out of the Bettors Delight mare So Delightful also caught the eye of the Lairds.
“He is also a big, strong colt,” Jim said. “He is race-ready. We’re excited about him as well.”
In terms of value plays, Jim tabbed a pair of yearlings who should prompt a second look from prospective buyers.
The striking Great White North, Hip #247, is a son of King Of The North out of the Cantab Hall mare Tiffanys Flash.
“I feel that he might be a surprise,” Jim said. “I think people will want to take a good look at this guy. He is a well-bred colt, and he has impressed us.”
Jim served up a similar sentiment when speaking of Red Dog, Hip #413.
The daughter of Bulldog Hanover out of the Somebeachsomewhere mare Gallic Sea is Ontario eligible.
“She may be a surprise as well,” he said. “She’s a big filly and she’s well put together.”
While the weeks ahead of the sale were intense, Icy Stable is hoping for another fruitful Harrisburg Sale.
“For anyone associated with the sales, it’s a lot of hard work, especially the closer you get to the start,” Jim said. “We are comfortable and confident going into Harrisburg. The horses look great and the sires we are bringing to this sale – we feel a lot of the buyers and trainers will be looking at the pedigrees of our horses. When you combine all that, along with how these horses look, we are hoping to have a strong showing this year.”
Outside of the sales ring, Icy Stable will broaden in scope and size over the coming months.
“We are expanding,” Jim said. “We have seven broodmares at the moment, and we will be looking to purchase more broodmares at this sale as well. Our property is 76 acres, but we have also purchased 100 acres next to us, which is currently being developed.”
