As Winbak approaches $450 million in lifetime progeny earnings, Ladwig is proud of the yearlings selling in Lexington

by Dave Briggs

One day soon, Winbak Farm will surpass $450 million in total progeny earnings, the second most behind Hanover Shoe Farms in harness racing history and more than double the third-place farm on the all-time list.

Winbak’s long-time yearling manager, Jimmy Ladwig, said the numbers are a source of pride for the farm owned by Hall of Famer Joe Thomson.

“That’s pretty good,” Ladwig said of the total. “We’ll take that.

“It’s funny, I don’t think people really give us credit for our ranking. It doesn’t seem like our horses are in the spotlight as much lately, but they are out there.”

The next generation of Winbak yearlings is now ready to sell and the farm will auction off nearly 60 of them at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.

Ladwig said Thomson recently visited Winbak’s Maryland headquarters to inspect the yearlings.

“We went through them yesterday with Joe and they really look great,” Ladwig said. “I’m proud to bring them in and I think they’ll be well-received.”

Asked whether Thomson has a favorite, Ladwig said the boss, “plays things close to the vest… but now that I’m thinking about it, there was one that he really liked… I think it was the La Minita Hanover filly [Hip #56 Uptown Angel, a Captaintreacherous filly]. It was just like, ‘Whoa, look at her.’

Ladwig agreed with Thomson’s assessment. “I’ve loved her since I was feeding her this winter,” he said. “She was just gorgeous and she’s maintained it. She is one of my favorites.
“We do have a nice, strong filly group. Not that our colts aren’t nice, too, but our fillies – there’s a couple in there that are beautiful. So, we got the show started with that yesterday. When we started going through the barns with Joe, those were the first few we pulled out and he said, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. Wow. Wow.’

“Joe loves it. He loves to come in a look at them. It’s his fun time of year, too.”

This year, Winbak will sell the first crop from its Ontario-based stallion Beach Glass, a son of Somebeachsomewhere owned by some of the same connections as the late legend.

“The babies look the part,” Ladwig said of the Beach Glass offspring. “They are kind of all stamped. They all look like him and all look alike – a nice copper brown, good-looking colts and fillies. They are athletic and racy-looking and pretty correct. They’ve got some good videos and really look the part, so I’m really excited about them.”

As for standouts from their Lexington consignment, apart from Uptown Angel, Ladwig also mentioned:

• Hip #59 Novel Life, a Chapter Seven filly out of Mets Life. “She’s got a great video and trots like hell.”
• Hip #260 Solid Catch, a Captain Corey—Mets Inn filly. “She’s a gorgeous filly. She trots like hell in her video and looks good and smart.”
• Hip #55 Bennyville, a Huntsville colt out of La Fitness. “He’s a good-looking colt. He’s really nice.”

“You can’t ignore us,” Ladwig said. “We’ve got a bit of everything. The horses are raised well, prepped well. You can’t deny it. We have a good product and I think they go on for longevity, too.

“We’ve got a couple of nice Cattlewashes, Captain Coreys, Huntsvilles. We’ve got some nice Volume Eights, first-year sire on the trotting side. We’re really liking them. They are just kind of racy. They aren’t really big, but they are stout and long and racy and they just went like hell in the video paddock. I went, ‘Whoa, I like them.’”