by James Platz

This year’s Twinbrook Farms Harrisburg consignment consists of 26 pacers and four trotters, with 16 of the babies bred and raised at the Embro, ON, nursery. Jenna McNiven discussed the offering from the home of the “Twin B” horses, saying the roster for the Standardbred Horse Sale Company’s auction is a group that ranks as the best the farm has ever had.

“As a group, they are all very nice horses,” McNiven said. “We have a handful by the hot sires, so they are the ones that everyone is excited about. As a whole, this is my favorite bunch of horses we’ve had.”

Kentucky-eligible yearlings have attracted significant attention, and Twinbrook has five in the consignment. Three that McNiven highlighted are Twin B Dreamchaser, Hip #111, Twin B Manhunt, Hip #308, and agent yearling Sin City Pioneer, Hip #315.

“We have a few Kentucky eligibles, so that’s pretty exciting for everyone,” she said. “Any mare of our own that does not have a foal by her side, we send them to Kentucky. We like to foal our own mares out. We like to have the babies at our farm so that we can keep a good eye on them. If the mare does not have anything on her side that foaling year, we’ll send her to Kentucky. These are the first that we sent.”

Twin B Dreamchaser is a Pennsylvania and Kentucky eligible Captaintreacherous filly. She is the first foal from American Ideal mare American Dreamgirl, who is a full-sister to $468,000 winner American Dreamer.

“You have to go down to the third dam, but My Girl EJ is down there and she just won the Breeders Crown,” said McNiven.

Twin B Fierce, Hip #139, is not dual eligible, but is another Captaintreacherous filly with a strong pedigree. She is a sibling to Twin B Tuffenuff ($717,021) and Twin B Fighter ($335,203). McNiven compared the two babies from the perennial top sire.

“They’re both very different, but they’re both very nice on their own,” she said. “Twin B Fierce is more powerfully built; broader and stockier. The other filly is a more feminine, beautiful-bodied filly. They both come from families that are pretty hot right now.”

Twin B Manhunt, also dual eligible, sells on Tuesday (Nov. 5). The son of Huntsville is the second foal from Twin B Peaches, a sister to 10 different winners.

“He’s a nice individual and he’s a nice size for New York,” McNiven said. “New York has added more money to their program this year, so we think he’ll suit their program with his build.”

Hip #75 Twin B Seven Sins, is one of the quartet of trotters in the Twinbrook consignment. The Chapter Seven colt is a brother to O’Brien Award winner Twin B Archie 2, 1:54.3; 3, 1:53.1 ($610,729).

“He comes from a really good family,” she said. “He’s a very smart horse and he’s nice to be around at the barn. He’s a good looking individual.”

Twin B Stinger, Hip #549, is a colt from the first crop of Perfect Sting. The dam, Sportswriter mare Lovely Erin, has four winners to her credit, including top Ohio freshman Twin B High Tide.

“His 2-year-old brother made $134,000 with a 52 and a piece mark,” McNiven said. “The first crop Perfect Stings have been selling well. He’s probably our best-looking horse. Not everyone’s going to like big horses, but he’s a gorgeous horse. He’s 16 hands and he’s a big, strong horse. He’s definitely one that would catch your eye if you saw him out on the show floor.”

Twin B Msamericana, Hip #754, is a dual-eligible first foal from Avia Hanover, sister to Dan Patch Award winner Allywag Hanover.

“She’s on Wednesday because she’s small,” McNiven said. “She doesn’t know she’s small. She’s got a big horse attitude. She’s an American Ideal first foal out of a sister to Allywag Hanover. A lot of people will knock her because she’s quite small, but she’s very strongly built, and if there’s any place to have a small horse, New York is the most forgiving. I think she’s a sleeper where she’ll get knocked off a lot of lists for her size.”

McNiven said that while the consignment includes yearlings sired by some of the sport’s hottest stallions, the group also includes quality individuals from sires that aren’t as popular.

“We have some very nice individuals by stallions that are not as sought out by most people,” she said. “We have a really beautiful Lazarus filly [Hip #565, Twin B Bettorfly], a nice Captain Crunch filly [Hip #834, Twin B Yummy], and a really nice Fear The Dragon colt [Hip #600, Twin B Dragonite]. They aren’t going to get the traffic because of their sire, but if you’re looking for a nice individual, we have it.”