by Murray Brown 

There is a person, I am certain he is likely the only person, who has watched the videos of every single trotting yearling that has been offered at all the Lexington and Harrisburg preferred sales since 1986. That’s literally thousands upon thousands of yearlings that he has watched and graded. His name is Martti Ala-Sepalla, a native of Finland.

He now is active in the sport as a breeder, a stallion manager and as leading trainer Noel Daley describes him, “My now, not so secret weapon” when it comes to choosing trotting yearlings. This scribe and Martti had occasion to speak during his annual trip to Harrisburg which he has been making for the last 40 plus years.

You’ve been involved in harness racing for a lifetime. How did it begin? Were you born into the sport as so many others have been?

“I lived in the small Finnish town of Lahti. My father passed away when I was 11. A friend first took me to the races when I was 13, I suppose I was without a lifeline. I had to do something to survive. I became a gambler. I prefer to call it an investor. I see there being a difference between the two. I see a gambler as someone who relies solely upon the vagaries of chance. I see an investor as someone who studies the situation and invests with opportunities lined up in a manner that favors his investment chances.

“I discovered that I had an eye for the horses and the way they went. I watched warmups with great dedication. I still do. For example, when the races take place at Lexington, I’m always there a good time before post to watch the horses warming up. I don’t bet near as much as I used to, but I still occasionally will make a wager. I gradually became interested in the breeding of the horses and in the myriad of areas that lead to them becoming racehorses.

“The chief industry in our town was a welding company called Kemppi. I somehow convinced the owners of that company to buy a piece of land and become involved in breeding and raising trotters. At the age of 21, I became its manager. Within a relatively short period of time, we became the leading breeder in Finland. From the beginning we always turned a profit. I looked upon it as though I didn’t have a choice. It was as you Americans say, ‘sink or swim.’ After a period of time, together with Timo Kemppi we bought the breeding enterprise. Ten years ago, I sold my interest in Kemppi.”

You made some contacts in the United States, notably Steve Stewart and Noel Daley.

“Yes. I’ve been involved with Steve from the beginning. We’ve been partners on horses. I’ve been a client of his at Hunterton Farms since 1985. Most important of all we have been the closest of friends. It’s a friendship that still thrives today. The same applies to Noel.”

How did your association with Daley begin and continue to the point where he calls you his secret weapon when it comes to choosing trotting yearlings and has said to me, that he will not even bid on one without your blessing?

“I had this filly Impressive Kemp who was out of the terrific filly Emilie Cas El. Emilie Cas El was a daughter of the great producer Amour Angus, the dam of the three great Hall brothers Andover, Conway and Angus. But her daughter Impressive Kemp was pony sized and stood like a duck. She toed out significantly. Nevertheless, I loved the way she trotted, clean and straight. I had noticed that Noel was doing well. I approached him about training our filly. He looked at her and remarked on her size the way she stood. I told him that I felt certain that she would grow and that she trotted clean and I felt certain that she would overcome that perceived conformation fault. He agreed to take her on. The result was that she became a terrific race filly and earned over $500,000 and won the Breeders Crown for us. Perhaps more importantly, it led to a great friendship and business relationship that continues to this day.”

Which leads to my next question. Why aren’t you involved as an owner in the trotting yearlings that Daley buys and how are you rewarded for all the hard work that you put in?

“The answer to your first question comes down to one word. That word is economics. Simply put, I am not a wealthy man. I might be able to invest in one or two of them, but in nowhere near all. If I chose just one, or perhaps the one I liked the best, I might be casting a negative light on the others. I think its best that I watch from the sidelines and cheer for all of them. With regard to any compensation that I might receive, I am rewarded when they do well by receiving booking rights to them when they go to stud. I look upon that as being fair to everyone involved.”

Daley has told me that he wouldn’t have bought or perhaps even looked at Volume Eight without your urging.

“Of all the trotting yearlings offered for sale in 2021, I thought that he had the very best video. I told Noel about him and he looked at him. He was somewhat small, but he otherwise checked all the boxes. When I look at a yearling, I don’t only go by what is before me, but perhaps more importantly I measure it and envision its size at 3 and beyond. That was the case with Volume Eight. Noel bought him for $75,000 and the rest was history.”

Would you say, to some degree, the same was the case with Sig Sauer?

“Certainly, to some extent. I loved his video. I liked him even more as an individual than I did Volume Eight. He was a bigger, stronger and more robust specimen. He was also a lot more expensive as a yearling. Thankfully Noel had some owners who were enjoying a good season and were prepared to spend the $200,000 that he brought as a yearling. I can’t say that all my choices ended up as champions, but I like to think that my record is fairly decent.

“As for Sig Sauer, he might be the very best horse with which I’ve been involved. He was a very good 2-year-old; perhaps a little better than he is given credit for being. Noel does not like to push them at 2, preferring to preserve them for the Classic races at 3 and bringing them along fairly moderately as he has done with Sig Sauer. I am naturally somewhat prejudice of course, but I think he was the best 3-year-old trotter out there this season. I will be somewhat disappointed if he does not receive the Dan Patch Award as 3-Year-Old Trotter of the Year. We shall see.”

You have spoken about the necessity to you of videos. What else do you look for in a trotting yearling?

“As I’ve told you, before I even arrive at Lexington, I’ve looked at the videos of all the trotting yearlings in the catalog. The same applies to Harrisburg. I can’t tell you what I look for in black and white, but I will say that by then I’ve eliminated at least 70 per cent of them. Most people place great importance at watching them move from the front and back. Of course, I do that as well. I place equal, perhaps more importance on a side view. Of course, I want a correct individual. Like great trotting trainer Chuck Sylvester, I want one that toes out, but not too much. Taking Chuck’s philosophy one step further, I want one that toes out on its left front, not the right. I’ve found that those that do can handle the turns easier. Why toeing out? Because if they toe out, the chances are that they will never hit their shins. I’d sooner have one that might come close to a knee than one that hits its shins. I also place great importance on a good head, particularly a great eye. I view the horse’s eye as a mirror to its soul. I believe I can learn about a horse’s character and perhaps its gameness through its eye.”

Noel trains as many, maybe more pacers than he does trotters. How come you don’t advise him on those?

“Two main reasons, both of utmost importance. The first is that my knowledge of pacers is severely limited. I know very little about them. But at the age of 65, I am learning a little and attempting to learn more. The second is that if as you say I am his ‘Trotting Guru,’ he already has his own ‘Pacing Guru,’ a man that knows at least as much about pacers and watching them move as I know about trotters. His name is Harvey Fried. His knowledge about harness horses in general and pacers in particular is unlimited. He is a true hidden resource. He is usually involved as an owner in all of Noel’s yearling purchases.”