Winbak Farm’s “Name a Foal” contest returns to Mohawk on North America Cup Night

by Melissa Keith

When Winbak Farm introduced its inaugural “Name a Foal” contest in May 2011, it was a bittersweet moment. The first foal in search of name submissions from the public was the final offspring of Classic Wish, who died while giving birth to a Somebeachwhere colt overnight on March 17, 2011.

The great mare was inducted to the Goshen (2004) and Canadian Horse Racing (2010) Halls of Fame during
her lifetime. She raced for six seasons, taking her mark in a time trial at The Red Mile in October 1993, with
John Campbell in the sulky. Classic Wish encountered bad luck in her 2-year-old campaign, facing interference in her Aug. 10, 1992 Ontario Sires Stakes debut at Elmira Raceway and then becoming caught up in an accident in her next Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) start, Aug. 31 at
the same track. She nonetheless won wire-to-wire for driver Allan Cullen in her first start at Mohawk, on Sept. 14, 1992. Over her career, Classic Wish won 26 of 144 starts before making an even greater impact as a broodmare.

Classic Wish produced 12 foals as a Winbak Farm broodmare, joining the farm in March 1997 after being purchased by Joe Thomson for $42,000.

The Armbro Emerson mare started her second career with an all-time great first foal: 2001 O’Brien Horse of the Year Bettors Delight (p, 3, 1:49.4m; $2,581,461), born in 1998. The son of Cam’s Card Shark is also a Canadian (2007) and U.S. (2013) Hall of Fame inductee, for his Dan Patch and O’Brien divisional awards at ages 2 and 3, as well as his considerable legacy as a stallion.

Classic Wish’s second foal was the No Nukes gelding No Wishes (p, 5, 1:51.4z; $373,503), followed by Triple Crown and Breeders Crown champion No Pan Intended (p, 3, 1:50.3m; $1,581,735), voted Dan Patch 3-Year-Old Male Pacer of the Year, Pacer of the Year, and Horse of the Year in 2003. Roll With Joe (p, 3, 1:48.2m; $1,805,102) was voted the 2011 Dan Patch 3-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year. Classic Wish’s 11 offspring to race have earned a combined $7,459,538 on the racetrack, a remarkable record.

In May 2011, Winbak Farm honored Classic Wish by introducing a “name the foal” contest. Ten entrants submitted names for the late mare’s orphan colt; the winning entry was “Classics Greatwish.” All of the contest participants were sent a Winbak Farm ballcap. The farm subsequently welcomed nearly 100 public name submissions for a mini horse born that year.

Classics Greatwish (p, 3, 1:52.2f; $27,955) sold for $185,000 at Harrisburg as a yearling, but never reached the nearly-impossible expectations that came with his pedigree. The gelding retired in March 2017 after an off-the-board result in his final start at Northfield Park, and reached mandatory retirement age (15) this year.

The 2026 edition of Winbak Farm’s “name a foal” contest is coming to Woodbine Mohawk Park on one of its biggest cards of the meet: Pepsi North America Cup final night (Saturday, June 13). The foal in search of a name is a blaze-faced bay colt by top Canadian trotting sire Muscle Mass out of Clover Market, a Winbak-bred chestnut who made only three starts, all at Vernon Downs, before proving more successful as a broodmare.

Clover Market’s first two foals are the International Moni gelding Crypto Currency (5, 1:53.3f; $97,001) and The Bank gelding Market Banker (4, 1:54.2s; $66,462), who last raced at Mohawk in January 2026 and took his mark there on May 12, 2025 for driver Chris Christoforou and trainer Camilla Christoforou.

A partnership between Winbak Farm and Woodbine Mohawk Park means that Clover Market and her colt will be in a paddock in front of the Mohawk grandstand Saturday night (June 13), with Winbak personnel alongside to answer questions. Entries in the “Name a Foal” contest can be submitted by scanning a QR code with a phone on the night of the event; one of a select top 10 will become the colt’s registered name.