Rebuff colt Ponda Tuna tops Midwest Standardbred Horse Sale at $120,000

The two-day auction at the Indiana State Fairgrounds grossed $7.85 million.

by James Platz

The second edition of the Midwest Standardbred Horse Sale was held Thursday (Oct. 15) and Friday (Oct. 16) at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, and offered a catalog of 439 yearlings. Of that group, 420 sold during the two sessions, grossing $7.85 million and averaging $18,702. Seven yearlings fetched bids of $100,000 or more, with Rebuff colt Hip #317 Ponda Tuna topping the second session, and the sale, with a $120,000 final bid.

Rebuff’s second crop was in high demand due to the success of his freshman offerings. A group of 40 yearlings sired by the son of Muscle Hill passed through the sale ring over the two days averaging $29,650. Ponda Tuna, consigned by Pond-A-Acres, led the list. The second foal from Big Stick Lindy mare Perfect Stick, a winner of over $250,000 on the track, was purchased by Anthony Lombardi.

Next on the list for the sire was colt Supernatural from the Black Creek Farm consignment. Cataloged as Hip #267, he is the fifth foal from Kadabra mare Majic Trend, who has produced six-figure earners Pinecraft Nellie and One Dan Show, with freshman Great Commission earning over $50,000 this season. Lucas Wallin bought Supernatural for $105,000.

Rounding out Rebuff’s top sellers was Hip #393 Ponda Latte’ from the Pond-A-Acres roster. The filly is the first foal from Walner mare Sugar Shoppe, whose dam is Chocolatier mare Sweet Thing, a 16-time winner with a 1:53.1 mark. Adam Hawthorne signed the ticket on the filly.

Rebuff stands at Jeff and Maria King’s Victory Hill Farm, along with Swan For All and pacing stallions JK Endofanera, Rockin Image, Tellitlikeitis, and Sippinonsearoc, who was added in 2026. Perennial trotting stalwart Swan For All was represented by 61 yearlings and averaged $20,098, while offspring from JK Endofanera (46/$22,935 average), Tellitlikeitis (65/$20,154), and Rockin Image (31/$19,19,032) all sold well with a yearling sired by each topping the sales sheets. Only Rockin Image failed to produce a $100,000 sale.

“We’ve been very lucky there,” Jeff King said of Victory Hill’s sire lineup. “They still do well in sire stakes and do well in the finals, but eventually we’re going to have to find something new. What’s getting tough is my stallions are getting old. Swan For All’s going to be 21, Rockin Image will be 20, Tell’s 17, but they still hang in there.”

Victory Hill led all consignors in sale average, with a roster of 22 babies that sold for $970,000 and averaged $44,091. Among the offerings was Tells Rollin Again, Hip #198, a Tellitlikeitis filly that brought $110,000 near the end of the first session and led all pacers. A full sister to near-$800,000 winner Tells On A Roll, the filly was purchased by Burke Racing Stable. Swan For All filly Beauty With Grace, Hip #66, brought $100,000. The first foal from a Muscle Hill sister to four six-figure earners was purchased by Pat De Long.

De Long also signed the ticket Thursday on Swan For All filly Bluebird Grace, Hip #192, for $110,000. The filly is out of Chapter Seven mare Gracefilly Hanover, who has produced six-figure earner Exactly.

“We liked the pedigree on [Beauty With Grace] and we looked at her at the farm and she was all trot, so she was on the list,” De Long said. “And the other one is a Swan out of a Chapter Seven mare. She’s already produced one in [1]:52. So, they were our two favorites [Thursday] for trotting fillies.”

De Long added three more purchases Friday, spending $405,000 in total. Only Bet The House (11 for $472,000) and Tom Pollack (seven for $407,000) spent more. Pollack’s top purchase was JK Endofanera filly Blue Bonnet, cataloged as Hip #285, a half-sister to top sophomore pacer Somemore Blue. Raised and consigned by In-Law Stables, the filly brought $100,000.

Pat and his father, Bo, are longtime supporters of the Indiana program and the sale, previously operated as the Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale.

“Every year we usually have anywhere from four to seven homebreds,” Pat said before the start of Friday’s session. “So, we’ll still come here and pick some out. We don’t have any trotting mares yet. Maybe down the road, but we’re always kind of looking for some trotters. We kind of know what we have at home, so we know if we need to upgrade our stock or not when we come here.

“This year, for example, we know we want to buy at least four, maybe up to six or seven. It just kind of depends on how the price goes. But normally we try to have about a dozen yearlings between the homebreds and what we buy.”

While top progeny from established stallions garnered much attention, the debut for first crop stallion Loubet was also strong. A group of 27 babies representing the son of Sweet Lou sold over two days, grossing $609,000 and averaging $22,556. Colt Rocka Bye Lou, Hip #372, consigned by Premier Acres topped the list, bringing $75,000. The colt is a half-brother to freshman This Captain Rocks, a winner of just shy of $80,000 this season.

Jeff Fought, who stands Loubet under the banner of Cornerstone Stock Farm, was pleased with the stallion’s reception, and purchased the aforementioned colt. He noted that despite Loubet getting a full book of mares, many of the breeders in the first crop are also trainers, resulting in few yearlings consigned to public auction.

When comparing the business levels of 2025, the inaugural MSHS sale offered three sessions, including a third day with yearlings and a mixed catalog. The Gold and Silver sessions from the 2025 sale saw 494 yearlings bring $8.87 million in sales with a $17,958 average. When totaling all yearlings sold at the sale last year — 599 over the three sessions — gross sales topped $9.5 million, setting an average of $15,912.