The owner from Toronto says he paid “high six figures” for an undefeated two-year-old Sportswriter colt that set a 1:58.1 track record at a fair in Iowa.

by Dave Briggs

Adriano Sorella has been actively hunting for good young horse stock for some time, but one of the last places the owner from metro Toronto expected to find a horse was in Iowa.

On July 12, Sorella paid “high six figures” for Jimmy Freight, a two-year-old Sportswriter colt out of Western Ideal mare Allamerican Summer that has won all five of his career starts and set a 1:58.1 track record on July 8 on the half-mile track at the Keokuk County Fair in What Cheer, IA. Adam Hauser was in the sulky.

Sorella said Jimmy Freight is on his way to Tony Alagna’s barn in New Jersey, will train on the weekend and then be off to Ontario to race in the next Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series event.

“Tony likes him,” Sorella said of Jimmy Freight. “A :58 mile at that fair track, that’s a big mile — very big.

“I think he could be a serious one.”

Jimmy Freight was bred by Alan Eden of Lone Tree, IA and Randell Eden of Conesville, IA and was owned by his trainer Rick Huffman and Carol Huffman of Sigourney, IA as well as Larry Mather of Webster, IA.

Jimmy Freight is a full-brother to four-year-old mare Frog Pond Princess that has earned over $125,000 racing at Yonkers, of late. Earlier in her career, Frog Pond Princess was campaigned by Alagna in Ontario.

“Marc Reynolds the agent found (Jimmy Freight), but we couldn’t get a hold of the owner. We even sent someone to the track to tell Rick Huffman that we had left messages for him,” Sorella said. “Then Tony Alagna called one of the owners and we got the deal done (Wednesday) night.”

Sorella said the day before he also paid $100,000 to purchase Lioness Hanover, a two-year-old Somebeachsomewhere filly out of Laughing Once More that won her pari-mutuel debut on July 6 at Harrah’s Philadelphia for trainer and co-owner Andrew Stafford.

As for Jimmy Freight, Sorella said, “I never thought I’d go to Iowa for one, but Huffman sold Joe Bellino that trotter Muscle Baby Doll. She was a 2:11 trotter there in Iowa. He brought her to Ontario for her next start and she won the OSS in :56 with Tony O’Sullivan training. He made nearly $400,000 with her.”