A yearling sired by New Jersey's Walner set a new record at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale in Kentucky. Rani Hanover, the first foal of 2020 Hambletonian winner Ramona Hill, was sold for $925,000.
Walner's offspring led individual gross sales, totaling $8.9 million from 51 yearlings. Other New Jersey sires also performed well; Muscle Hill's 35 offspring sold for $4.3 million and Tactical Landing's 37 offspring fetched $3.25 million. All three sires stand at Southwind Farms in Pennington, Mercer County.
"The prices New Jersey-bred yearlings generated demonstrate the respect the racing industry has for the work of New Jersey breeders," said NJDA Secretary Ed Wengryn. "These prices are a direct benefit of the Governor and Legislature committing to long-term investment in horse breeding and racing in New Jersey."
On Day 1 of the sale, Walner led with 27 yearlings selling for nearly $6.3 million while Muscle Hill ranked third with sales of nearly $2.2 million from 11 yearlings. On Day 2, Walner was second with over $2 million from 15 offspring sold; Tactical Landing followed with sales totaling $1.61 million from 12 horses, and Muscle Hill trailed closely behind.
Walner's offspring achieved the highest average sale price at $175,216 each; Muscle Hill averaged third at $124,257 per horse while Tactical Landing averaged seventh at $87,784.
The auction saw a total of 911 yearlings sold for approximately $65.7 million, averaging about $72,132 per horse.
Concord Stud Farm from Cream Ridge in Monmouth County ranked fourth among consignors with an average price of $111,542 for its 24 yearlings.
Walner is a former world champion known for winning nine out of ten lifetime starts including major races like the Breeders Crown and Stanley Dancer Memorial held at Meadowlands Racetrack. He has sired six trotters that have won over a million dollars each.
Muscle Hill is another former world champion who boasts an impressive career record with only one loss out of twenty-one starts and numerous prestigious titles including Horse of the Year in 2009.
Tactical Landing has also proven successful as both competitor and sire—he won the Breeders Crown as a three-year-old—and is related to notable champions like Mission Brief.
