Broodmares of the Year

The late trotting mare Yankee Windsong and the pacing mare Windsun Dee have been elected as the winners of the Broodmare of the Year Award as voted by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.



The awards are given to two broodmares, one of each gait, whose offspring had an extraordinary season. The connections of both mares will receive a trophy at the USHWA/USTA Dan Patch Awards Dinner, to be held at Caesars in Atlantic City on Sunday, Feb. 13.



Yankee Windsong, a daughter of Prakas out of the Hickory Pride mare Yankee Scottie, did not distinguish herself on the racetrack and produced only four foals. She died the same year her final foal was born, but in producing him achieved immortality. Named Windsong's Legacy in her memory, the son of Conway Hall-Yankee Windsong became the first trotter in 32 years to win the Triple Crown and also set a single season's earnings record of $1.7 million.



A top contender for Horse of the Year, Windsong's Legacy swept the Triple Crown races--the $1 million Hambletonian, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity--plus the other three major stakes in which he raced in June from October, the Goodtimes, Stanley Dancer and Canadian Trotting Classic.



The last Triple Crown winner was Super Bowl in 1972, and, ironically, when bred to Yankee Windsong, he produced Moonlight G, now seven and still racing. Though the iron-tough trotter raced in the shadow of his more accomplished half brother, he has made $11,415 this year, and was also joined by the 4-year-old Pacific Cheers, sired by Balanced Image. Yankee Windsong's three racing sons gave her a 2004 broodmare earnings total of $1,727,100.



The ill-fated Yankee Windsong was owned by the Windsong Stable of York, Pa., which consists of Hanover Shoe Farms Vice President Paul Spears and his wife Josephine; son Dr. "Pete" Spears and daughter and son-in-law Patricia and Shaun Eisenhauer.



Windsun Dee, a daughter of On The Road Again from the Keystone Ore mare Lap Dog, was well represented on the racetrack in 2004 by her first two sons, Four Starzzz Shark and Silver D Moon.



A $33,000 yearling purchase by the Four Starzzzz Stable in 1999, Four Starzzz Shark, a son of Cam's Card Shark was always a top campaigner, but exploded as a 6 year old. The "Shark" is a finalist in the Dan Patch older pacer category, and simply devastated his competition this year, winning nine of 11 races, including the finals of the Classic, Graduate, Haughton, Molson Pace and his Breeders Crown elimination. He was trained by Dave Sabatelli.



His seventh-place finish in the Crown, a harbinger of a lung infection that precipitated his eventual retirement, was the only time The Shark was off the board in 2004. He was the fastest pacer of the year, equaling the race mile world record of 1:47.4 for older horses and was second in his age group for earnings with $766,945.



Four Starzzz Shark was joined on the racetrack last year by younger brother, 5-year-old Silver D Moon, a top class son of Run The Table. Owned by Gregg Pistochini and trained by Mark Harder, Silver D Moon lowered his mark to 1:49.2 at the Meadowlands, two weeks after his brother paced his 1:47.4.



Silver D Moon won six races and $106,659 in 2004, giving Windsun's Dee a broodmare credit of $873,604 for the year and $2,888,591 lifetime from her two racing foals.



Windsun Dee is owned by Harley Harkness' Windsun Farm in Uxbridge, Ontario. Her first foal, Four Starzzz Shark, was originally named David Lloyd George after Harley's father.

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