PHBA - Champions

2009 PENNSYLVANIA-BRED CHAMPIONS

Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association has named its champions and leaders for 2009, based upon the unanimous recommendation of its Awards Committee.

PA-Bred Champion Two Year Old Male
Turbo Speed
Bred by Ronald and Betsy Houghton's Sylmar Farm
(c. Louis Quatorze-Minutes Ahead, by Proud Truth)

Turbo Speed won all three of his starts in 2009. He capped off his season with a 1 1/2 length victory in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes and earned $93,390 for the year.

PA-Bred Champion Two Year Old Filly
Listen In
Bred by Harry L. Landry
(Wiseman's Ferry-Listening Post, by Artax)

Listen In won two of her four starts in 2009 and never finished off the board. She concluded her season with a 4 length victory in the Blue Mountain Futurity and earned $92,020 for her connections.

PA-Bred Champion Three Year Old Male
Smart Bid
Bred by George Strawbridge Jr.'s Augustin Stable
(2006, Smart Strike-Recording, by Danzig)

Smart Bid won two of five starts in 2009, racing mostly on the West Coast. He finished second in the Transylvania Stakes (G3) at Keeneland and won the $100,000 Damascus Stakes at the Oak Tree Meet at Santa Anita. He completed the year with $121,200 in earnings.

PA-Bred Champion Three-Year-Old Filly
Best Lass
Bred by Diane Shashura
(2006, Werblin-Tejano's Love, by Tejano)

Best Lass won three of six starts in 2009. Her season was highlighted with a win in the $75,000 Prairie Meadows and finished fourth in Fall City Handicap (G2). She earned $120,695 during her 2009 campaign.

Champion Older Horse & Champion Sprinter
Fabulous Strike
Bred by Walter Downey's Tea Party Stable
(2003, g., Smart Strike-Fabulous Find, by Lost Code)

Fabulous Strike was named the 2009 Champion Sprinter and Champion Older Horse. One of the nation's fastest runners over the past several years, Fabulous Strike won the True North H. (G2) at Belmont and the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) at Saratoga. He also finished second in the Carter H. (G1) and the Vosburgh H. (G1), earning his connections $470,000 for the year and bringing his lifetime bankroll to $1,409,412.

Champion Older Female & Champion Turf Horse
Sahpresa
Bred by Douglas Mcintyre
(2005, Sahm-Sorpresa, by Pleasant Tap)

Sahpresa raced exclusively on the turf in Europe and earned the title of both Champion Older Female and Champion Turf Horse. She won two stakes on the turf, including the Kingdom Of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes (G1) at Newmarket and was stakes placed another Group 1 race and in two Group 3 races. In 2009 she earned $568,560.

Champion Claiming Horse
Tease
Bred by E.Q.B. Inc.
(2003, Crowd Pleaser-His Ex, by True Colors)

Tease won five of eleven starts in 2009 racing in mostly lower level claiming races. Tease was claimed three times during the year and continued to win for several different trainers. She earned $147,650 in 2009.

Champion Steeplechaser
Mixed Up
Co-bred by William Pape and Jonathan Sheppard
(1999, g., Carnivalay-Oh Nonsense, by Oh Say)

Mixed Up not only won the PA-bred award for Champion Chaser, but was named The National Steeplechase Association's Horse of the Year. The 10-year-old won four of his eight starts in 2009 including the A.P Smithwick Memorial (NSA-G1) at Saratoga and the Colonial Cup (NSA-G1) at Camden.

Leading Breeding Fund Award Recipient
Sylmar Farm (Ronald & Betsy Houghton)
Sylmar Farm earned $223,540 in Breeders' Awards in 2009. Their main earnings came from awards from Whistle Pig and 2009 two-year-old champion Turbo Speed.

Leading Overall Breeder Of PA-Breds
AUGUSTIN STABLE - GEORGE STRAWBRIDGE, JR.
Total earnings of $1,396,860 in North America and Europe for horses bred by George Strawbridge Jr.

Leading Stallion
PATTON
(1991, Lord at War(Arg)-Slew Me Down, by Seattle Slew)

For the fifth time in six years, Patton is Pennsylvania's leading sire. In 2009 he collected $59,961 in Stallion Awards.