Sept 1, 2022 – Canuck Racing Club completed its first acquisition in Canada on August 31st at the 2022 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society Premier Yearling Sale and then went on to secure three more during the auction to bring its racing stable to 5 thoroughbreds.
“After two days of assessing potential alongside trainer Kevin Attard, I eliminated about 200 available yearlings and went into the auction with four high potential Canadian-bred thoroughbreds on our list,” said Donato Lanni, renowned thoroughbred agent and one of the club’s three managing partners. “Then we bought them all. There was a lot of excitement when we won the bid for one of the Top 2 fillies in this auction, but we matched it when we picked up the other one shortly after that. It was a great day for the Canuck Racing Club.”
Just after 1PM, the club made its first acquisition in Canada: an Ontario-bred Two Klassy-Souper Speedy bay colt. Souper Speedy is the #1 cumulative North American fourth crop sire by percentage of stakes winners and stakes horses and was the #1 sire in Canada in 2021 by average earnings per starter. He is a stakes winning son of Indian Charlie: an important sire of Champions and third place finisher in the Kentucky Derby.
Later in the day, the group pulled the trigger on its second acquisition of the day: a bay filly by Souper Speedy from HERES MUD INYR EYE. “There were several Canuck Racing Club members who had joined us to experience the auction and our first impression of this filly was honestly one of awe,” recalls managing partner Rob van Blokland. “Even as a yearling, she’s just beautiful, big, and oozes power. She was a standout and we can’t wait to see her race.”
Less than two hours later, the club struck again with a winning bid for Lanni’s other Top 2-ranked filly at the sale. This solid, strong, and very healthy-looking equine athlete was sired by Souper Speedy out of Mona Moon. Her breeder is Hill ‘n Dale Farms, a sales agency with operations in Kentucky and Ontario that has bred world class thoroughbreds and set world records in international auctions. Having contributed to the success of Hill n Dales’ Kentucky operation as Director of Bloodstock Services for 18 years, Lanni was very familiar with the quality of their stock and the care they put into them.
With only three horses left in the sale, Canuck Racing Club’s final target came up in Hip 203: a gorgeous Ontario-bred chestnut filly sired by champion grass horse English Channel out of Red Anna. “We expected this filly to go for much more than what we landed her for,” says managing partner Mark Halloran. “Donato was strategic in his bidding and the crowd sensed that he was going to get her no matter what.”
English Channel was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse and the leading sire of turf horses in North America including multiple-Grade I winner Channel Maker who won $5.3M in purses. His offspring have also been successful on dirt and synthetic surfaces. English Channel’s final victory before retiring to stud came at the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Turf where he set a race record and won by seven lengths. He was sired by Smart Strike, the leading sire in North America in both 2007 and 2008, sire of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, and half brother to Canadian Horse of the Year Dance Smartly. English Channel’s dam was Belva whose bloodline includes iconic champion and sire of sires Northern Dancer, the first Canadian-bred-and-owned horse to win the Kentucky Derby.
In 12 crops, English Channel sired 914 foals of which 675 were starters and 463 were winners that earned almost $66M in total purses. The list of Grade 1 race winners includes War Like Goddess and Last Call, both fillies purchased by Donato for only $30,000 each.
Hours after the close of the sale, all four Canuck Racing Club acquisitions were already on the way to Kentucky’s Margaux Farm, a premier thoroughbred facility spanning 640 acres in the heart of the bluegrass. “It’s the best months for grass in Kentucky and I wanted them all there so they can develop with a great team and grow strong,” said Lanni. “They all arrived no worse for wear and turned out well. Margaux told me they didn’t need an observation period after transport which shows they’re calm and mature. The three fillies were released into the same field together. They’re in great hands.”
“The Canadian sale was a big day for the Canuck Racing Club,” he added. “We’ll be adding to our racing stable in upcoming auctions in Keeneland and the Ocala Breeders’ Sales in October“