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Eugene Melnyk has certainly done his part to help his stallion by breeding mares to Graeme Hall that produce winners.  Melnyk and Florida's leading sire Graeme Hall can add both add another winner to the list.  Zoares Land, owned by Melnyk Racing Stables, is a four-year old gelding who made his first start a winning effort at Penn National on January 26th.  Out of the Seattle Slew mare Llaro Court, the gelding ran like a horse that had won before, showing poise that belied his lack of experience.  He flashed speed when needed to press the pace then showed more when asked to move forward for the lead, taking the lead with over an 1/8th to go to easily score.  Zoares Land joins Half Moon Beach and Melverton as runners by Graeme Hall bred by Eugene Melnyk that have won in the last 4 days.  There are surely more winners to come from this combination as Melnyk has consistently bred mares to his stallion over the years. 

Graeme Hall has had 3 stakes winners in January of 2010.  He stands for a fee of $5,000 and is undoubtedly one of THE best stallion bargains in the country.  Call to book your mare to Graeme Hall.

Holler, a daughter of Strong Hope out of the great race mare Yell broke her maiden in her third try as anticipated at Turfway Park.   Going two turns last time out, she showed enough improvement that bettors installed her as the 9-5 favorite in her next start.  Those bettors were proven correct when she accelerated to take the lead in the second turn then easily strolled away to the win.  The filly was bred and is owned by Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider.  She is trained by Thomas Drury, Jr. 

Smooth Jazz, Greatness, Irish Road, Jump Start, Honour and Glory, Alex's Pal and the rest made a top showing Saturday at the Ghost Ridge Farm Stallion show on Saturday.  The show was extremely well done, exceptionally well attended
and fun was had by all!  Congratulations to owner, Tarry Braddon, General Manager Carl McEntee and the entire friendly staff at Ghost Ridge Farm in Pennsylvania.

"We're excited to send three mares to breed to top Sprinter, Smooth Jazz (sire of Millionaire Smooth Air) at Ghost Ridge. I know they'll be in good hands", said Alan Briggs who attended Saturday's event. 

The previous news entry on this site stated that Graeme Hall had started 2010 off with a bang when Poovey won The Sleigh Ride Stakes on January 4th.  Just a few days later, Graeme Hall continued the fireworks by having back-to-back stakes winners on the 9th and 10th of January.  On the 9th, Heiligbrodt Racing Stables' Hallway, a 6-year old horse bred by Brett Marti's Majestic Farm's LLC, won the Dixie Poker Ace Stakes for trainer Steve Assmussen.  Hallway is out of the Runaway Groom mare Silver Bride.  The next day, Iowa Derby winner Duke of Mischief, a 4-year old colt bred by Marilyn McMaster out of the Real Courage mare My Lady Amelia, made a thrilling run to defeat a field that included some formidable competitors in the  Ft. Lauderdale Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.  Duke of Mischief is owned by his breeder and a partnership that includes the colt's trainer David Fawkes and Alex and Joann Lieblong.  Graeme Hall has indeed started off 2010 with a bang with three stakes winners in just one week of January.  

Standing for only $5,000 in Florida, breeding to Graeme Hall just makes good sense.

Graeme Hall made a strong run to overtake the venerable Montbrook as Florida's leading sire of 2009.  He had a great year and would up in a virtual deadheat with Montbrook, falling just short in total earnings for the year.  Graeme Hall started off 2010 in full stride as his daughter Poovey won the Sleigh Ride Stakes at Philadelphia Park on January 4th.  The five-year-old out of Delirio by Jolie's Halo set the pace early in the 1 mile and 70 yard race and held the lead throughout, finishing with ease and a 1-1/2 length lead at the wire.  Poovey is yet another of a list of talented Graeme Hall progeny bred by stallion owner Eugene Melnyk.  The mare is trained by Bruce Levin and is owned by Repole Stables.  See chart.

Smooth Jazz's recent move to Ghost Ridge Farm might be a welcome change for the stallion by Storm Boot.  The Pennsylvania market has been drawing attention thanks to a perceived strong breeding incentives and lucrative racing, and Smooth Jazz would seem to fit the market.  Blessed with great speed, as his 0 (zero) Ragozin and 117 Beyer Speed Figure will attest, Smooth Jazz is a viable option for breeders who send their mares to foal in Pennsylvania and who are looking for a stallion for their mares to breed back to.  He is a solid option because he has proven from small crops that he can have a big horse.  His best runner is millionaire Smooth Air.  Smooth Air is a multiple Grade-2 winner who has won at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 - 1/8th mile.  Aside from having the bib runner, Smooth Jazz is among the best stallions by percentage of repeat winners.  The new kid on the block leads the top 15 Pennsylvania stallions with a 62% rate of repeat winners, this according to Bloodhorse.com statistics from November 21, 2009. 

Who's Up by Graeme Hall shadowed an overwhelming favorite throughout most of the race but shook loose when asked for run in the stretch to easily win the Grade-3 Generous Stakes on the turf of Hollywood Park on Saturday.  Off at odds of almost 10-1, the two-year-old colt out of the Is It True mare Divine Rocket, looked like a serious challenger from the start and remained a threat as the race unfolded, proving to be best at the finish by a comfortable 1-3/4 lengths.  Who's Up was bred in Florida by Andrew Cant and is owned by M Racing.  Graeme Hall continues to rise to the top of the leading stallions list in Florida and is among the well respected stallions nationally in many categories.   Breeding to Graeme Hall just makes sense.

Graeme Hall is among the best at siring repeat winners.  During the 13th and 14th of November at tracks such as Calder Race Course, Churchill Downs, and Woodbine, runners by Graeme Hall out of broodmares by Strike Gold, Dr. Adagio, Carson City, Montbrook, Mr. Leader, Distant Rider and Fortunate Prospect all added another win to their totals.  Seven winners in 2 days at distances from 5-1/2 furlongs to 1-1/16th mile over dirt and synthetic surfaces.   Versatile, consistent, and proven.  Breeding to Graeme Hall just makes sense.

With his top earner sidelined, Smooth Jazz has been having other runners picking up the slack as the millionaire Smooth Air recovers.  In the first few days of November, Smooth Jazz has had 4 winners at Woodbine and Calder.  Most notable among the winners is the 3-year-old Two Ninety Five.  The gelding out of the venerable mare Miss Evans by Nijinsky II got uncorked in the stretch drive of his allowance level 1 and 1/16th mile race on the turf at Hawthorne, going from last to first and pulling away to win by 3 lengths.  The Briggs/Cromartie bred Two Ninety Five is owned by a group of owners and is trained by co-owner Terry Young.  Th other winners were B.B. Jazz at Woodbine, Jazzaholic and Smooth Valentine at Calder.  Congratulations to all the connections.

Add two new winners to Strong Hope's growing list of winners in 2009.  Sangore. a gelding owned by Shelter Valley Farm and C. Walls broke his maiden by 3 impressive lengths at Woodbine on October 18th.  The C. Clement and Don Robinson bred son of the Anabaa mare Life covered the 5-1/2 furlong distance in a steady 1:03.95.  Sangore rated early and swung wide to take the lead with a furlong left.  He stretched his lead to 3 over his nearest rival at the finish.  The second winner also came at Woodbine.  On October 22nd, R Shining Hope broke his maiden in a seven-furlong event.  The colt laid back early and closed between horses to take the lead in the upper stretch.  He quickly took a 2-length advantage and moved steadily to stay ahead by that distance at the end of the race.  R Shining Hope was bred in Ontario by owner Iris Bristow. 

Strong Hope will stand the 2010 season for $5,000.  Call to book your mare.

Graemy and Who's Up are two names of runners by Graeme Hall who could be on the rise.  Both were impressive winners on the 23rd and 24th of October, respectively, and based on their solid performances, both look to be poised for class jumps.  At Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet, Who's Up, a colt out of Divine Rocket by Is It True, controlled the pace throughout the running of the day's 6th race, a one-mile Maiden Special Weight event on the turf.  The Andrew Cant bred broke well from the 3 spot and angled in early to set the pace.  He staved off challengers in the turn for home and widened to a 2 length lead as he hit the wire to record the easy win.   

The day before in an allowance event on the dirt of Laurel Park, another pace setter by Graeme Hall, this time a filly out of the Patton mare Catchy Patton, had to fight hard throughout the 6-furlong race to keep a pressing rival at bay.  The gutsy Eugene Melnyk bred simply would not give up the lead and willfully hung on to win by a head for her owners C and K Stables.  

Graeme Hall is among the leading sires in Florida and ranks at the top nationally by percentage of repeat winners and by rate of return on investment at two-year-old sales.  At any age, Graeme Hall runners keep winning.  The stallion stands for a fee of $5,000 in 2010.