CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The breeding season will soon come to full bloom across Prince Edward Island and the Maritime provinces with a healthy roster of talented stallions paid into the Atlantic Sires Stakes.
Bruce Wood of Marshfield will stand three pacing stallions this season, including new arrival Arthur Blue Chip. A top performer in the Ontario Sires Stakes as a two-year-old, the son of Shadow Play will stand his first season on the East Coast at Woodmere Farms after a brief stint as a stallion in Ohio.
Wood will again stand Stonebridge Terror after breeding 55 mares in the 2018 season. The son of Western Terror has already sired stakes winners Half Cut, Tobins Terror, Chocolate Terror and Elm Grove Misty.
Rollwithitharry is also paid into the Atlantic Sires Stakes program, standing his fourth season after selling his first crop at public auction last fall. He bred 13 mares during the 2018 season and has 17 yearlings currently on the ground.
Blaine MacPherson of North Wiltshire has Articulator and Source Of Pride standing this season at Howmac Farms. The veteran sire has had Atlantic Sires Stakes standouts Ramblinglily and Touch Of Lightning and bred eight mares in 2018.
Source Of Pride is standing his third season on red soil with 21 yearlings and another 25 mares bred in 2018 with that crop to foal in the coming months.
Fearless Diablo is a newcomer to the ranks this year for owner Leigh Gavin of Tignish. An 11-year-old son of Art Major, Fearless Diabloa boasts 30 lifetime wins and $362,454 in earnings along with a mark of 1:49 over Hoosier Park in Indiana.
Gavin will also stand Proven Lover again in 2019 after the sire of Maritime champion Proven Desire bred five mares last year.
Malicious has been stamping himself as a top sire in Atlantic Canada with a number of stakes standouts from his first crop in 2018. The son of Bettor’s Delight will again stand at Windemere Farms in Hampshire after breeding 31 mares last season.
Dusty Lane Farms in Cornwall sees a change this year with only one pacing stallion in Pang Shui. The sire of Maritime champion Sock It Away was very busy in 2018, breeding 77 mares after three years standing in Western Canada.
Jamie MacKinley of Double J Farms in Cornwall will stand Hilarious Halo and Tobago Cays. Hilarious Halo will stand his third season with seven yearlings on the ground from his first crop.
Tobago Cays, a regally bred son of Rocknroll Hanover from the great Bunny Lake, had his first Canadian season in 2018 with 29 breedings after standing in Delaware.
Dawn Hubbard of New Brunswick will be standing Ultimate Luck on P.E.I. this season with the son of Camluck breeding a pair of mares in 2018 and has three yearlings on the ground.
Immachulate is the sole stallion from Nova Scotia.
Missing from the stallion ranks, after standing in 2018, are: Varadero Hanover, Westwardho Hanover, Cougar Hall, Image Of Dawn, Chief Exec Officer, Big Joe Plumsted and Western Paradise.
Nicholas Oakes' column appears in The Guardian each Friday. He can be reached at [email protected].
