MUSCLES YANKEE -- Power, Precision & Performance

Power, precision and performance. Those adjectives would sum up Muscles Yankee's impressive demolition of his Hambletonian competitors on Saturday at The Meadowlands.

His power was overwhelming. He appeared to have trot left in a near stakes record 1:52.2 mile. As for precision, he looked like a well-oiled trotting machine through the stretch, avoiding the breaking habit which cost him so dearly at two. And for performance, the mile was the second-fastest Hambletonian heat in history, eclipsed only by Continentalvictory's remarkable 1:52.1 effort in the second heat of the 1996 Hambletonian. Muscles Yankee was simply awesome on this day in what has to date been a nearly perfect season for the son of Valley Victory-Maiden Yankee.

This is Valley Victory's third Hambletonian winner from only five crops of Hambletonian age. In 1994, in his first crop, he produced Victory Dream, one of the most courageous horses of this era, and then in 1996, he gave us the wondrous Continentalvictory, clearly one of the most sensational trotters ever produced. Valley Victory has never had the advantage of breeding a large book of mares due to his well-publicized fertility problems. Muscles Yankee is one of but 42 foals by Valley Victory in his 1995 crop.

Valley Victory became the darling of the trotting industry with his very first crop. They are uniformly good-headed, smart horses, who acquire their gait naturally, learn speed quickly, go clean and are, when they are very good, nearly unbeatable. The only knock on the Valley Victory offspring to date has been the threat of unsoundness. For example, the careers of Continentalvictory, Victory Dream, Donerail and others have been shortened due to racing injuries. But clearly, Valley Victory is a dominant sire in the mold of a Star's Pride, the leading sire of Hambletonian winners. Valley Victory clearly has a lot to offer to any broodmare.

In this case, Muscles Yankee is out of the Speedy Crown mare Maiden Yankee, herself a stellar performer with 13 wins in her two-and-three-year-old seasons, with a mark of 3,1:59.4f. She earned nearly $190,000. Her most prominent stakes win in open company was the Lady Suffolk at three and the Reynolds Memorial at both two and three. In addition, Maiden Yankee is a full sister to the good trotter Defiant Yankee 2,1:58.1; $172,290, who took his record over The Red Mile at Lexington winning a heat of the International Stallion Stake. However, his biggest win was at three, winning the 1981 Dexter Cup for Howard Beissinger in 2:01h. Defiant Yankee is a stallion whose stud career has puzzled us. He never really got much attention. He has, however, had his moments as he is the sire of the world champion trotting mare Beat The Wheel 4,1:51.4; $303,178, still the breed's fastest racing trotter.One of the most recurring themes in pedigree research is that a full or half sister to a good horse has a better than average chance of becoming a successful producer herself, even when she may have had little racing ability herself. It has happened again with Muscles Yankee.

Maiden Yankee, the dam of our newest Hambletonian winner, has had six previous foals whose collective earnings are just past $51,000. Still, the market for trotters is forgiving, and Muscles Yankee was a $200,000 yearling. My own notes on him as a yearling were that he had good size, was a little sickle-hocked, but had tremendous size and strength. He was a coarse yearling and he is far from a pretty colt now. Another of my observations on him as a yearling was that he appeared to be well-named, because he was indeed very muscular. Nearly two years of maturity have seen him develop into a massive colt, with a strong, well-developed shoulder and a tremendously powerful stifle and hock.

Another of my catalog notes remarked that this matching of a Speedy Crown mare to Valley Victory was the right cross, especially when the Speedy Crown mare also has a second dam by Noble Victory. If we examine the most outstanding production of Valley Victory, among his other top offspring to date have been Continentalvictory, Bullville Victory, Victory Dream and Donerail. The one thing all these have in common is a second dam by Noble Victory.

Continentalvictory is from a mare by Chiola Hanover, but her second dam is by Noble Victory. Bullville Victory, Victory Dream, Donerail and Muscles Yankee all have Speedy Crown dams with Noble Victory second dams. When a common thread begins to appear in a pedigree, we must take note. So, when this happened the first time, it was duly noted. When it happened again, it was even more intriguing. Now, it looks like the best way for this to work. It is made even more interesting when we consider that Valley Victory also has a second dam by Noble Victory, the good stakes filly Victorious Lou 3,T1:59. While many have espoused the success of the 4 x 2 generation cross to Speedy Crown in this and similar pedigrees, every one also has the 4 x 3 cross to Noble Victory also lurking there. There is clearly much more at work here than just the 4 x 2 cross to Speedy Crown.

Muscles Yankee is now Valley Victory's fastest racing son with his tour de force in the Hambletonian.Continentalvictory at 1:52.1 is still Valley Victory's quickest credit, with her arch-rival Act of Grace 3,1:52.3 not far behind. The fastest previous colt credit had been Lindy Lane at 3,1:53 in his heat of the memorable 1996 Hambletonian.

Let us consider for a moment, the presence of Speedy Crown on the past week of racing at The Meadowlands. His daughter Moni Maker once again asserted her class and dominance over the world's best aged trotters with a convincing pair of stunning wins in the Breeders Crown and the Nat Ray. Speedy Crown's 2yo daughter Rae was a steady, impressive winner of the Merrie Annabelle. His broodmares Margit Lobell and Starlet Crown produced Enjoy Lavec and Starchip Enterprise who were one-two in the Peter Haughton. His daughters Hildy Hanover and Montesquieu produced Fern and Kosmo Girl, who were one-two in the Hambletonian Oaks. Second in the Hambletonian went to David Raymond, a colt by Speedy Crown. Rarely, if ever, has a single horse so dominated a week of action. And, of course, it should be noted that Muscles Yankee, Fern and Enjoy Lavec are by three different stallions--Valley Victory, Sierra Kosmos and Pine Chip.

Speedy Crown mares have shown they can produce anywhere at anytime, giving them a unique status. It is impossible to say that a golden cross consists of a certain stallion with a Speedy Crown dam because the reality is that Speedy Crown mares are producing the world over. Europe is populated with prominent performers from Speedy Crown mares exported in the last two decades.

The maternal family of Muscles Yankee has been entirely created and managed by the Yankeeland Farms of Maryland, and this well-earned triumph is the first Hambletonian credit for this long-established and respected breeding farm. This is, of course, the same farm which produced such noted "Yankees" as Fresh Yankee, TV Yankee, Yankee Bambino and many others too numerous to mention. In fact, Yankeeland Farms has had a profound impact on both of the last two Hambletonians, as they not only bred Muscles Yankee, but also bred his first four dams, and bred the second and third dams of 1997 Hambletonian winner Malabar Man.

Muscles Yankee is the third straight Hambletonian winner to be from a maternal family that had not previously produced a winner of our biggest race, as both Continentalvictory and last year's winner Malabar Man were the first for their respective maternal tribes as well.

Muscles Yankee is from the family of Kit by Pioneer, one of the oldest in the breed that traces to the time of Hambletonian himself. There are a number of black-type performers in this immediate pedigree, including Smokin Yankee 3,1:58; $445,953, who is from Modern Yankee, a sister to Muscles' third dam. One of this family's most recent prominent credits was the good Valley Victory gelding Federal Yankee, a winner of nearly $300,000. Of interest to the pedigree researchers is that this maternal family is home to the trotting sire Rodney, who is a half-brother to Muscles Yankee's fifth dam. We now know that Rodney had a great impact on the breed in developing the sire line whose various branches led not only to Valley Victory, but also accounts for Speedy Scot, Speedy Crown, Speedy Somolli, Armbro Goal, Prakas, King Conch, Arnie Almahurst, Arndon, Pine Chip, Speed In Action, etc.

Muscles Yankee is clearly a star, and is headed toward the kind of season that produces a Horse of the Year. If he can maintain his current form, avoid the injuries which have beset the previous get of Valley Victory, and triumph in any or all of the remaining classics, he will be hard to beat in the year-end balloting. Ahead, lie the American-National, the speed crucible at Du Quoin in the World Trotting Derby, the historic Kentucky Futurity and the Breeders Crown in November.

Once again, the Hambletonian has produced a memorable winner, whose place in history looks just fine next to those who preceded him.