TRADE BALANCE IS PRODUCT OF A UNIQUE HERITAGE

Back in mid-July, I devoted a column to the unlikely successful stud career of Balanced Image, the leading money-winning trotting sire in North America for the last five years. The major points of that column were that 1) Balanced Image was an unlikely choice for siring stardom, because he did not meet the profile of a future siring star; 2) Balanced Image was from a sire family of small, mostly infertile animals; 3) like their sire, most of the Balanced Image offspring are aggressive, naturally-gifted horses with high speed and difficult personalities; and 4) despite all of this, Balanced Image is the sport's leading trotting sire.

This was once again on ample display recently in the 106th renewal of the Kentucky Futurity as the 124th Grand Circuit meeting at The Red Mile came to a close. Trade Balance, a son of Balanced Image, won the Futurity, ending the Triple Crown chances of Muscles Yankee, and adding yet another chapter to the wonderful history of our oldest stakes race.

A BACKGROUND THAT DOES NOT FOLLOW THE RULES

Trade Balance's story is an interesting one that shows again, that the path to an outstanding horse often does not follow the rules. Nature sometimes has a way of giving us a lesson in the uncertain world of genetics.

By now, the story of Trade Balance's lineage has been told many times. A son of Balanced Image, Trade Balance's dam is the Trim The Tree mare Lexi Tree. Trim The Tree was a world champion two-year-old pacer back in the early 1980's, winning in 1:53 3-5 at two for trainer-driver Dick Macomber. Trim The Tree is by High Ideal, a stakes-winning two-year-old pacer who was from the first crop of the legendary pacing star Bret Hanover. Trim The Tree's dam is the Meadow Skipper mare, Tinsel, later also the dam of the beautiful gray pacer, Laag.

Lexi Tree is a foal of 1988, and raced on the trot, earning a mark of 4,1:59 3-5f, with modest earnings of $11,642. However, her full sister, Proximity Three, a foal of 1985, had trotted in 1:56 at three, winning on the Grand Circuit, and earning more than $110,000 before being sold to Italy for a reported $200,000. Another full sister to Lexi Tree, Proximity's Tree, raced in Italy, winning in 2:00, and earning more than $300,000.

Further back in the pedigree, Lexi Tree's dam is the Speedy Crown mare, Proximity Two, who has had nine foals, including a current yearling filly by BJ's Mac. Lexi Tree was bred by Earl Laviana, who had owned Trim The Tree when he raced, and also owned Proximity Two. Despite being by Speedy Crown, Lexi Tree had shown an inclination to pace in her own training, although she never raced. It may seem incongruous for a Speedy Crown mare to be bred to Trim The Tree, but clearly the Speedy Crown influence was able to overcome the infusion of pacing blood.

NOTHING BUT TROT AFTER THAT

This was no doubt aided by the fact that the rest of the pedigree is entirely trotting-bred. The third dam is the Newport Dream mare Luscious Newport 2:01 4-5, a mare who herself earned more than $150,000 on the trot in the early 1970's. The next dam is the Dean Hanover mare Alfreda Hanover 2:02 2-5 and then the pedigree goes back to Alda Scott, a Scotland mare foaled in 1938 who became the property of Hanover Shoe Farms in the early years of that famous farm's operation.

Alda Scott had 14 foals for Hanover Shoe Farms, including Alfreda Hanover, the important link to Trade Balance. Her other foals included Agnella Hanover, a pacing record daughter of Nibble Hanover who later produced a number of successful pacers for Lana Lobell Farms. Alda Scott's best foal, however, was her 14th and last offspring, the good Star's Pride trotter Apex Hanover 4,2:03 1-5f; $147,433.

There is, in fact, a good trotter in nearly ever generation of this pedigree all the way to Trade Balance. Alda Scott produced Apex Hanover; her daughter, Alfreda Hanover produced Luscious Newport, who won $150,000 on the trot; Luscious Newport herself produced the good trotters Luscious Pride 3,2:02 4-5; $93,212 and Luscious Crown 1:58 2-5f; $74,866, the latter a full sister to Proximity Two, the second dam of Trade Balance. Proximity Two not only produced Lexi Tree, but also Proximity Three and Proximity Tree, as noted above.

For those of you interested in pedigree research, this is the maternal family of Jessie Pepper, from the well-known Queenly McKinney branch of that famous and historic family. The Queenly McKinney branch of this family has produced many notable horses, including Guy Abbey, the sire of Greyhound and the first Hambletonian winner Guy McKinney. So, yes, there is a deep trotting heritage to Trade Balance's maternal background.

Trade Balance was bred by Jukka Paljarvi and Mikko Laakkonen, who bred Lexi Tree to Balanced Image because they were interested in producing a structurally sound horse who was made very much like Lexi Tree herself. Paljarvi had admired the racing success of the Balanced Image offspring on both sides of the Atlantic and thought a potential mating of the mare with Balanced Image might produce a very good trotter. Trade Balance is Lexi Tree's second foal, and she has a two-year-old colt by Royal Troubador, a yearling filly by SJ's Photo, a weanling colt by SJ's Photo and the mare is back in foal to the same horse. She will be re-bred to Balanced Image in 1999.

BALANCED IMAGE IS TOP MONEY-WINNING SIRE

Balanced Image continues to enjoy his status as North America's leading money-winning trotting sire. His offspring have now won more than $43 million, and he is accumulating earnings at the rate of about $6-8 million per year. In 1998, for example, his progeny have already cleared the $6 million plateau with two and a half months left in the current season. He is also closing in on the production of 200 two-minute trotters. Balanced Image has also acquired a reputation as a leading young broodmare sire.

Trade Balance is a remarkably characteristic son of his sire. Like many of the Balanced Image offspring, he is a well-muscled, somewhat coarse horse with a strong shoulder, and a solid hind quarter. But he is also very tough to manage, as evidenced by his clearly aggressive racing style, and his refusal to stand following his victory in the Kentucky Futurity winner's circle, even after his sulky had been removed.

Trade Balance is no kid's horse, whose personality has no doubt tested the splendid horsemanship of his trainer-driver David Wade, already known to the international trotting community by his excellent management of the millionaire trotter SJ's Photo. Wade has clearly done another first-rate job in developing this difficult young horse, who earlier in the year had won the Dexter Cup at Freehold before a mid-season battle with unsoundness.

Trade Balance must now be a sound horse, as a careful examination of the win photos from the Futurity reveals the rather interesting fact that Trade Balance raced in the Futurity without any hind shin boots or coverage of any kind--no brace bandages, no scalpers--nothing! This is a pretty rare occurrence in a high-level horse and a testament to the purity of the horse's gait and his current fitness.

TRADE BALANCE IS A COLT!!

The other remarkable aspect of Trade Balance's situation is that he is a colt, and not a gelding. Among Balanced Image's most successful offpring to date, most have been geldings, including such well-known trotters as millionaires Glory's Comet, Goodtimes, and Impeccable Image, as well as Elitlopp winner Billyjojimbob, Armbro Marshall, B Cor Pete, Armbro Plato, Armbro Officer, etc. In fact, of Balanced Image's top 20 money-winners, 14 are geldings, four are mares, and only two are intact males--the nearly $1 million winner Earl and Trade Balance, who at 1:52 4-5 is his famous sire's quickest offspring.

Clearly, the fastest entire male offspring of the leading money-winning sire in North America, will have some stud horse appeal, and many observers have felt for some time that a son of Balanced Image would come along that would have the kind of success that would lead to the commercial hype necessary for a stud career. However, the fact that Trade Balance has a dam who is by the pacing stallion Trim The Tree is seen by many as a deterrent to interest from any major North American breeder in this horse as a future sire prospect. There has, after all, never been a successful trotting stallion in North America who had this kind of pedigree. The great Swedish siring star Zoot Suit, who was by Nevele Pride and from the pacing-bred mare, Glad Rags, is the only high-profile instance where the pacing influence did not seem to detract from the stud career. (As an aside, Glad Rags was by Greentree Adios, a son of Adios and thus from the sale male line that also produced Trim The Tree, the sire of Lexi Tree)

BALANCED IMAGE MAY HAVE THE SON HE NEEDS

Many observers here believe that Trade Balance's recent exploits are a cruel joke on North American breeders. Even if Trade Balance is not the horse that breeders here will clamor for, there may be a son of Balanced Image who would have that kind of appeal if he continues to impress. Balanced Image has one of the top two-year-old trotters in the Ontario Sire Stakes star Armbro Scorpion 2,1:57 3-5. Armbro Scorpion is trained by Bob McIntosh, who earlier directed the Breeders Crown winning career of Armbro Officer. Armbro Scorpion is a colt from the Super Bowl mare Armbro Whirl, from the lengendary family descended from the world champion trotting filly Impish. Armbro Scorpion has not left Ontario this summer, where he is king of that circuit's two-year-old trotters, but he is being aimed for the Breeders Crown, where he will meet the leading colts in what promises to be a classic showdown. Armbro Scorpion does not yet have Trade Balance's remarkable success to propel him into the prospective stallion ranks, as pondering the future stallion career of a late-season two-year-old trotter is not a productive use of our time. There are too many big races and too many dates with destiny that lie ahead, but Armbro Scorpion does have the kind of pedigree that would attract the attention of the major breeders.

However that drama turns out, Trade Balance has already been there, and what fun it has been to watch him!!