What a beautiful foal, finally!

Despite a harness racing history of throwing “not so pretty babies,” the SJ’s Caviar mare Arrowstar 3, 1:59.4f ($19,350) has redeemed herself with this year’s foal, a strapping black son by Play Trix On Me 4, 1:50.4 ($640,517), a son of the outstanding trotter Trixton.

The youngster was foaled mid-April at Kim and Randy Haines’ Cool Winds Farm, located on the relatively flat landscape of northwestern Ohio.

“We bought Arrowstar in 2020, the year they moved the Harrisburg Sale to Maryland because of the Covid pandemic,” Kim Haines reported.

Bred by Richard and Regina Beinhauer of Ventia, PA, Arrowstar is now owned by Haines and Spaaaartners of Ballston Spa, NY.  The daughter of SJ’s Caviar 3, 1:53.4 ($1,288,466), is out of Sierra Belle 3, 1:57.2f ($149,574), a daughter of Sierra Kosmos 3, 1:53.4 ($1,288,466).

Her lineage goes back to Super Bowl 3, 1:45.2 ($601,006) and Nevele Pride 4, 1:54.4 ($873,350) on both sides of her pedigree, and thus far she has five previous foals, including the 4-year-old Action Shot (by International Moni) 2, 2:02h; 3, 1:58f ($88,935).

“We liked the mare because of that horse,” Kim stressed. “He raced mostly in the fair races and made really good money.”

Arrowstar also has a 2-year-old in Cora (by Coraggioso) filly & a 2023 Ready For Moni filly named Mymonisonlucy.

Play Trix On Me stood in Indiana for his first season, breeding 15 mares who delivered four foals in 2023.  Last year was his first season breeding mares in Ohio, where he stood at Cool Winds Farm, servicing 18 mares, including Arrowstar.

Bred by Steve Jones of Montgomery, NY, Play Trix On Me was the fourth of five foals out of the Credit Winner 3, 1:54 ($1,493,295) mare Pacific Legacy 2, Q20:02.3f ($13,727). Play Trix On Me is a full brother to the gelding Bordogna 4, 1:54.2 ($189,227) and a half-brother to Chapter Seven gelding Iron Dome 3, 1:55.1f ($64,420) and to the Muscle Hill mare Muscle Playmate 3, 1:56.1f ($28,900).

Play Trix On Me sold for a paltry $4,500 at the 2018 Goshen, IN yearling sale, and was sold several time before being purchased by Renee Spahr of Paris, KY, who owned the youngster throughout his racing career, until she sold him to Buckstone Land livestock of York, PA on May 1, 2021. They in turn, sold him to Urie Byler of Middlefield, Ohio, on Nov. 14, 2022, and rumor has it that a deal is being worked out to send him to Australia.

Play Trix On Me was a tough racehorse—winning five of six starts at 2 and earning $122,100 with a Red Mile qualifying effort of 1:53.2.  As a sophomore he prevailed in New Jersey Sires Stakes competition and was a nose second to Amigo Volo in the $500,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Trot Final at Hoosier Park.  He added another $433,843 to his coffers that season, and at 4, took a career mark of 1:50.4 at The Meadowlands.

“Play Trix On Me has a great disposition, he’s well behaved and very handsome,” Kim offered. “He just hasn’t gotten the mares here that we thought he would. This mare—Arrowstar—has always had big growthy, not-so-pretty things and this by far is her most handsome foal.”

Kim and Randy met while both were undergraduate students in the agricultural program at The Ohio State University, and both received their degrees in 1992.

“Randy started working for Dr. Steiner (of Ohio’s Steiner Stock Farm) in November of 1993, and at the time I was working for a packaging company,” Kim said. “It was always kind of a goal of ours to eventually have our own breeding farm, and we finally got the opportunity to do that in 2002.”

Kim and Randy purchased 40 acres of land just outside of Lima and began their quest to become one of Ohio’s top breeding farms—at which they’ve succeeded.

“In total we have about 100 mares here and 60 to 70 babies,” she said. “Right now, we’re about halfway through the breeding season and raising the foals and seeing them develop is definitely the best part of having the farm.”

Like most breeding farms in modern times, the Haines also face well-known challenges.

“Finding good help is always a challenge,” Kim offered. “And during the really bad winter months of bad weather, you kind of wish you lived in Florida. Also, the cost of everything going up has definitely made life more difficult for all of the breeders. We are very lucky in that we have a great hay guy, who we started buying hay from since Randy worked at Steiners, and he’s never raised our prices since then.  That definitely helps from a financial standpoint.”

The Haines stand three other stallions besides Play Trix On Me: Southwind Ozzi p 3, 1:48 ($1,132,645); Dancin Yankee p,1:47.2 ($2,003,907); and Western Fame p, 3, 1:50.1h ($1,931,775).

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink