What The Hill continues to climb in stallion ranks

The international gait of trotting is one that has come on in leaps and bounds of late, particularly as the genetic influences continue to evolve with a variety of the best bloodlines from around the globe converging.

The cream invariably rises to the top, with the likes of Chapter Seven and his imperious son, Walner, Ready Cash and his gluttony of sons and now the great Muscle Hill whose son Tactical Landing is riding the crest of having sired two successive Hambletonian winners.

With that said, it’s especially easy to overlook some of the many trotting stallions that continue to punch way above their weight class. One such sire is the Hickory Lane & Woodlands dual hemisphere product in What The Hill.

His current two-year-olds are performing exceptionally well in North America. He stands in Ohio where this season he has 85 two-year-olds for 30 individual winners with total stakes of $1m to date. The filly Mocha Hill (What The Hill – Socha Hanover – Cantab Hall) has started five times with four wins and a second for $136,029, and his best boy to date is Whats Shakin (What The Hill – Broadway Sister – Conway Hall) with four starts for two wins and two thirds with $153,425 in earnings.

These two have helped propel the son of Muscle Hill to 5th on the 2YO money list, ahead of the likes of established stars such as Walner, Muscle Mass, Father Patrick and Cantab Hall. With four crops now racing in North America, What The Hill is the sire of $12,000,000 in progeny earnings with 34 $100,000-plus winners, six $250,000-plus winners and one $500,000 winner to date.

His best two performers in North America are Jet Hill 1:51.4f ($546,525) and The Mighty Hill 1:51.4f ($468,451).

What The Hill is the leading money winning sire of four-year-olds (his first crop) in New Zealand by over $100,000.

He is also second on the two- and three-year old money lists, having won the three-year-old list in 2023 with his debut crop picking up maiden G1 successes. He is now the sire of 38 individual winners and has the excitement machine, Bet N Win, looking like a major factor in the forthcoming Open Class spring classics.

In Australia, he is the sire of 10 winners including the G1-winning 2YO, Dreambigaimhigh and, despite serving comparatively smaller books, is yielding typically good results with 68% of his first crop already having raced.

Standing for a service fee of less than $6,000 in all three jurisdictions, What The Hill represents great value for money for anyone looking to breed a quality trotter.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink