Wingate Farm secures son of Cantab Hall for 2024

Fast As The Wind, a stakes winning son of Cantab Hall will be on a plane and headed for the New South Wales property of Wingate Farm this coming spring it was announced today.

Wingate Farm principal, Jake Stockton, was naturally delighted to secure the services of the blue-blooded prospect who served a small but select group of mares in 2024 after entering the breeding shed late in the North American breeding season.

“We have been looking at securing a well-bred trotter for a while now and to get a stakes-winning son of the champion Cantab Hall, and the richest one to come down in the flesh to boot is a pretty big coup for not only myself, but all of New South Wales and Australian trotting breeders,” said Stockton.

As far as trotting stallions go, few come better named than the royally bred son of Cantab Hall, Fast As The Wind 3,1:52.2 ($833,274).

Fast As The Wind was bred to be good being out of the stakes performed Muscle Mass mare, Wind Stroll 2,1:59.2; 3,1:55.4 ($86,320). She is the producer of six eligible to race, for six starters, with five of them being race winners including three with $100,000+ in earnings.

She is also the grand dam of 2023 Breeders Crown 2YO Fillies Final Champion, Warrawee Michelle (Walner) with her Yankee Glide daughter, Sound Check, producing three $100,000 earners herself with her first three foals eligible to race which also include the talented Testing Testing (Walner).

Fast As The Wind’s dam is also a half-sister to World champion and million-dollar-winning trotter Guccio 4, 1:51.1f ($1,017,232) and another stakes performed trotter in Lagerfield 3, 1:53.2f ($804,450)

The family tail lines have also produced favourably in Europe with multiple Swedish millionaires including this season’s G1 Svensk Trav Oaks winner, Adriatica (Bold Eagle), continuing on that fine legacy across the Atlantic Ocean.

Fast As The Wind’s sire, the late great Cantab Hall, needs little introduction as the producer of $123,924,463 in total progeny earnings in North America alone. His greatness is evident in the fact with his 17^th crop to the races, he produced this season’s richest 2YO trotting colt in TCI. His sire line is succeeding itself through the deeds of world champion, Father Patrick, Explosive Matter, Uncle Peter and the up-and-coming super sire, Volstead.

From the minute his trainer, Tony Alagna, put a bridle on him, the $95,000 Lexington Selected Sale purchase did nothing but impress the world champion trainer and those who sat behind him.

Fast As The Wind won his qualifier in his first look at The Meadowlands before winning his first two starts as a juvenile in 1:55 which included a leg of the Kindergarten Series.

He was third in the $293,000 Peter Haughton behind champion juvenile, King Of The North, before going to Lexington where he would ultimately disappoint connections after falling victim to a virus.

He returned to his New Jersey base where he recovered to finish second in the $600,000 Breeders Crown 2YO Final behind Rebuff where despite being drawn post 10, he was able to get within a half-length of the winner in a 1:55 mile.

Fast As The Wind backed that performance up by winning another leg of the Kindergarten Series in 1:55 before returning a week later and delivering again in the $300,960 final, once again in a 1:55 mile rate.

His pilot Dexter Dunn may have been locked for life with Fast As The Wind around the final turn, but just enough room opened at the pylons for the 3-2 favourite to skim through and nail the 3-2 second choice Coach K Hanover at the line. The withering final quarter was to become a trademark of the son of Cantab Hall as he continued to perform at the highest level.

A week later, Fast As The Wind dropped the mic on his juvenile campaign by winning the $413,000 Valley Victory in a new lifetime mark of 1:53.2.

FAST AS THE WIND VALLEY VICTORY REPLAY

Again in a tight spot in the straightaway, Fast As The Wind had a wide enough gap open ahead for driver Dexter Dunn to dash through and deliver as the 3-5 favourite, much to the delight of his trainer.

“He was good early, but then he got some sickness like a lot of our horses in Lexington,” Tony Alagna said after the race on the Cantab Hall colt’s continued bounce back in form.

“We left Lexington [and] he just started to come out of the sickness. Since he’s been back here at The Meadowlands, he’s been phenomenal. But early in the year, he was third in the Peter Haughton and we thought we had a real player until the sickness hit him in Lexington.”

He finished the season as the second richest male trotting juvenile behind only Dan Patch 2YO of the Year winner, King Of The North, with $556,007 in stakes and a record of 15 starts for five wins, and four placings.

He returned as a three-year-old by winning the second of his two qualifiers that season in a time of 1:53.1, before travelling north of the border to contest the Goodtime Series at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

FAST AS THE WIND GOODTIMES FINAL REPLAY

Fast As The Wind won his elimination from post five in a time of 1:53.2 where he was able to wire a talented field of sophomores by three lengths. He saved his best for the final where he produced a new lifetime mark of 1:52.1 after being camped off the speed and being fourth at the half to get over the top of his rivals and win the $251,000 feature.

Fast As The Wind will be available throughout Australia at a fee of $4,000+GST. No HRA stallion tax applies.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink