Volstead fillies quinella $150k Next Generation Final

I’m not saying he’s harness racing’s second coming of Walner, but the Swedish G1-winning son of Cantab Hall in Volstead sure is making a statement with his freshman crop.

Fresh off the back of a sensational debut win from his down-under daughter, Empire City, on Friday night (Jun. 30) at Addington Raceway against aged competition, Volstead has sired the quinella of the $150,000 Next Generation Two-Year-Old Fillies final at Scioto Downs tonight (Jul. 1).

What’s striking about the success is the fact that Volstead has only produced 94 juveniles globally from his first season at stud, 29 of those in North America.

Tonight’s success from the Eric Nesselroad-trained Jurassic Hattie has Volstead siring the winners of classic races in three different countries in the early part of the juvenile trotting calendar.

JURASSIC HATTIE REPLAY

Jurassic Hattie was able to lead from post four heading into the first bend and in the hands of Brett Miller, the pair were able to wire the field in a time of 1:56.4 for the mile.

The two-year-old filly is bred and owned by Ohio native, Jerry Welch.

“It was a great thrill to see a horse you have bred and watch develop win a race like the Next Generation,” said Welch.

“I actually brought her dam from a breeder that was selling some of their horses. She had a foal that did a real good job, so I went to the owner and purchased her,” he said.

Welch rolled the dice with the Dublin Valley Farms resident son of Cantab Hall when very few saw the potential, and has been handsomely rewarded for his foresight.

“I loved his pedigree, he looked like he was an honest horse and his confirmation was really good and I just felt like he would upgrade the mare. I bred three mares to him that Spring and we have two more we are going to start racing before very long. They are four or five months younger than ‘Hattie’, but they are showing a lot of potential. I think he is going to turn out to be one of those sires who really improves everybody,” he said.

In regards to tonights winner, it’s clear Welch and those associated with the promising filly have always had a lot of time for her.

“She has always been special from the time she was a foal, she was smart and she was willing to do whatever you asked her too. The trainer has liked her from the very beginning.

“The other Volstead baby (Sugar Instead) was the only one we were really worried about, but we were confident we could get out to the front. She doesn’t like to have anybody in front of her and she is very professional, when you put the harness on her, she has one thing on her mind and that’s racing.

“She is entered in the Buckeye Stallion Series with the first race coming up on the 11th, so we will head there and keep going one day at a time with her,” he said.

The other Volstead debutant in the $150,000 feature, Sugar Instead, was far from disgraced in second having secured a rails trip two back from the winner, managing to get within three and three quarter lengths at the finish in the hands of her former trainer, Ronnie Gillespie.

Volstead has had just shy of half (13) of his first crop appear in public, and with results like tonight it will be hard to see him doing anything short of a full book in future breeding seasons.

For complete race results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink