by Elizabeth Cheesman, Winbak Farm Public Relations & Marketing

Chesapeake City, MD — Winbak Farm sadly announces the passing of champion race mare Armbro Feather p,2,2:03.3h; 3,1:53.4; 1:51.3 ($1,454,927).

Born in 1984, Armbro Feather helped her dam, Bret’s Velvet, gain O’Brien Broodmare of the Year honors. Before her, Bret’s Velvet had produced six foals of racing age, only four had raced and the best, Velvet Dream, had made $153,484.

Her sire, Most Happy Fella, had already passed away by the time Armbro Feather was born. He had produced top pacing mares Silk Stockings and Tarport Hap in his first crop, but Armbro Feather, born in his last crop (12 years later), would earn more than both of them combined. She would also win 56 of her 90 starts.

A challenge to break, she refused to turn the right away of the track to go to the gate (a trait she never lost until the day she retired). She preferred no fuss and to be left alone. A horse with a mind of her own, Armbro Feather finished in the money in 91 percent of her starts.

At 3, she was the OJC winner for her division. She won the Jugette (in straight heats), the Shady Daisy Stake and the Reynolds Memorial. She was also the New York Sire Stakes champion.

At 4, she won the USHWA Dan Patch Award for older pacing mares. She won the Breeders Crown prep, two Clare Series legs and final, Hanover Stake, and Roses Are Red Stake. She was second in the Breeders Crown and Milton Stake.

At 5, she won the Breeders Crown, Clare Stake final, Milton Stake leg and final and Roses Are Red final. She set her lifetime mark of 1:51.3 at The Meadowlands when she won the Fillies and Mares Open. She won the Dan Patch and O’Brien Award for older pacing mare of the year in 1989.

When she retired from racing, Armbro Feather joined the Armstrong Brothers broodmare ranks. While a broodmare at Armstrong Brothers, Armbro Feather produced 11 foals, none of which came close to their mother’s earnings. Her best foal for the Armstrong Brothers was Us And Them p,1:51.4 ($265,036).

In 2003, Armbro Feather sold at the Harrisburg Sale as part of the Armstrong Brothers pacing mares dispersal. She was bought by Winbak Farm for $22,000.

She would have three foals at Winbak Farm, one that Armstrong Brothers bred and two that Winbak Farm bred including her richest earning foal, Get Jazzed p,1:53.2f ($323,631). Her other foal bred by Winbak Farm, named Clearly Foxy, is now a broodmare at the farm.

Her last years have been spent enjoying a well-deserved retirement with Winbak’s band of retired mares.