by Dean A. Hoffman

The pedigree of Miss Wisconsin, Merrie Annabelle winner, and Keystone Savage, Peter Haughton Memorial winner, have several things in common.

• Both were sired by sons of Valley Victory out of a Speedy Crown mare.

Miss Wisconsin is by Muscles Yankee, who is by Valley Victory out of Maiden Yankee by Speedy Crown.

Keystone Savage is by Yankee Glide,who is by Valley Victory out of Gratis Yankee by Speedy Crown.

Both Muscles Yankee and Yankee Glide were bred and sold by Yankeeland Farm.

• Both Miss Wisconsin and Keystone Savage pick up additional Speedy Crown blood from their dams.

Miss Wisconsin is out of a mare by Rule The Wind, a son of Speedy Crown.

Keystone Savage is out of a mare by Speedy Crown.

• The second dams of both Miss Wisconsin (Classical Design) and Keystone Savage(Sandra S. Hanover) are both by Super Bowl.

• Both Miss Wisconsin and Keystone Savage are from maternal families that have deep roots in trotting stakes and are identified with the success of Walnut Hall Farm in the last century.

• Both Miss Wisconsin and Keystone Savage are the sixth foal from their dams. The dam of Miss Wisconsin was foaled in 1991 and the dam of Keystone Savage was foaled in 1992.

One notable difference between the Merrie Annabelle winner and the Peter Haughton Memorial winner is their yearling sale prices. Miss Wisconsin went through the ring for $150,000 while Keystone Savage was a bargain at $12,000.

Miss Wisconsin

USTA Photo

Muscles Yankee, the 1998 Hambletonian winner.

Miss Wisconsin is by Muscles Yankee, the 1998 Hambletonian winner and the sport’s leading sire now. She is out of Classical Beth, the proud property of Linda and Andrew Fabian of McMurray, Pa. The Fabians have been faithful supporters of this maternal family for many years and breeding a Merrie Annabelle winner is a major payoff for them.

Miss Wisconsin isn’t the first good filly to come from Classical Beth. Her first foal was the fast Sierra Kosmos filly Miss Nittany 4, 1:57.1f ($224,263). Classical Beth is also the dam of the Self Possessed fillies Miss Athens 3,1:57.3f ($83,419) and Miss Milwaukee 3, Q1:57.1 ($2,790).

The Fabians go back several generations with this family to the mare Killbuck Rosella (Noble Victory-Rosella) who was the dam of Dr. Fabe 3, 1:58.3f ($302,847).

A Speedy Crown daughter of Killbuck Rosella produced McCluckey 3,1:54.1 ($430,388), dead-heat winner of the 1992 Yonkers Trot.

Beyond Killbuck Rosella the family goes back to mares that were the mainstay of Bob and Hank Critchfield at Gay Acres Farm in Wooster, Ohio.

The maternal family is that of Mamie, which was a source of enduring strength for Walnut Hall Farm for many decades. It is a family that produced Hambletonian winners like The Marchioness, The Ambassador, and The Intruder.

Keystone Savage

Keystone Savage is a son of Yankee Glide, winner of the Peter Haughton Memorial himself and sire of last year’s Haughton winner in New York Yank.

His dam Keystone Suzie Q was trained by the top Ohio horseman Dave Rankin, but accomplished little on the track and went back to Hempt Farms as a broodmare. Prior to Keystone Savage, her best foal was the Donerail trotter Keystone Quinn 4,1:55.2 ($75,196).

USTA Photo

Yankee Glide, winner of the Peter Haughton Memorial himself and sire of last year’s Haughton winner New York Yank.

Since his sire, Yankee Glide, is out of a Speedy Crown mare and his dam, Keystone Suzie Q, is by Speedy Crown, Keystone Savage has a 3×2 cross to that great trotting sire.

Keystone Suzie Q was sold to German owner Alvin Schockemoehle earlier this year.

One reason that Keystone Suzie Q appealed to Dave Rankin is that he had raced her older sister, Keystone Santa Fe, to earnings of $189,296. The daughter of Prakas took her 1:55.4 mark as a 3-year-old winning the 1991 Kentucky Futurity Filly Div.

Keystone Santa Fe was by far the best foal from her dam, Sandra S. Hanover, who was one of 21 foals (including 13 fillies) from Spry Hanover by Hoot Mon.

Spry Hanover was a goldmine for her breeder Hanover Shoe Farms because she produced both quality and quantity, including five $100,000 winners.

The best was Quick Pay, who denied his stablemate Steve Lobell the Triple Crown in 1976 when he won the Kentucky Futurity for the late Peter Haughton, namesake of race won Thursday night by Keystone Savage. Quick Pay earned $372,613 before being exported to Sweden, where he became a very good sire.

Spry Hanover also produce Spitfire Hanover, winner of the Yonkers Trot in 1974.

A daughter of Spry Hanover produced Gleam, winner of the ’94 Hambo Oaks for owner Mal Burroughs.

If you follow this family back a few generations you’ll encounter Evensong, one of the greatest broodmares of the pre-1950 era. She produced such greats as Hambo winner Volo Song, his brother Victory Song, and the dam of the 1950 Hambo winner Lusty Song.

Evensong’s yearlings were the hottest commodities in harness racing in the 1940s and she generated a lot of revenue for Walnut Hall Farm. She is buried on property that is now part of the Kentucky Horse Park.