Ontario stallion Cold Hard Dash gave Belinda Taggart one last holiday gift as the calendar flipped to 2023, by topping the American Quarter Horse Association's most recent leading sire by percentage of winners list.
The December edition of the American Quarter Horse Racing Journal provided updated sire lists as of Oct. 28, 2022, and Cold Hard Dash led the way with six racing age foals and six winners.
“I was flipping through and thought wow when I came across that list,” said Taggart. “That was then followed up by the major owners in the U.S. calling me and saying, 'Hey guess what? Your stallion is number one.'”
Cold Hard Dash is by hall of fame sire First Down Dash, and his dam This Snow Is Cold earned over $520,000 on the racetrack. So, a strong pedigree and support from the CHD Partnership have allowed him to produce strong racehorses.
“Our group of people have some awesome mares,” said Taggart. “I know from my other stallion that the best thing to do is to breed him to the best mares possible to get him started.”
One of his leading offspring in 2022 was First Cold Wave, who backed up a stellar freshman campaign with a sophomore season where he earned over $44,000. He posted a record of 2-3-1 from eight starts and won the Ontario Bred Derby at Ajax Downs.
Taggart has already fielded calls from breeders looking to send their mares to Cold Hard Dash in 2023, and was hosting prospective breeders for visits this past weekend.
“It's starting to look up, and hopefully we can increase the Quarter Horse population in Ontario,” said Taggart. “We're so glad we have him, and I'm astonished he's made the top of that list, and I just hope he can do it again.”
Click here to view the full rankings of 2022 Leading Sires by Percentage of Winners.
Click here to learn more about Ontario Racing's Quarter Horse Racing Industry Development Program.
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