Mike Carroll, co-breeder of 2007 U.S. champion female sprinter Maryfield and former owner of Grandview Farm, died Feb. 22 in Guelph, Ontario, the Canadian Thoroughbred reports. He was 72.
A lifelong horseman, Carroll began his connection to Thoroughbreds in the 1970s when he started working for renowned owner and breeder Robert Sangster. He joined E. P. Taylor's legendary Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario in 1980 as foreman of the broodmare division and worked there for eight years during the heyday of high-priced sales yearlings, most offspring by Windfield's breed-shaping sire Northern Dancer.
In 1993, Carroll launched Grandview Farm in Belwood, Ontario, which he operated as a breeding farm and broodmare operation until 2018. He raised dozens of top horses, including WellSpring Stables' 2021 Queen's Plate winner Safe Conduct for breeder Mitch Kursner.
Carroll also worked as a breeding consultant.
Maryfield, a daughter of Elusive Quality out of the Desert Wine mare Sly Maid, whom Carroll bred with friend John Harvey Jr., won 2007 Ballerina (G1) at Saratoga and the inaugural edition of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Monmouth Park in back-to-back races for owners Mark Gorman, Nick J. Mestrandrea, and Jim Perry and was voted the year's Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter. She retired with a 9-5-1 record from 28 career starts and $1,334,331 in earnings.
To read the full report at Canadian Thoroughbred, click here.
The post Carroll, Co-Breeder Of Champion Female Sprinter Maryfield, Passes At Age 72 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.