Halo (horse)

Halo (February 7, 1969 – November 28, 2000) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and an important Champion sire.

Halo
Sire	Hail To Reason
Grandsire	Turn-To
Dam	Cosmah
Damsire	Cosmic Bomb
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1969
Country	United States
Colour	Black Bay
Breeder	John R. Gaines
Owner	Cragwood Stable
Trainer	MacKenzie Miller
Record	31: 9–8–5
Earnings	$259,553
Major wins
Lawrence Realization Stakes (1972) Tidal Handicap (1974) United Nations Handicap (1974)
Awards
Leading sire in North America (1983, 1989)
Last updated on July 2, 2007

Background

Bred in Kentucky by John R. Gaines, founder of the Breeders Cup, Halo was out of the mare Cosmah (who was the Kentucky Broodmare of the Year in 1974), which made him a half-brother to the Hall of Fame filly Tosmah. His sire was Hail To Reason, the U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old Colt and a great-grandson of the extremely important sire Nearco.[1]

Purchased by Charles W. Engelhard, Jr., owner of Nijinsky, Halo raced under his Cragwood Stable banner.

Racing career

After having little success at age two racing on dirt tracks, in his three-year-old campaign his U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer MacKenzie Miller switched him to racing on turf, where he achieved better results. Although never a superstar horse, Halo raced for four years and in 1974, at age five, won the Grade I United Nations Handicap.

Stud record

After retiring from racing, in 1975 Halo was sent to stand at stud at the Maryland division of Windfields Farm, where his progeny included Sunny's Halo and, through his mating with the mare Ballade, Devil's Bag, Glorious Song, and Saint Ballado. In 1984, new majority owners moved Halo to stand at Arthur B. Hancock III's Stone Farm in Paris, Kentucky, where he continued to produce notable offspring, the star of which was Sunday Silence. In all, Halo sired seven champions and 62 stakes winners including two Kentucky Derby winners. Twice, he was the leading sire in North America.

Halo was pensioned in 1997 and died at Stone Farm in 2000 at age thirty-one.[2]

Offspring

Halo was the sire of:[3]

• Sunny's Halo – won 1983 Kentucky Derby
• Sunday Silence – won 1989 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Breeders' Cup Classic. The U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee is the most successful sire in the world by progeny earnings
• Devil's Bag – won Champagne Stakes, Laurel Futurity, voted 1983 U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old Colt
• Glorious Song – 1980 & 1981 Canadian Champion Older Female Horse, 1980 United States Champion Older Female Horse, 1980 Canadian Horse of the Year
• Saint Ballado – won 1992 Arlington Classic Stakes, sire of Saint Liam and Ashado
• Goodbye Halo – filly won six Grade I stakes, earned in excess of $1.7 million
• Jolie's Halo – won three Grade I stakes, equaled track record in winning the Philip H. Iselin Handicap, earned in excess of $1.2 million
• Lively One – won Grade I Swaps Stakes, earned in excess of $1.5 million
• Present Value – multiple stakes winner, earned in excess of $1.1 million
• Southern Halo – Leading Sire in Argentina for eleven years, sire of 170 stakes winners.

Grandsire of:

• Answer Lively – 1998 U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old Colt
• Ashado – Kentucky Oaks, Breeders' Cup Distaff winner, 2004 U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old filly, 2005 U.S. Champion Older Female Horse
• Deep Impact – won 2005 Japanese Triple Crown, Japan Horse of the Year (2005, 2006)
• Devil His Due – multiple Grade I stakes winner, earned in excess of $3.9 million
• Heart's Cry – won the Dubai Sheema Classic and Arima Kinen
• Saint Liam – won Breeders' Cup Classic, 2005 U.S. Horse of the Year
• Taiki Shuttle – 1998 Japan Horse of the Year
• Zenno Rob Roy – Multiple Grade I winner, 2004 Japan Horse of the Year

Damsire of:

• Coup de Genie – multiple Group I winner, 1993 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in France
• Machiavellian – 1989 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt in France
• Pine Bluff – winner of the 1992 Arkansas Derby and Preakness Stakes
• Rahy – sired Champions Fantastic Light, Serena's Song and was the Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland
• Singspiel – won Canadian International Stakes and Japan Cup (1996), Dubai World Cup (1997). Voted 1996 U.S. Champion Male Turf Horse

Pedigree

Pedigree of Halo, black stallion, foaled February 7, 1969[4]

Sire Hail To Reason brown 1958	Turn-To b. 1951	Royal Charger ch. 1942	Nearco
			Sun Princess
		Source Sucree br. 1940	Admiral Drake
			Lavendula
	Nothirdchance b. 1948	Blue Swords b. 1940	Blue Larkspur
			Flaming Swords
		Galla Colors b. 1943	Sir Gallahad
			Rouge Et Noir
Dam Cosmah bay 1953	Cosmic Bomb dkb/br. 1944	Pharamond br. 1925	Phalaris
			Selene
		Banish Fear br. 1932	Blue Larkspur
			Herodiade
	Almahmoud ch. 1947	Mahmoud gr. 1933	Blenheim
			Mah Mahal
		Arbitrator b. 1937	Peace Chance
			Mother Goose (Family 2-d)

Halo is inbred 4x4 to Blue Larkspur, meaning Blue Larkspur appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

1. http://www.pedigreequery.com/halo Halo's pedigree and partial racing stats
2. http://www.stonefarm.com/halo.html Halo's profile at Stone Farm
3. http://www.galopp-sieger.de/galoppsieger/stammtafel_html?startPferd=HaloHail%20to%20Re&fart=&ftype=&tiefe=5&suchePferd=Halo&efil= Halo's progeny for five generations at Galopp-Sieger.de
4. "Halo pedigree". www.equineline.com. Retrieved 2018-06-03.