Halo

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.

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.

During his stallion career, Halo became infamous for his sullen demeanor, and was known for his penchant to bite his handlers when they were distracted. On one occasion, Halo threw his stud groom Randy Mitchell to the ground and started aggressively biting Mitchell's stomach repeatedly, requiring multiple stitches. He was also allegedly known to drown birds in his waterbucket. As such, Halo was usually kept muzzled.

Halo was pensioned in 1997 and he died at Stone Farm from a heart attack on November 28, 2000, at age 31.

Offspring

Halo was the sire of:

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

Goodbye Halo – filly won seven 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

Saint Ballado – won 1992 Arlington Classic Stakes, sire of Saint Liam and Ashado

Southern Halo – Leading Sire in Argentina for eleven years, sire of 170 stakes winners.

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 which was estimated on $800 million.

Sunny's Halo – won 1983 Kentucky Derby

Grandsire of:

Agnes Tachyon – Leading sire in Japan (2008); sire of Daiwa Scarlet and Deep Sky

Answer Lively – 1998 U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old Colt

Pedigree

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