After a season of near perfection that included six stakes wins, Daniel Lopez and George Chestnut's homebred Chub Wagon was named 2021 Pennsylvania-bred Horse of the Year at the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association's 43rd annual Iroquois Awards, held May 13 at The Inn at Mendenhall in Chadds Ford, Pa.
The richest state-bred of 2021 when banking $487,400, Chub Wagon, trained by Guadalupe Preciado, scored in eight of her nine starts at age 4 and was second in her only loss. After getting her first stakes win in the Unique Bella Stakes at Parx Racing in April by 7 1/2 lengths, she followed with wins in the Runhappy Skipat Stakes and Shine Again Stakes at Pimlico Race Course and Dashing Beauty Stakes at Delaware Park. She rebounded off a second-place finish in the Dr. Teresa Garofalo Memorial at Parx on Pennsylvania Day At the Races in August to take the Roamin Rachel Stakes against open company by four lengths two weeks later. She concluded her season in late September by winning the Plum Pretty Stakes in her first start beyond a mile.
A daughter of Lopez's homebred stallion Hey Chub out of the Lion Heart mare Takin The Plunge, Chub Wagon also took home awards for champion older female and champion female sprinter.
The evening's keynote speaker was Triple Crown-winning jockey Steve Cauthen, now a breeder/owner in Kentucky. The PHBA's lifetime achievement award for excellence in breeding in the state was presented to George Strawbridge Jr., who over the course of the past five decades bred such Pennsylvania-bred standouts as Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) winner Tikkanen and five-time grade 1 winner With Anticipation.
Other divisional champions were:
2-year-old female—Morning Matcha (Central Banker —Home Ice, by Iam the Iceman); bred by Crane Thoroughbred Services.
2-year-old male—Dance Code (Honor Code—Dancinginthestreet, by Street Boss); bred by Blackstone Farm.
3-year-old female—Leader of the Band (Bandbox—Catsuit, by Sir Cat); bred by SMD Limited.
3-year-old male and male sprinter—Beren (Weigelia —Silmaril, by Diamond); bred by Susan C. Quick and Christopher J. Feifarek.
Older male and turf male—The Critical Way (Tizway—Critical Factor, by Star de Naskra); bred by Blackstone Farm.
Turf female—Caravel (Mizzen Mast—Zeezee Zoomzoom, by Congrats); bred by Elizabeth M. Merryman.
The PHBA recognized State Sen. Camera Bartolotta (Beaver, Greene, and Washington Counties), Sen. Pat Browne (Lehigh County), and State Rep. Stan Saylor (York County) with legislator awards. Black Oak Farm, a Thoroughbred aftercare program and partner farm of Turning for Home, was presented the PHBA award of merit.
Additional PHBA awards were presented to Pennsylvania-preferred female Vault (Jump Start) and Beren (Weigelia) as top Pennsylvania-bred and -sired runners; Thoroughbred Makeover top Pennsylvania-bred Aiken Prep; and broodmare of the year Zeezee Zoomzoom, dam of Caravel and Iroquois Award 2-year-old male finalist Witty.
