It is with profound regret and sadness that Tara Hills Stud in Port Perry, Ont. reports that pacing stallion Mach Three was euthanized Friday morning (January 20) at Alabar Farms in Waiau Pa, New Zealand following a paddock accident.
The 18-year-old, who is the sire of the legendary Hall of Fame racehorse and stallion Somebeachsomewhere ($3.3 million, 1:46.4 world record), suffered a broken leg in his paddock and had to be put down.
“The stallion handler went out to Mach Three’s paddock at Alabar Farms in New Zealand and found him lying there not able to get up. After an examination from the vet, they found Mach Three had a fractured tibia. There was nothing they could do and had to put the horse down,” said Tara Hills owner David Heffering, who was devastated by the news. “My staff is torn apart and wrecked by this. He was part of the family… This is family that’s died.”
The news came the same day Tara Hills announced Mach Three’s North American book was full and closed for 2017 at 140 bookings.
Mach Three has produced 1,297 offspring to date, with total progeny earnings of nearly $103 million by Standardbred Canada accounting and $97.5 million by USTA records. Standardbred Canada has Mach Three’s progeny’s average earnings per starter at $112,034 ($103,126 by USTA records). The stallion produced 298 horses that earned $100,000 or more and 105 that earned more than $250,000. He produced 437 horses than had a 1:55 mile, 274 that had a 1:53 mark and 30 that had a sub-1:50 mile.
“He is one of the biggest building blocks in making Tara Hills,” Heffering said.
A son of Matts Scooter out of All Included, Mach Three was owned by the Muscara Racing Trust of Ivyland, Pennsylvania. The late Joe Muscara Sr. of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania purchased the pacer in May of Mach Three’s sophomore season from Linda Magid of Cambridge, Ont., the widow of the pacer’s breeder, Karl Magid.
Under the tutelage of Brett, Shawn and Bill Robinson, along with Monte Gelrod, Mach Three posted a record of 7-2-0 in nine starts at two in 2001 and won the $1.1 million Metro Pace at Woodbine Racetrack in 1:51.4. The following year, Mach Three won the $1 million Meadowlands Pace in a career-best 1:49. At three, Mach Three had a record of 11-2-2 in 18 starts to give him a career record of 18-4-2 in 27 starts and earnings of $2,376,700. Mach Three was predominantly driven by Randy Waples at two and John Campbell at three.
Mach Three stood his entire career at Tara Hills Stud in the northern hemisphere and Alabar in the southern hemisphere. His first foals hitting the ground in 2004.
“The Muscaras have been friends forever,” Heffering said. “They’re taking it very hard. All of us know this can happen in the livestock business, but their father passed away a few years ago and this is part of their dad’s legacy to carry on. Young Joe had [gone] down to New Zealand to visit the horse down there. They are very close to their horses.”
Heffering said in 2016 that Mach Three contracted pneumonia and nearly died.
“Still, clients stayed with us and we still bred 111 to him last year with good fertility,” he said, adding that the Muscara family offered discounts to clients for the inconvenience. Now that Mach Three has died, Heffering said those impacted by his death will be offered discounts to breed to another of the Muscara-owned stallions. Other stallion owners with studs at Tara Hills have stepped up to also offer discounts, Heffering said. Call Tara Hills for more information at (905) 985-7770.
Meanwhile, Heffering said Mach Three will be buried in New Zealand.
“We knew that someday he probably wouldn’t be coming back here. We talked about him retiring one day and staying in New Zealand… where most of the time the weather is pretty nice and there’s nice green, lush pastures,” Heffering said.
(Tara Hills Stud)
