The Hambletonian sire

A rugged black colt, Hoot Mon became known as the Hambletonian winner who sired four winners of the same race, earning him nickname the nickname of “the Hambletonian sire.”

His story in the limelight start in January 1946 when the railbirds started talking; Hoot Mon was one of the fresh two-year-olds reported to have gone a quarter in 39 1/2 seconds. Three months later the newspapers wrote the following when Fred Egan took his stable from their winter training in Aiken, SC to Goshen: “although six Hambletonian eligibles will be among the twelve Egan brings in tonight, the most talked of trotter he’ll put in the barn at the Mile Track three-quarter pole where Doc Parshall used to stable his horses, is Hoot Mon, a two-year-old. The black son of Scotland out of Missey by Guy Abbey, the sire of Greyhound, is said to have really amused the railbirds at Aiken and much is expected of him.”

Making his debut at Old Orchard Beach on Jul 11, 1946, Hoot Mon finished second to Maine-owned Scotty McElwyn, the latter winning both heats ahead of the black colt in 2:12 1/2 and 2:11 1/4 (1.22,3 and 1.21,4). He was one of the best in his crop early, but still a little behind the best. In early August he played second fiddle to Rodney who won both heats in the Tompkins Memorial, and in mid-August he was third to Way Yonder who won both heats of The Greyhound Stake at Springfield, IL. With those two gone he easily won the American Stake at Milwaukee on Aug 20, 1946 in 2:07 and 2:07 3/4 (1.18,9 and 1.19,4) after leading both from start to finish. Exactly a week later he won the DuQuoin Fair Harness Stake and when winning the second heat also lowered the season mark for two year olds to 2:05 1/2 (1.18,0).

An expensive purchase

Later that day, breeder Charles Phellis sold Hoot Mon to the Castleton Farm Stables/Frances Dodge Johnson for $50,000. As Sep Palin was training for Castleton, Hoot Mon was then moved to his stable. The newly purchased colt started the repayment almost immediately when he won the Horseman Stake at Indianapolis on Sep 5. As Palin had another trotter in this race, Volotone – who finished second, Egan got one last drive on Hoot Mon. In their article, the Indianapolis News wrote that “Way Yonder scored from the pole in the first position and Tom Berry had him trotting in front of the pack going into the first turn. There he broke and never was a factor in the heat thereafter. Hoot Mon led at every post to win in 2:10 1/4 (1.21,0) without being extended. In the second heat Way Yonder got in front again and stayed in stride, racing to the quarter in :31 and to the half in 1:02 1/4. At the three-quarters pole Hoot Mon pulled up even and had the better of the stretch drive with the final quarter in 29 1/2 for the 2:04 1/4 (1.17,2) mile, on a quarter-second over the stake record, set here in 1940 by Bill Gallon.” His win time in the second heat was also a new seasonal best for the age group.

Going to Kentucky, it was clear that the Lexington Stake would be a showdown between Rodney and Hoot Mon to settle who was the best two-year-old. Hoot Mon had lost his only meeting with the Bion Shively-trained Rodney, and the latter arrived in Lexington fresh off a win in Delaware, but now the tables were turned. In the first heat he sped past Rodney to win in 2:06 (1.18,3), before turning on the style and won ahead of stablemate Way Yonder in 2:03 1/2 (1.16,8).

Winter favorite

Even though Rodney was the fastest two-year-olds of 1946 with a 2:02 clocking, Hoot Mon was seen as the best in the crop after finishing the season with five straight wins. This was also reflected in the winter book for the Hambletonian, in which Hoot Mon was made a 3 to 1 favorite ahead of Rodney, at 4 to 1, Volotone, at 5 to 1, and Flying Duchess and Way Yonder at 6 to 1. Both Hoot Mon and Rodney retired to Aiken, SC after the season as both Palin and Shively stabled their horses there for winter training.

Palin chose to take Hoot Mon to California for his 1947 seasonal debut. It didn’t get off to a great start as the colt finished out of the money in his seasonal debut a $2,500 special trot at Hollywood Park in California on May 2. The race surely did the three-year-old good, though, because the following day he was again a winner when Palin steered him to a win ahead of Volotone in the $3,000 Hopeful Trot.

A scary injury

In mid-June Palin and the owners got a scare: “Hoot Mon, champion two-year-old trotter last year and favorite for the Hambletonian, was recovering nicely today from a slight injury suffered while being shipped from Indianapolis to the meeting at Toledo Fort Miami Raceway here. Hoot Mon arrived with a lame ankle and for a time it was feared he might be kept from the Hambletonian. However, X-rays showed the injury to be slight and the star showed up well in a light workout yesterday.”

Palin chose to start Hoot Mon against Rodney in the Championship Stallion Stake at Toledo on Jun 24, 1947, but the colt wasn’t ready at all. Rodney won easily in 2:05 and 2:04 1/5 (1.17,7 and 1.17,4): “Hoot Mon stymied himself at the start of the first mile dash when he broke and failed to make up the handicap despite a terrific stretch drive which saw him edged by Rodney by less than a length. Grand Parade finished third, only a couple lengths back. On the second trip both Rodney and Hoot Mon were well out in front from the start with Grand Parade on a break. This time Rodney moved into a length lead at the halfway mark and held it steadily.”

Hoot Mon wasn’t ready to race and this set him back. As Rodney and the rest of the three-year-olds went to Saratoga for the National Stake, Hoot Mon was lame and had to sit out. On Jul 12, the Lexington Herald-Leader wrote that “Hoot Mon has developed a limp but trainer-driver Sep Palin still hopes to start him in the $50,000 Hambletonian Stake.” In late July it was clear, however, that Hoot Mon was winning the race against time. He worked a mile in 2:03 1/4 (1.16,6) at Goshen on Jul 27, and then in 2:02 two days later. Still, Rodney was made the slight favorite in the Hambletonian.

The Hambletonian seemed to go according to plan for Shively when the massive Rodney, nicknamed the Big Train, won the first heat in a race record 2:01.2 (1.15,5). However, then Hoot Mon’s class came through and Rodney’s record was erased at the first opportunity: “The black son of Scotland came roaring home in the second and third and heats after being beaten by first go-round, as all Hambletonian gate and betting records were smashed for this twenty-second running of the classic. (…) In the second heat, coming from behind to overhaul Rodney, Hoot Mon and Sep Palin fairly set fire to the stretch to hit the wire in two minutes flat for the mile – the fastest Hambletonian ever run – to fairly take the breath away from the crowd which jammed this sleepy Orange County town with a new record turnout. Then, switching their stuff, they came back to skip through a front-running race in the third heat in 2:02.1 (1.15,9) to pick up the $24,979,86 winner’s pay check as Rodney chased them all the way to the sire.”

Two years after Hoot Mon’s Hambletonian victory, his breeder Phellis returned to the winners’ circle at Goshen – but this time as both a breeder and owner. The 1949 Hambletonian winner Miss Tilly is a sister to Missey, dam of Hoot Mon. All were bred by Phellis and descended from the great matron Minnetonka 2:12 1/4 (1.22,2), the grandam of Hoot Mon. Missey, Hoot Mon’s dam, by Guy Abbey, never obtained a record but started three times at 2, in each she raced right at 2:10 (1.20,8) and clearly weren’t without talent either.

For the 69-year-old Palin it was his second Hambletonian win, 12 years after his first taken with Greyhound. It would also be his last. A little more then five years later, on September 29, 1952, Palin collapsed and fell while watching a time trial at Lexington. Hospitalized with cerebral hemorrhage and a fractured skull (from the fall) he died a few days later on October 4, 1962.

Barred from the betting

Rodney then sat out when Hoot Mon won both the American Stake at Milwaukee in mid-August and the DuQuoin State Fair Stake on Aug 27. He was further forced to sit out the Kentucky Futurity as he wasn’t eligible. With his arch-enemy gone, Hoot Mon was so highly regarded that he was barred in the betting, and the big favorite didn’t disappoint. “Skillfully handled by the veteran Sep F Palin, Hoot Mon won as he pleased, although hotly pursued in both heats by Way Yonder, a mighty good trotter from CF Gaines’ Gainesway Farm. The two heats were trotted in 2:04.1 and 2:05 (1.17,2 and 1.17,7), a far cry from the 2:00 flat that Hoot Mon negotiated in his fastest mile in the Hambletonian.”

Finishing up the season with $56,810 in seasonal earnings, Hoot Mon was the top money-winning trotter of 1947. Nominated for several stakes in 1948 and expected to duel with the best aged trotters, all plans for the season was cancelled in mid March because of a serious injury. Harness journalist Tom Gahagan reported that “to many that was rather depressing news which came out of California a few days ago, announcing that the great four-year-old Hoot Mon had been declared out of the $50,000 trot to be raced at the Santa Anita track next month. A ruptured suspensory ligament many times spells the end of the racing career of a horse, harness or thoroughbred, and that is the affliction with which the 1947 Hambletonian winner and record holder is said to be suffering. Reports say that his trainer, Sep Palin, hopes to have the colt back in condition to race later in the season, but it seems a certainty that he will not represent the Castleton Stable when the big money is raced for at Santa Anita.”

The Hambletonian sire

Aug 2, 1948 it was announced that Hanover Shoe Farms had shelled out $50,000 for Hoot Mon, who was retired to their stallion ranks. The son of Scotland proved a revelation at stud and delivered a Hambletonian-winner in his first crop born 1950. That was Helicopter, who later became a famous broodmare. Two years later she was followed by Scott Frost, and in 1960 and 1962 respectively, came another two Goshen winners in Blaze Hanover and AC’s Viking. Four Hambletonian winners in the ten editions from 1953 to 1962 caused Hoot Mon to be given his nickname, “the Hambletonian Sire.” That name stuck even though it’s a bit of a misnomer given that his sire Scotland sired five winners of that race – and later Star’s Pride eclipsed everybody by siring eight winners of the great race. Hoot Mon could also have been named “the Hambletonian damsire”, as he was the broodmare sire of another four Hambletonian winners; Ayres in 1964, Egyptian Candor in 1965, Nevele Pride in 1968 and Legend Hanover in 1979. Interestingly enough the former three were sons of Star’s Pride, while the latter one was sired by Super Bowl, a son of Star’s Pride. Little can top the 1965 Hambletonian in this respect, though, as the first five finishers, Egyptian Candor, Armbro Flight, Short Stop, Nimble Boy and Marengo Hanover, all had the black colt as their damsire.

Hoot Mon sired many other stars, though, include three second-place finishers in the Hambletonian: Hoot Song in 1957, Caleb in 1961, Isaac in 1962. His last crop included Dart Hanover, third in the 1968 Hambletonian and winner of the 1972 Elitlopp and the 1973 Prix d’Amerique. Several other sons also starred on European tracks. His son Pack Hanover won the 1964 Elitlopp while Brogue Hanover lost the 1964 Elitlopp, to German trotter Eidelstedter, in a photo finish. Hoot Monis also the damsire of numerous trotters successful in Europe, including the mare excellent mare Elma and the Swedish elite stallion Quick Pay. Despite siring four Hambletonian winners and numerous other stars, Hoot Mon’s sireline disappeared within a few generations as his sons were unable to emulate their sire at stud.

Hoot Mon stood at Hanover until he died on Aug 2, 1965, 21 years old. According to an article in The Evening Sun, “the stout heart which carried him to triumphs in stake races, including the 1947 Hambletonian, finally gave out following an illness which had plagued him recently.”

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