Southern Halo (1983–2009) was an American-bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

. In his racing career he ran twenty-four times, winning five races and finishing second in the

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Swaps Stakes The Los Alamitos Derby (formerly the Swaps Stakes) is a race for Thoroughbred horses run annually at Los Alamitos Race Course in Los Alamitos, California. The race is open to three-year-old horses and is contested at one and one-eighth miles on the ...

and

Super Derby The Super Derby is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually in September at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, Louisiana. Inaugurated in 1980, the Super Derby is open to three-year-olds and the distance is miles on the dirt. It is the rich ...

. He is chiefly notable for his remarkable career at stud where he was leading sire in Argentina on ten occasions and the sire of 170 stakes winners, including 56 Group/Grade I winners, and 16 champions.

Background

Southern Halo was bred in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

by E. P. Taylor. As a yearling he was sent to the

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

sales where he was bought for $600,000 by the British Bloodstock Agency. He was originally sent into training in Ireland.

Racing career

Southern Halo made little impact as a racehorse in Europe, finishing unplaced on both his starts. He was then sent to race in the United States where he was trained by

D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935, in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a retired American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He has won twenty Breeders' Cup races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his h ...

. Southern Halo proved to be more successful racing in America. Although he recorded no major wins, he placed in several stakes races including the G1

, the G1

, and the G2 Silver Screen Handicap. He was rated at 115 pounds in the ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of rac ...

'' Free Handicap for three-year-olds in 1986, 11 pounds below the high-weighted

Snow Chief Snow Chief (March 17, 1983 in California – May 18, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Snow Chief was bred by Carl Grinstead. In 1984, retired vaudevillian and successful real estate investor Ben Rochelle bought a ...

Stud career

Southern Halo was retired to stud in Argentina, where he became one of the most successful stallions in the history of South American thoroughbred racing. Among his best progeny is the American Grade I winner and very successful sire

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. He also sired American Grade I winner Miss Linda, Argentinian Horse of the Year

Team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

, Argentinian champion older horse and miler El Compinche, Argentinian Mare of the Year Pryka, and Canadian champion Edenwold. He sired 173 stakes winners (8.9%) from 1829 named foals. He died on November 19, 2009, in his paddock at the Haras La Quebrada near

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1983 racehorse births 2009 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 16-g Champion Thoroughbred Sires of Argentina