Offspring
In stark contrast to his ascension to being one of the leading juvenile trotters of his crop, connections of You Know You Do (3,1:53.2 & $541,030) are under no illusions their precocious son of Muscle Hill has been slow out of the gates in his transition to stud duties.
However, if 2022 was an indicator, it's clear the Hoosier state stallion stud career is back on track, with the 2017 Peter Haughton Memorial winner serving his biggest book of mares to date.
Standing his first official stud season at Premier Acre Farms, You Know You Do served 106 mares in his fourth year at stud. This was a significant lift from his three seasons at Victory Hill Farm in Indiana's North East which netted just 71, 59, and 26 matings.
Premier Acre Farm's principal, Dennis Bontreygar was thrilled with the reception his recent arrival received and believes the best years are still ahead of the former Jimmy Takter trained product.
"He was probably overshadowed slightly standing on a farm next to Swan For All, however, we have ultimate faith in this guy as a stallion and the support we received last season suggests others feel the same," he said.
"It's going to be hard in the short term with the small first three crops to achieve what we think he is capable of, but we are going to control what we can control and that is continuing to give the horse his best shot to reach his potential as a leading sire here in Indiana."
The first crop of 71 matings produced 47 live foals, with 31 of them starting as juveniles. They included the talented filly T's Pride (2,1:56.4) who won a leg of the two-year-old fillies Indiana Sires Stakes division before finishing two lengths behind the winner in second when contesting the $250,000 final. She concluded her season with purse money of $174,135.
Another well-performed juvenile from the first crop was the much-hyped, Bourbon Courage. The half-brother to Hambeltonian winner Captain Corey, rewrote the record books in Indiana when he was purchased for $225,000 at the 2020 Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale, becoming the most expensive yearling ever to go through the ring in the Hoosier State.
Bourbon Courage commenced his career with a third-place finish in a $47,000 Indiana Sire Stakes leg at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on July 16 and broke his maiden in the second leg of that series on July 30. The colt was fourth in the second leg of this series on Aug. 8 behind French Wine before returning to the Hoosier State to collect his second victory in a $68,000 third-round leg of the Indiana Sire Stakes on Aug. 17. He saved some of his best till last, winning an $80,000 leg of The Kentucky Championship Series in a lifetime best 1:53.1 before finishing the year with stakes earnings of $154,790.
You Know You Do's first crop finished 16th on the two-year-olds earnings list, good enough for third among first-season sires behind International Moni, and fellow Indiana product Helpisontheway.
His progeny earnings of $813,455 were only $300,000 behind his state rival, despite producing 27 fewer foals. On percentages, You Know You Do produced a marginally higher foals-to-starters ratio over the son of Chapter Seven with 65.9% outpointing Helpisontheway's 64.8%.
Performance
The fact that You Know You Do's progeny are inheriting some of their father's precocity should come as no surprise when listening to what his champion trainer, Jimmy Takter thought of him.
"He’s a very gifted horse. He had a good attitude and never sold himself short. He was a real fighter. He liked to be up in contention and if he got a decent spot, you could never rule him out," he said.
Takter is renowned for his ability to identify a yearling based on its genetic makeup and physical composition and it's incredible to look back on the journey of the now stallion who was destined to be a star.
You Know You Do was secured at the 2016 Harrisburg Sale with the hammer falling at $350,000 for the son of Muscle Hill and first foal of Credit Winner mare, You Want Me, 2,1:55.2f ($220,980), who was the champion two-year-old in the NYSS program in 2012.
You Know You Do was purchased by Perry Soderberg, acting as agent for Takter who said at the time:
“He’s got the size and the power. I saw him at (consignor) Peninsula Farm and he really had that punch that I’m looking for in the paddock."
“We put together a group and went after him vigorously,” said his co-owner Marvin Katz. “We have 80 to 90 percent fillies, 10 percent colts. (But) he was very, very special. We’ll look for colts here and there that we think could be exceptional. It’s really a policy of pursuing excellence and we thought he could fit that category.”
History tells us that You Know You Do wasted little time in rewarding his connections and confirming the potential they saw within the striking colt when only a yearling.
He was a five-time winner at two, including his elimination and the $360,650 Peter Haughton Memorial Final at The Meadowlands, a race reserved for some of the great juvenile colts of the sport.
Regular pilot Yannick Gingras got away third with race favourite You Know You Do and they held their spot until well past the mid-way point. Soon Gingras guided the son of Muscle Hill off the rail heading toward the final turn and cleared away in the deep stretch to win by a comfortable margin in 1:54.2.
You Know You Do also won the Champlain at Mohawk and the Bluegrass at the Red Mile while finishing second in both his elimination and the $328,000 William Wellwood Memorial Final at Mohawk.
At three, he took his 1:53.2f record winning a PASS division at Pocono and he finished second in the Stanley Dancer Memorial at The Meadowlands, race timed in 1:50.2.
You Know You Do retired from the track with six wins from 24 starts including 5 minor placings for $510,257 in prize money.
Entering his fifth season at stud, it would appear the best is yet to come for You Know You Do.
He has the race credentials and pedigree to warrant serious consideration from Indiana breeders and his $4000 service fee represents extreme value for a sire who has already produced record-breaking yearlings and stakes-performed juveniles.