2013 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Inductions

By Cindy Pierson Dulay, About.com Guide

The thoroughbred female inductee for 2013 is Ontario-bred Sealy Hill, so far the only filly to sweep the Canadian Triple Iiara of the Woodbine Oaks, Bison City Stakes, and Wonder Where Stakes, arguably with an asterisk as she was originally disqualified in the Bison City but that stewards' decision was later overturned on appeal. Owned and bred by Eugene Melnyk and trained by Mark Casse, she also finished 2nd in the 2008 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Casse once said, "You never knew which direction she was going to go, which changed from minute to minute. At times she was more concerned with running over the competition than actually running by them!"

She retired with career earnings of $1.75 million and three Sovereign Awards including 2007 Horse of the Year. The night before she was sold at auction during Melnyk's broodmare dispersal for a sale-topping price of $590,000, she gave birth to her first foal, a Distorted Humor filly.

Phil Hronec, farm manager for owner-breeder Eugene Melnyk said, "Sealy Hill has always been very special to me. We have a trophy case at the farm and the only part of the case bigger than Sealy Hill's is Speightstown's. We decided to get out of the broodmare business so we sold her and she ended up with a good home. She was a challenge for Patrick Husbands to ride, when she saw daylight in the stretch she'd drift over."