Hill 'n' Dale Farms (Ky.)

Owner(s): John G. Sikura
Residence: Lexington, Ky.
Family: wife Angela; sons John Edward, Jackson and Jaden
Professional Background: John G. Sikura was a collegiate hockey player and spent time playing professionally in Europe before returning to North America to join the family's horse business
Web site: www.hillndalefarms.com
Racing Background: The late John Sikura Jr., who emigrated from Czechoslovakia as a teen, was a self-made millionaire. He bought and sold Thoroughbreds for 35 years, first establishing a farm in Ontario, Canada and then in Lexington, Ky. in 1981 on 164 acres ... His son John G. Sikura took over the Kentucky farm when his father was killed in a car fire in 1994 ... Glenn, Sikura Jr.'s other son, manages the Canadian farm and became partners in the Kentucky property when it acquired North Ridge Farm in 1997 and expanded to its present 950 acres
Racing Career: Hill 'n' Dale Kentucky's best horses either bred and/or owned include 1997 Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold (9th and 8th, respectively, in the 1997 and 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic), Anguilla (13th, 1999 Filly & Mare Turf), Talinum, Daijin (full sister to Touch Gold), Hawk Wing (seventh in the 2002 Classic), Hand Painted and Marino Marini
Breeding/Racing Operation: Hill 'n' Dale is a full-service breeding and sales operation ... The farm manager is Joe Ramsey, while Mike Lakow, a former executive with the New York Racing Association, serves as General Manager ... Sikura started building its stallion operation in 1995. It currently stands Closing Argument, El Corredor, Grand Reward, Harlington, Heatseeker, Indygo Shiner, Mr. Sekiguchi, Mutakddim, Red Giant, Roman Ruler, Seeking the Best, Seeking the Dia, Stormy Atlantic, Theatrical, and 2007 Eclipse Award champion sprint and two-time Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Midnight Lute ... Stood Candy Ride (Arg), who through Sept. 26 has had seven stakes winners, including G2 Swaps winner Misremembered and Chocolate Candy, in his first crop. Candy Ride was relocated to Lane's End Farm for the 2010 breeding season ... The farm also stood 2002 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and champion Vindication until his death in July 2008 ... In 2002, 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew spent his final days at the farm and is now buried there ... It also is home to some of racing's top female performers who are now broodmares, including Horse of the Year Azeri, which is being offered during Keeneland’s 2009 November breeding stock sale, and two-time champion Silverbulletday, among others … Sikura was represented at the 2007 Breeders' Cup as a minority owner in Dream Rush, fifth in the Filly & Mare Sprint ... 2007 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies 3rd-place finisher Backseat Rhythm was a product of Hill 'n' Dale's 2006 Keeneland September yearling sale consignment where she sold for $75,000 to her present connections ... The 2006 sale was one of the best in the farm's history as they finished as the 4th leading consignor and sold a $4.6 million Vindication colt, a record for a freshman sire ... Hill 'n' Dale made headlines in 2008 when they sold Better Than Honour for a world-record $14 million at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale to her co-owner Mike Moreno’s Southern Equine Stables. Better Than Honour, who is the dam of back-to-back Belmont Stakes G1 winners Jazil, champion Rags to Riches, and stakes winner Casino Drive, was being sold as part of the dispersal of joint holdings between Hill ‘n’ Dall and Southern Equine. Despite their partnership being dissolved in November 2008, Hill ‘n’ Dale and Southern Equine are currently tied to Grade 1 winner Mi Sueno, who was bred in partnership by the two entities and Bruce Lunsford. ... Presented a triple threat in the 2009 Kentucky Derby with three horses raised at Hill 'n' Dale among the top five favorites: morning line favorite I Want Revenge (scratched on the morning of the race), Pioneerof the Nile (finished second), and Chocolate Candy (fifth).