Halo (horse)
Halo (February 7, 1969 – November 28, 2000) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and an important Champion sire. Background. Bred in Kentucky by John R. Gaines, founder of the Breeders Cup, Halo was out of the mare Cosmah (who was the Kentucky Broodmare of the Year in 1974), which made him a half-brother to the Hall of Fame filly Tosmah. His sire was Hail To Reason, the U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old Colt and a great-grandson of the extremely important sire Nearco. Purchased by Charles W. Engelhard, Jr., owner of Nijinsky, Halo raced under his Cragwood Stable  banner. Racing career. After having little success at age two racing on dirt tracks, in his three-year-old campaign his U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer MacKenzie Miller switched him to racing on turf, where he achieved better results. Although never a superstar horse, Halo raced for four years and in 1974, at age five, won the Grade I United Nations Handicap. Stud record. After retiring from racing, in 1975 Halo was sent to stand at stud at the Maryland division of Windfields Farm, where his progeny included Sunny's Halo and, through his mating with the mare Ballade , Devil's Bag, Glorious Song, and Saint Ballado. In 1984, new majority owners moved Halo to stand at Arthur B. Hancock III's Stone Farm in Paris, Kentucky, where he continued to produce notable offspring, the star of which was Sunday Silence. In all, Halo sired seven champions and 62 stakes winners including two Kentucky Derby winners. Twice, he was the leading sire in North America. Halo was pensioned in 1997 and died at Stone Farm in 2000 at age thirty-one. Offspring. Halo was the sire of: Grandsire of: Damsire of: Pedigree. Halo is inbred 4x4 to Blue Larkspur , meaning Blue Larkspur appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.