SHAKOPEE, MN – The past two seasons at Canterbury we have watched Lunderborg LLC full brothers Dickey Bob and Pyc Jess Bite Mydust battle it out for family bragging rights on the Quarter Horse strip. This afternoon, owner John Johnson sends out a trio of brothers to compete in three stakes on the Fastest Day in Minnesota Sports at Canterbury Park.
In three of the seven Quarter Horse stakes on Sunday there will be a horse sired by Hasta Be Fast and foaled by Leadmetoyourladder. The three full brothers, all trained by Bob Johnson, bred by Wardell Quarter Horses and owned by Johnson’s father John are Hastabealeader (9 years old) in the 870 yard Canterbury Park Distance Challenge, Fastest Leader (2) in the 350 yard MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity and Faster Than Hasta (5) in the 440 yard Bank of America Canterbury Park Championship Challenge.
Johnson trained for the late Ray Wardell for many years and trained both the sire and the dam of the brothers.
“The mother was a bridesmaid,” said Bob Johnson. “She may have been second or third in about nine different stakes. She just couldn’t get the win but she was a good mare. I hauled her all over the Midwest and Canada. She was always a contender.
“Ray’s wife Gerri named her. When Ray was sick and dying from cancer she named her Leadmetoyourladder,” Bob sighed. “That’s how she got her name.”
Bob’s father John bought the eldest of the siblings, Hastabealeader, when his owner passed away after his 2-year old year. At that point the gelding had already captured a pair of futurities at Canterbury as well as the Markel Stakes at Prairie Meadows.
Hastabealeader went on to win several finals, was stakes placed and was third in the Grade III Prairie Meadows Distance Challenge in 2014. He finished off 2017 with a challenge final win in North Dakota but in that race he took a bad step and injured a tendon. There was nothing torn but the gelding needed time off so Johnson turned him out for the rest of 2017. When he started back up training, he didn’t like the way Hastabealeader was going about his business so he had more x-rays done and while nothing was out of place, Johnson turned him back out again, unsure if the old boy would ever race again but knowing that no matter what happened in the future he had his forever home with them.
“It’s very hard to take a seven year old, give him two years off and try and bring him back,” Johnson laughed. “We were determined to do the right thing by the horse and if he didn’t respond he would have been done. But he has been training very well so here we are.”
The youngest sibling, Fastest Leader, will run in the MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity.
“He had some trouble in his trial,” said Johnson. “He kind of stepped back at the break but he closed hard. He’s a good horse. They all have their little difficulties until they find their way and then off they go.”
The middle child, Faster Than Hasta, is the most accomplished of the three. He has won seven of twenty-two starts, earning $172,793 and is graded stakes placed finishing second in the Grade III AQHA Derby Challenge Championship at Prairie Meadows in 2017. His stakes wins include the 2016 Minnesota Stallion Breeders’ Futurity, the 2017 Prairie Meadows Derby Challenge Stakes and the 2018 Rocky Mountain QHA Championship Bonus Challenge.
When asked about the boys’ chances in their respective heats tomorrow, the genial Johnson got serious.
“I’m serious about this,” he said. “Once the trials are done and I see my name on the final sheet, that’s the last time I think about it. Once you’re in, you’re in to win. Everybody has the same shot, that’s my opinion. When you get to the championship, these are all good horses.”
Bob’s wife, Shiloh, integral in the operation since they got together 12-years ago, works – and plays – with the siblings as well.
“They may be all those years apart,” said Shiloh Johnson “but they look like triplets. You really do a double take and have to look closely to tell them apart. The baby isn’t filled out yet but they all are bays with that white star on their foreheads.”
Their personalities aren’t very dissimilar either.
“I play with them,” Shiloh said. “I’ll admit it. I put the bill of my ballcap on their foreheads and they go ahead and pull it off me. They’re fun and playful, but when it gets close to race time, they all can sense it and a couple of days before they really start to get serious.”
“They do have really good personalities,” added Bob. “But they’re racehorses. They all have that edge to them.”
The brothers will put their game faces on this afternoon at Canterbury and look to see who can add to the family legacy.
