ESCAPE CLAUSE IN JAPAN

Escape Clause joins more than 800 other broodmares at Northern Farm on Hokkaido Island

Baby-making in earthquake country
Escape Clause starts a new life at Northern Farm on Hokkaido Island

Northern Farm is at the centre of Hokkaido Island

Uphill half-mile indoor straightaway at Northern Farm

From humble beginnings at a farm near Russell, Man., Manitoba’s greatest race horse ever, Escape Clause, joins one of the largest breeding operations in the world on Hokkaido Island in northern Japan where she has lots of company--and will be experiencing mild earth tremors almost daily.

Purchased for $300,000 by Katsumi Yoshida at a Lexington auction two weeks ago, Escape Clause is now one of more than 800 broodmares on Northern Farm that has a total of 2,700 horses and 720 employees. The farm has a half-mile indoor uphill straightaway and an indoor track that is more than a half-mile. Established in 1994, the Farm’s motto is “Always put all of your heart into every innovation and new challenge.”

So racing is out; making babies is in for Manitoba’s million-dollar-earning mare. Who will she be bred to? Will it be a stallion with links to Sunday Silence, the classiest and most influential sire in Japan’s breeding history? Will grooms on the farm be asking, rather incredulously: “Where did you say she’s from?”

If only she could talk, she’d be telling her barn mates about the 13 different tracks she raced at and about being applauded by fans at Del Mar and Santa Anita. She’d recount how close she came to beating the best mare on the continent, Midnight Bisou, at Oaklawn Park, and setting a track record at Sunland Park in New Mexico. And about being startled by a paintball shot at her van window on a California freeway. She’d certainly mention her enjoyment of mints that were a frequent treat from her North American trainer/co-owner Don Schnell. “That’s why I’m licking my lips,” she’d explain to her new groom.