That Beau Jangles stood astride North America in 2025 was far from a lock despite the fact he has never tasted defeat. He has also never raced in the United States and is now the first horse in history to be named the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s (USHWA) Dan Patch Horse of the Year (HOY) without going to post on U.S. soil.
The award was announced Sunday night (Feb. 22) at the 2025 Dan Patch Awards, presented by Caesars Entertainment, in front of a crowd of 350 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando. FL. Beau Jangles was also named the Pacer of the Year and Lexus Kody was unveiled as the Trotter of the Year.
In the end, Dan Patch HOY voters rewarded perfection over proximity; accolades over age.
In one of the most intriguing HOY races in recent memory, Beau Jangles — a wholly American-owned, Ontario-sired and Ontario-bred freshman pacing colt that never raced outside of that province — defeated 3-year-old pacing colt Louprint 59-30 in the voting, with sophomore pacing filly Miki And Minnie third with 21 votes and Lexus Kody fourth with nine from 133 ballots returned. Yo Tillie (7), 2024 HOY Twin B Joe Fresh (2), On To Norway (2), Ervin Hanover (1) and Setyoursightshigh (1) also received Horse of the year votes.
In the process, Beau not only swept all his races on the track, he swept all the awards, too. In terms of the latter, he became the first 2-year-old male pacer to be voted Horse of the Year in both Canada and the U.S. and also just the fifth 2-year-old to win the Dan Patch HOY in its 78-year history.
“He’s won everything we could ever imagine him winning, and I never imagined that it would ever happen,” said Beau Jangles’ part-owner Jonathan Roberts. “I’m still in awe of Breeders Crown night, where he actually finished the year undefeated. It’s one of those things you always kind of hope is going to happen, but then it happens, and you don’t even think it’s real. It took a while for that to set in and then for him to go on and win these awards, it’s just been unreal. I don’t know if a horse has absolutely swept the awards in a long time, or a freshman has ever done it.”
Principal owner Adam Ainspan said, “There’s only been four horses who’ve been 2-year-olds and undefeated that have been Horse of the Year in thoroughbred or standardbred racing, ever. So, it’s just really incredible. We certainly saw his talent but never expected this.”
That results trumped nationalism is admirable given heightened cross-border tensions between Canada and the U.S.
Beau’s Ontario-based trainer and veterinarian, Dr. Ian Moore, said winning the Dan Patch Horse of the Year award, “was quite an honour, and it’s even more of an honour [in the U.S.] when he never left [Canada]. It probably means more to [win Horse of the Year in the U.S.]”
Despite never racing stateside, Beau Jangles didn’t duck anyone en route to a perfect 12-for-12 season. The two biggest Grade 1 stakes for 2-year-olds — the $1 million Metro Pace and the $959,000 Breeders Crown — were in Ontario in 2025 and Beau won both impressively against some talented challengers. In the end, Beau Jangles earned $1,688,750, the most by a freshman pacer since 1986 and the fourth highest total for a 2-year-old pacer in history. Beau also posted a 1:48.3 record in the Crown final, which was also the colt’s final race of 2025. It is the fastest mile, ever, by a 2-year-old on Canadian soil.
A son of Cattlewash out of Mrs Major Hill, Beau Jangles was bred by Tara Hills Stud in Port Perry, ON where Cattlewash stands. Beau Jangles was sold for $65,000 U.S. out of the Preferred Equine consignment at the 2024 Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling auction in Harrisburg, PA.
The pacer is owned by Graham Grace Stables LLC of Clifton, VA (Ainspan and Mary Beth Roberts), Kiwi Stables LLC of La Plata, MD (Anne Hooper and Jonathan Roberts) and the Bolton Stables of Clermont, FL (Ed, Garth and Philip Bolton, plus John Draper).
Beau is driven by Woodbine Mohawk Park regular Bob McClure. The colt’s caretaker is Riley Noble.
BEAU DELAYED MOORE’S RETIREMENT, REWARDED MCCLURE’S LIFE CHOICE
That karma played a role in this story is not surprising. Most highly-successful horses need a little divine intervention to reach the pinnacle. Beau may have had more than his share.
In November of 2024, Beau’s owners asked Moore to inspect the yearling, then called TH Bo Jangles, at the Harrisburg sale. The relationship began a year earlier when Moore had taken the owners’ trotting filly Call Me Goo when she was sent to Canada to race in the Casual Breeze and Elegantimage at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Moore reported back that he liked TH Bo Jangles, but was concerned he was a little too large for a 2-year-old.
It was Ainspan, the principal owner and a fellow veterinarian, who loved TH Bo Jangles’ yearling video and ultimately asked Moore to buy him.
“He just looked so athletic, and folks were telling me that the Cattlewashes were looking good,” Ainspan said.
Afterward, the owners asked Moore to take the horse, now renamed Beau Jangles in honour of one of Ainspan’s dogs named Beau. After finding enough help, Moore agreed to take Beau, despite the fact the 72-year-old trainer was quietly contemplating retirement when the 2025 season ended.
Of course, that retirement is on hold now as Moore is happily prepping Beau Jangles in Florida for the colt’s sophomore campaign.
But perhaps the biggest stroke of luck in this story involves Ontario-based McClure.
A devoted father to his two young sons, the driver purposely opted out of travelling the Grand Circuit so as to be home for his children. That decision directly led to him landing the drive on Beau Jangles. Moore drove Beau himself in the colt’s first qualifier and then handed the reins to Louis-Philippe Roy for the pacer’s second qualifier. When it came time for Beau Jangles’ first pari-mutuel start in an Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Series leg on July 5 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, Roy was away driving at The Meadowlands. Moore handed Beau’s reins to McClure, and the tandem promptly dominated in 1:50.1. McClure kept the drive.
“I made a commitment at the start of this year that I didn’t want to travel anymore,” McClure said. “I wanted to be home more with my kids. And, you know, the time at home was definitely worth the decision, but Beau Jangles was really worth the decision.
“Maybe it’s karma. Maybe it’s not, I don’t know. You take the good fortune, and you do the best you can with it. But I think anybody, anybody in the top 100 drivers in North America, could have sat behind this guy and done exactly the same thing.”
For Tara Hill Stud, having the good fortune to land Cattlewash as a stallion, led the farm – with help from bloodstock consultant Bruce Brinkerhoff – to acquire the mare Mrs Major Hill to breed to Cattlewash.
The result was Beau Jangles, a colt that made history in multiple ways on Sunday night.
Other than being the first Dan Patch Horse of the Year that has never raced in the United States, Beau Jangles is:
- The first male 2-year-old of either gait to be named the Horse of the Year in both Canada and the U.S.
- The second 2-year-old to win the top horse award in both countries following pacing filly JK She’salady in 2014 (who had an identical 12-for-12 record).
- The 15th horse of any age, gender or gait to win the Horse of the Year award in both countries in the same year going back to 1989 when the O’Brien Horse of the Year award was first presented.
- The fifth 2-year-old, the fourth male 2-year-old and the third 2-year-old male pacer to be named Dan Patch Horse of the Year. The other 2-year-olds to be voted HOY were: pacing colt Bret Hanover (1964), trotting colt Nevele Pride (1967), pacing colt Niatross (1979) and pacing filly JK She’salady (2014)
- The sixth Ontario-sired horse to be voted the Dan Patch Horse of the Year – all coming in the 17 years since Somebeachsomewhere first did it 2008 and was followed by San Pail (2011), Bee A Magician (2013), Tall Dark Stranger (2020) and Bulldog Hanover (2022).
PORT PERRY PRODUCED ALL THREE ONTARIO-BRED CHAMPS
North America’s Horse of the Year Beau Jangles and caretaker Riley Noble at Woodbine Mohawk Park prior to winning the Breeders Crown. (Dave Landry photo)
Also notable is the fact Beau Jangles is just the third Ontario-bred Dan Patch Horse of the Year, and all three have remarkable ties. The first Ontario-bred Dan Patch Horse of the Year was Bunny Lake, who won the award in 2001. Bunny Lake was bred by the late Canadian Hall of Famer Peter Heffering, the founder of Tara Hills Stud in Port Perry, ON that produced Beau Jangles. The farm is now operated by Heffering’s son, David. San Pail, the other Ontario-bred Dan Patch Horse of the Year (2011), was bred by Glenn Van Camp of Port Perry. That means all three Ontario-bred winners of the award were bred in the same small town that has a population of just 10,000.
That Lexus Kody is also Ontario-sired, and Ontario-bred, gave that province’s program a sweep of the top Dan Patch awards.
The 7-year-old gelding became the oldest Trotter of the Year since fellow Ontario-sired and bred San Pail in 2011. Lexus Kody received 57 votes in that category. He was followed by Yo Tillie with 49, 3-year-old trotting colt Super Chapter with 13, On To Norway with seven, 3-year-old trotting colt Emoticon Legacy and 6-year-old trotting mare M-M’s Dream with two each and Setyoursightshigh, 2-year-old trotting colt Apex and 4-year-old trotting mare Warrawee Michelle with one apiece.
Lexus Kody, a son of Archangel out of Lexus Helios, was bred by Norm Dunstan of Caledon, ON, is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, and Phil Collura, trained by Ron Burke and was driven most in 2025 by Yannick Gingras. He is groomed by Joseph “Jo Jo” Tosies, who is the 2025 Fair Island Farm Caretaker of the Year.
In an 11-week span between Aug. 30 and Nov. 15, Lexus Kody won five of six graded stakes (three Grade 1s and two Grade 2s), posted the fastest trotting mile on Canadian soil in history (1:49.1), earned $1.64 million and travelled 3,428 km between five tracks to do it. It is one of the most prolific and gruelling streaks in harness racing history. Lexus Kody also led all North American horses in earnings with $1,827,523, a total that ranks second, all-time, for North American purses for an older trotter.
In voting for Pacer of the Year, Beau Jangles received 62 votes followed by Louprint with 39, Miki And Minnie with 25, Twin B Joe Fresh with five and Ervin Hanover and 3-year-old colt Sippinonsearoc with one each.
Roberts said the best part is Beau Jangles is bigger, stronger and just getting started.
“I think it’s an unbelievable thing for the business,” Roberts said. “Every few years, it seems like we get a horse that catches people’s attention. You know, there’s a Jiggy Jog, or there’s a Bulldog Hanover, a Somebeachsomewhere, or some horse to that effect. To have a freshman do this, and have all this anticipation and everything moving into next year, I think it’s going to create a buzz that the industry definitely needs, and it’s going to be unreal for the sport.”
It’s also unreal for Roberts, a man who scored his 5,000th career driving win on Monday (Feb. 16) at Rosecroft Raceway and was scheduled to train Beau Jangles for the first time the morning after winning the Dan Patch Horse of the Year.
“I’m on cloud nine,” Roberts said. “You come down here, you sweep the awards with a 2-year-old, and I get to go train the Horse of the Year [Monday] morning for the first time.”