Harness: Beau Jangles makes history in Harrisburg by selling for $3.7 million

Beau Jangles became the highest-priced Standardbred ever to sell at public auction when he was purchased by New Zealand-based bloodstock agent John Curtin for $3.7 million on Friday at the Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The 2025 Horse of the Year in both the United States and Canada, Beau Jangles, a 3-year-old Cattlewash colt, was consigned by Northwood Bloodstock Agency. The $3.7 million figure eclipses the previous record set by trotter Amazing Catch when he went for $1.85 million at Harrisburg in 2024.

Curtin told the USTA's Media Relations Manager Ken Weingartner that he was still working out details regarding Beau Jangles, but that the colt would race this month in the Matron Stakes and Progress Pace, both at Bally's Dover Downs, before being retired to begin his stallion career.

"Everyone has called but I’m not sure where he’s going to go yet,” Curtin said in a report by Weingartner. “He’ll stand in America or Canada this coming season, and then he’ll stand Down Under. He’ll be shuttled down the first few seasons anyhow. People have to see the horse to appreciate him. You’ll never see a better looker.

“I’m 75 years old, and I’ve seen three great horses that were great-gaited and had high, high speed. One was Niatross, Somebeachsomewhere was the next one, and Beau Jangles is the next one. He’s got such a great gait, such great manners, and he’s got high, high speed. And he wears nothing, no gear. He’s just a beautiful pacer, as good as you’ll ever get, and that’s what we need. We want to breed great-gaited pacers with high speed.

"I really believe in the horse. I believe this horse can help to change the breed. I put him in the same boat as Somebeachsomewhere. He changed the breed dramatically, and I reckon that this horse is the next one. That’s my opinion, so we’ll see."

Bidding on Beau Jangles opened at $500,000 and rapidly reached $2.5 million on the way to its record-setting conclusion, with Curtin bidding remotely by phone.

“When I came here, I had certain numbers in my head, a range, because it was such an unknown; we’d never done this before,” Northwood Bloodstock’s Boni said to Weingartner. “As the past few days went by, and I started to hear some things, I was pretty confident in three (million dollars). After that, it just depends on who wants to stay around. But there was a lot of action from three (million) up; there were still three or four people bidding on the horse. It was a big thrill.

“Whether you’re training, owning, selling - good horses are what we’re here for. They’re special; they’re different. I tip my hat to Dr. Moore, especially to have a horse come in here at the end of the season after racing and shipping, and his condition was just superb. He was fit and bright; I can’t stress enough what an exceptional individual he is. And the horse enjoyed it. Most good horses do; they enjoy being shown. He came out of his stall, and his head was up, his ears were up, and he enjoyed the attention. In addition to the people who were actually looking at him, there were a lot of people who just wanted to see him. And he was great. I thank the owners. It was a pleasure. It was fun.

“There are certainly some nerves that go with it, but it was more about the anticipation. I was looking forward to it. We did everything we could do right to get him there, and then the rest took over.”

Coming in the second spot during the session was HIP 1601 Victorianas Secret, a 3-year-old daughter of Tactical Landing who won this year's Grade 1 Delmonica Hanover, among other stakes wins. Consigned by Somefarmsomewhere, she went to agent Robert Lindstrom for $875,000.

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Also selling from the Northwood consignment was HIP 1601 Yankee Boss, a stakes winner and Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Colt Trot finalist this year, and he was a $430,000 buy-back by co-owner Kiwi Stables.

Other big tickets included HIP 1410 Champagne Room, a 4-year-old daughter of Papi Rob Hanover-See You At Peelers who has earned $460,598, to go with a mark of 1:48 4/5, at $340,000 to Odds On Racing and HIP 1412 Winnpanzee, a 4-year-old daughter of Gimpanzee with earnings of $531,901 and a mark of 1:51 3/5, to Armitage Farm for $300,000. Both of those horses were consigned by Somefarmsomewhere.

The two-day mixed sale saw 495 stallion shares and horses sold for a gross of $27,562,000 and an average of $55,681. While the gross was down from 2025's record of $38,554,000, largely due to the reduced number of dispersals this year, that average set a new record for the sale, betting last year's $55,156.

--with reporting from Ken Weingartner/USTA--