Ivan Dalos’s Tall Oaks Farm was poised to have a big evening Thursday at the Sovereign Awards, with 11 horses he owns or bred being finalists for awards and him being up for individual honors.
The category in which he held the hottest hand was Canada’s Broodmare of the Year. Dalos had two of the four finalists, both Tall Oaks Farm homebreds, and took home the hardware with Galloping Ami.
Though she went unraced, the 11-year-old mare is one of the most refined jewels of the Tall Oaks breeding program. She is a fourth-generation member of the Dalos broodmare band, tracing back to third dam Silly Billie, and her sire is the champion and Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop, who was bred by Dalos.
Galloping Ami is the dam of four winners from five foals to race and had a pair of stakes winners in 2016.
Amis Gizmo, by Giant Gizmo, was a $124,200 buyback at auction for Dalos but went on to reward him last year with victories in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie and the Grade 3 Ontario Derby at Woodbine and a runner-up effort in the Queen’s Plate. He earned Dalos his second Sovereign of the night when he was crowned as Canada’s champion 3-year-old male of 2016.