Published: January 4, 2012 4:41 pm ET

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Northern Kid 2, 1:58.3; 3, 1:57.1, whose first crop includes the 2011 Illinois stakes-winning filly Maevey Gravy 2, 1:58.2, will be standing at stud at Walnut Hall Stock Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, for the 2012 breeding season.

Northern Kid has only one small crop of racing age and already has three sub-2:00 performers. The Northern Kid Partners group, which includes Walnut Hall Stock Farm’s Dr. James Sautter, decided Northern Kid would be a good option for Kentucky breeders, who have only a few choices when it comes to trotting sires. His stud fee will be $850.

“There aren’t that many trotting studs to choose from in Kentucky, and we feel that Kentucky needs a shot in the arm,” noted Dr. Sautter. “We feel we’re offering an affordable stallion with a classy pedigree who performed on the track and who already has shown the ability to sire early speed.”

Northern Kid is a son of Muscles Yankee and the American Winner mare Swift Kid Hanover. He was trained by Ray and Larry Remmen and captured a New Jersey Sire Stakes at the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1:58.3 in mid-July of his two-year-old season before also winning a prep for the Peter Haughton Memorial. At age three, he lowered his mark to 1:57.1 before being retired early.

“He’s a beautiful horse,” said Dr. Sautter. “He’s a very dark brown horse, with just a few white hairs. He has a beautiful head, is long bodied, and has a lot of daylight underneath. He’s hard to fault, and once people take a look at him, they will see that he’s a very striking individual.”

As added incentive, the Northern Kid Partners are offering bonuses for Northern Kid’s foals of 2013 (mares bred in 2012). They include:

• If a two-year-old colt or filly wins the Kentucky Fair Final: $1,000 bonus to breeder of mare plus one free breeding;
• If a two-year-old colt or filly wins the Kentucky Sire Stakes final: bonus of $2,000 paid to breeder of mare plus one free breeding;
• If a Northern Kid offspring sets a national’s season’s mark at any time during its two-year-old season (as posted by the U.S. Trotting Association): $500 to the current owner and trainer;
• If a Northern Kid offspring is a national season’s champion at the end of the year: $1,000 to the current owner and trainer;
• If a Northern Kid offspring wins the Hambletonian or Hambletonian Oaks: $5,000 to the current owner, trainer and breeder;
• If a Northern Kid offspring is a Dan Patch/USTA divisional award winner: $5,000 to the current owner, trainer and breeder.

For more information, contact Walnut Hall Stock Farm at 859-254-5660.

(Northern Kid Partners/Walnut Hall Stock Farm)