By Bloodhorse.com
VERSAILLES, Ky. (Mar. 11, 2022) — Grade 1 winner Swiss Yodeler , a five-time stakes winner at 2 who in turn sired precocious runners, died Feb. 24 just four days shy of his 28th birthday of apparently heart failure at Huntertown Farm near Versailles, Ky., where he has been retired since 2020.
The son of Eastern Echo, out of the Raja Baba stakes winner Drapeau, was bred in Kentucky by Martha Gerry and W.S. Farish. They sold the colt at the 1995 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $60,000 to trainer Mike Harrington, who bought Swiss Yodeler on behalf of owner Heinz Steinmann.
Swiss Yodeler won his debut in May 1996 by three lengths, became a stakes winner in his second start by taking the Westchester Stakes by four lengths, and won his first graded stakes by his fourth start in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes (G2), all at Hollywood Park. He finished off the board only once during his juvenile campaign and fattened his stakes tally with victories in Hollywood Futurity (G1) and Best Pal Stakes (G3). He also finished third in the Del Mar Futurity (G2) and Norfolk Stakes (G2).
Though Swiss Yodeler struggled in later years to find the winner’s circle, he remained competitive in graded stakes company, finishing second in the Ancient Title Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G3) and running third in the Malibu Stakes (G1), Palos Verdes Handicap (G2), Vernon O. Underwood Stakes (G3) twice, and the Baldwin Stakes (G3T) on the grass at Santa Anita Park. He was retired with a 6-1-8 record from 24 starts and earned $761,442.
Pepper Oaks Farm launched Swiss Yodeler’s stallion career in 2000 and precocious speed became a hallmark of his runners.
Swiss Yodeler was a top 10 freshman sire of 2002 and the co-fourth-leading sire of his class by number of stakes winners with three alongside Coronado’s Quest, Stormy Atlantic, and Announce. By 2005 he was the second-leading sire on the West Coast behind Bertrando and claimed the top spot in 2006 due to his brilliant son Thor’s Echo . In 2006, Thor’s Echo captured the TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) and Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes (G1) and was runner-up in the Gulf News Dubai Golden Shaheen Stakes (G1) and Ancient Title Breeders’ Cup Stakes (G1). Thor’s Echo retired as Swiss Yodeler’s top earner with $2,461,490.
Of Swiss Yodeler’s 15 black-type stakes winners, nine would deliver their best performances at 2. His most accomplished 2-year-old was Tilde , a three-time California stakes winner who banked $344,560 during her juvenile campaign. Other 2-year-old stakes winners and their earnings at 2 included Swiss Lake Yodeler ($235,600), Hi Ho Yodeler ($118,912), Dave the Dude ($112,800), Swiss Diva ($111,810), and Oberwald ($98,636).
Swiss Yodeler stood at Pepper Oaks until it closed in 2009. He was relocated to Harris Farms where he stood for several years and then was moved in 2013 to Lovacres Ranch. Two years later Swiss Yodeler found a new home on the East Coast at O’Sullivan Farms near Charles Town, W.Va.
To date, Swiss Yodeler’s runners have earned $31,169,253 and averaged more than $50,000 per runner. He has sired 619 runners as of March 10, of which 456 (74%) became winners and 175 of those winners found success at 2. Siring brilliant, precocious runners is how Steinmann’s family said they will remember the stallion.
“Swiss Yodeler, Heinz Steinmann, and Mike Harrington were synonymous with 2-year-old racing success in California for many years,” the family said.