Legend – Builder

The dominant owner and breeder in Canada during the 1930s and ’40s was Harold C. (Harry) Hatch, a self-made millionaire and industrialist, from Prince Edward County. Hatch owned and bred five King’s Plate winners. The light and dark blue silks of his stable were in action throughout the U.S. In 1931 he was among the first Canadians to run a horse in the Kentucky Derby. A horse he imported from Argentina, “Filisteo, set an American record in 1941 in the Exterminator Handicap at Pimlico and later sired Plate winner Collisteo.

Hatch’s Plate wins came with Monsweep, Goldlure, Budpath, Acara, when his three-horse entry finished 1-2-4, and with Uttermost, champion 2-year-old of 1944. Hatch, who shied from publicity, always sent one of this three sons – Cliff, Doug or Carr – to receive the Plate trophy.

He began his rise to prominence in 1919 when he sold his liquor store in Whitby. By 1927, he was a director of several major companies and president of Hiram Walker – Gooderham and Wotts Ltd. Hatch entered racing in earnest in 1927 when he bought J.K.L. Ross’s stable in Agincourt, Ont. A year later he bought Sweepster, who became one of the most successful studs in Canada, siring Plate winners Monsweep and Goldlure. Sweepster’s daughter, Luress, produced Plate champion Acara and Budpath. Between 1935-1944 he was Canada’s leading breeder five times. Hatch died in 1946 at age 62.