Millionaire and grade I winner Morning Line , a 6-year-old son of Tiznow , has been retired and will stand the 2014 breeding season at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm. His initial fee will be $10,000, payable when the foal stands and nurses.
Morning Line is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Indian Snow, a daughter of grade I winner and graded stakes-placed producer November Snow (by Storm Cat).
Tiznow is the sire of 45 stakes winners and is an emerging sire of sires with young stallions such as Colonel John (third on the first-crop sire list), Tizway , Tiz Wonderful (seventh on the second-crop sire list), and American Lion at stud.
Bred by Dell Ridge Farm and raced by Lane's End, Dixiana Stables, and Thoroughbred Legends Racing Stable, Morning Line was a $700,000 Keeneland September sale graduate in 2008 as part of the Lane's End consignment.
On the track he put together a 5-4-2 slate from 15 starts and earned $1,251,300. At 3 he won the Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) over First Dude at nine furlongs in late September and followed that up with a heart-breaking photo-finish loss to Dakota Phone in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) at Churchill Downs.
He raced exclusively in graded stakes from then on at distances from seven furlongs to 1 1/8 miles, winning the Carter Handicap (gr. I) at 4 while getting seven furlongs in 1:21.46. He also placed in the Donn Handicap (gr. I) and Hal's Hope Stakes (gr. III) that season.
At 5 and 6 he was campaigned in Southern California, winning the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap (gr. II) at 1 1/16 miles last year. This year he made but one start, finishing third in the seven-furlong Triple Bend Handicap (gr. I) at Betfair Hollywood Park.
"We are extremely impressed with Morning Line's race record, and given his striking good looks and exceptional pedigree, he has the potential to make an outstanding sire," said Farish.
Morning Line is available now for inspection at Lane's End.
Morning Line
Courtesy Lane's End Farm/Lee P. Thomas