Leading sire and grade I winner Storm Cat was euthanized April 24 at the Young family's Overbrook Farm near Lexington due to complications from infirmities of old age. He was 30.
A son of Storm Bird out of the graded stakes-winning Secretariat mare Terlingua, Storm Cat was bred and raced by William T. Young. During his racing career, he captured the Young America Stakes (gr. I) and finished second in the 1985 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) on the way to $570,610 in career earnings.
Storm Cat retired from racing in 1987 to stand at Overbrook Farm. After breeding his first book of mares in 1988 at a fee of $30,000, he spent 20 years at stud during a career that saw his fee rise to as high as $500,000.
According to Overbrook, Storm Cat sired earners of more than $127 million, eight champions, and 108 graded stakes winners including winners of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), Belmont Stakes (gr. I), Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), and five Breeders' Cup races. He ranked second on the all-time Breeders' Cup sire list and was the sire of numerous European group I winners. He topped the general sire list twice, the juvenile sire list a record seven times, and was leading broodmare sire in 2012.
Of his yearlings, 462 sold at public auction for over $319 million, including 91 yearlings which brought $1 million or more. By comparison, his grandsire Northern Dancer ranked second with 52 yearlings which brought $1 million or more, according to Overbrook.
Storm Cat retired from active stud duties in 2008 and led a quiet life at Overbrook, the farm said in a release. His schedule included daily care from Eduardo Terrazas, his original stallion manager, and regular visits from his lifelong veterinarian, Dr. Robert Copelan.
"Storm Cat was a once-in-a-lifetime horse and the key to the success that Overbrook Farm enjoyed. My father often said that Storm Cat made him look like a genius," Overbrook Farm owner William T. Young Jr. said in a statement.
Ric Waldman, who managed Storm Cat's stud career, said, "Storm Cat was a major impact sire—a major impact on the future of the breed and a major impact on the lives of those of us at Overbrook."
Storm Cat was buried at Overbrook Farm.