Seeking the Dia, Storm Cat's leading earner as a racehorse, will spend the upcoming 2013 breeding season at the Appleton Family's Bridlewood Farm near Ocala, Fla. The $5 million-earner will stand for a fee of $3,500 stands and nurses.
Seeking the Dia returns to the U.S. from Chile, where he stood in 2011-2012 at Haras Matancilla for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season under a 2-year lease agreement. He previously stood at Hill 'n' Dale near Lexington in 2009 and 2010.
"Seeking the Dia has every quality I look for in a stallion: pedigree, race record, and physical," said George G. Isaacs, general manager of Bridlewood. "I feel he represents a great opportunity for Florida breeders."
Seeking the Dia was a five-time stakes winner and four-time group winner in Japan for owner Yoichi Aoyama and trainer Hideyuki Mori. After breaking his maiden at 2, he won his next three starts including the Arlington Cup (Jpn-III) and New Zealand Trophy (Jpn-II), a race previously won by his dam, Seeking the Pearl.
As a 4-year-old, Seeking the Dia became a leading dirt horse in Japan and was rated at the co-highweight older male dirt horse in that country. In back-to-back years he was runner-up in Japan's biggest dirt event, the Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-I), and won or placed in 15 group events, 10 of which were group I races.
Bred in Kentucky by Richard Santulli's Jayeff "B" Stables, 11-year-old Seeking the Dia is by Storm Cat out of the aforementioned French and European champion Seeking the Pearl, a daughter of Seeking the Gold who earned over $4 million during her decorated racing career. Seeking the Dia descends from the female family of prominent North American and European champion sire Lyphard.
Seeking the Dia joins Backtalk and Motovato as three stallions relocating to Bridlewood for 2013, as well as the recently-retired Thunder Moccasin, who will stand his first season at stud in 2013. The roster of 10 stallions is led by 2012 Florida leading general sire Put It Back.