Santiva , a grade II winner by 2012 leading sire Giant's Causeway , has been retired from racing for stallion duty in 2013 at Gerry and Dana Aschinger's War Horse Place near Lexington. Four-year-old Santiva will stand for $7,500 live foal stands and nurses.
Bred in Kentucky by Paget Bloodstock, Santiva is out of the Smarten mare Slide, who also is the dam of grade II stakes-placed runners Her Majesty and Take Arms. Slide is a half sister to champion sprinter and Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) winner Safely Kept.
Santiva, who raced for Tom R. Walters, broke his maiden in the 2011 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II), defeating graded winner and subsequent classics-placed runner Astrology . Santiva was the first son of Giant's Causeway to capture a graded race at 2 going two turns on the dirt in the United States.
As a maiden, Santiva finished second in the Dixiana Breeders' Futurity (gr. I). He was weighted higher on the 2011 Experimental Free Handicap for males than Astrology, Caleb's Posse , Stay Thirsty , and Mucho Macho Man .
At 3 Santiva finished second in the Risen Star Stakes (gr. II), establishing himself as an early favorite for the 2011 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Santiva finished sixth in the Run for the Roses.
Walters said Santiva "exceeded our wildest expectations and performed at a level rarely seen with any 2-year-old. Santiva ran against the best horses of his generation defeating eight grade I winners including Stay Thirsty, Flat Out , Dialed In , and Brilliant Speed."
"We are very excited to have such a quality, incredibly attractive horse standing at War Horse Place," Gerry Aschinger said. "For the commercial breeder Santiva offers the most important requirements: being a son of Giant's Causeway, from a champion family, and winning a graded stakes race as a 2-year-old."