That Always Dreaming came home on top in the Derby might not have surprised handicappers. However, the result underscored the importance of this rapidly emerging branch of a line which is often misidentified as that of Fappiano, sire of Unbridled.
One might wonder why the Unbridled sire line has seemed to be spectacular in spurts. Part of the reason could be phenotypical.
A “hidden” sire-line story has emerged in two hemispheres bracketed by one daughter (Winx) and one son (Street Boss). They serve to remind us of how much influence the late Street Cry has exerted on the international breeding scene.
A.P. Indy has a son out there whose own sons have yet to show their potential—and each of the most promising ones has his first foals about to race.
During the past decade Argentina's stallion profile has become overwhelmingly North American, with a paucity of indigenously bred stallions able to succeed as more refined specimens made their way to the Pampas.
Last year, we undertook a review of the prospects of stallions with first 2-year-olds of 2016. The series focused on pedigree and biomechanical values as well as on our impressions of how their offspring performed at the juvenile sales.
What is extraordinary is the number of pedigree interrelationships that bind most of the champions.
Who he really is a son of A. P. Indy, already one of the great American sires.
Munnings the Thoroughbred was bred in the purple and is as traditional in that respect as any young stallion these days.
We looked at the eight stallions in the entire Harlan sire line as well as Storm Cat and Storm Bird and discovered that except for Storm Cat and one descendant of Harlan’s Holiday, this tribe rubs elbows very closely phenotypically.
Halo is still exerting an influence on four continents through just two sons.
In terms of an emerging force as a broodmare sire, 2016 season has been the year of the kid: Lemon Drop Kid, that is.
Passing almost unnoticed in early October was the death of Quiet American, one of the most intriguingly successful, yet somewhat overlooked, members of a tribe whose physical attributes have revolutionized racing and breeding in North America.
The upcoming mixed sales in Kentucky will be the first time we will be able to see a cornucopia of weanlings from stallions that entered stud in 2015.
In order to give some insight into what buyers might expect from how the freshmen sires of 2016 are doing, we’ve come up with some statistical compilations to project where they might be long-term.
Taking a journey into prognostication, we've hypothesized what might happen were mares by Galileo to meet up in the breeding shed with Tapit or his sons.
Freud is the most successful stallion to have entered stud in New York and stayed there, but he cannot escape comparisons with his full brother Giant's Causeway.
In our first installment we focused on the new stallions with a half-dozen or more yearlings in the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale. Here we will look at 11 other stallions—those that had 50 or more foals in their first crop.
If your brain can sniff out what you remember about Songbird's third dam Torsion Belle, whose four black-type horses appear as siblings to Songbird’s second dam Beaty Sark (by Deputy Minister), a few bells might have started to ring.
Here we go again, folks. The first yearling sale of 2016 will take place July 12 at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky’s base in Lexington, and of the 347 cataloged, 122 (35%) are by 23 stallions that entered stud in 2014.
There are two overriding theories of how breeders decide on a mating for racing, and possible future breeding success: Paper Pedigree Analysis and Physical Analysis.
Examining a widely held hypothesis that Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winners are not taken as seriously as potential commercial stallions as winners of the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) or Preakness Stakes (gr. I), or both.
The legacy of El Prado, who has emerged as a serious sire-line contender through two sons whose race records and stud accomplishments could not be more diverse.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Triple Crown series of 1966 when one horse almost swept the prize, but another horse who never ran in any of those races was named champion 3-year-old male.
Examining the family of Red Sunset for a look at why Thoroughbred families die.
When compared with all the other stallions that retired in 2011, Kantharos came out on top on our weighted average projections.
Judging by how they looked at Gulfstream and Ocala, the seven by Hansen left little doubt that he will help establish Tapit as an emerging sire-of-sires.
We have a unique opportunity to examine both the completely opposite pedigree patterns and remarkably similar biomechanical structures of three leading classics candidates.
Unbridled was the product of a rather atypical son of Mr. Prospector in Fappiano, whose size and length and driving power came from his broodmare sire, Dr. Fager.
Six stallions that are male-line descendants of A.P. Indy are represented in the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Florida juvenile sale.
When Rock Sand swept the English Triple Crown series in 1903, many thought him lucky not to have faced Zinfandel.
The unpredictable nature of this business is illustrated by Colonel John, a top-class runner whose fee dropped to $7,500 for 2016 and suddenly has a pair of colts on the Derby Trail.
Almahmoud, a fairly successful producer in her own lifetime, has become one of the great influences on the modern Thoroughbred.
Looking back to the weekend of Nov. 21-22, when no less than five sons of Giant's Causeway were represented by stakes winners in North America.
In spite of his tremendous accomplishments as a racehorse, Affirmed went to stud in 1980 with modest expectations compared to those being heaped on American Pharoah.
William 'Scott Billy' Buford, left a significant legacy through the sisters Idlewild and Aerolite.
Scat Daddy, a son of Johannesburg, and a great-grandson of Storm Cat, was represented by his seventh and eighth Northern Hemisphere 2-year-old stakes winners of 2015 in Surfside Tiara and Get Jets.
Blitey was as well-bred as a mare could be and still have a rather offbeat pedigree.
Four-time group I winner Al Kazeem will stand for £12,000 (US$18,280) for the 2016 season after proving subfertile when initially retired. The 7-year-old will enter stud at owner/breeder John Deer's Oakgrove Stud.
For the third year in a row, Gainesway's Tapit leads all North American sires by Comparable Index (CI) of mares bred.
Soaring's daughters as a group were speedy mares. When put to staying sires, however, they imparted a dash of quality speed, putting a finishing touch on Darby Dan's legacy of classic stamina.
Leading turf sire Kitten's Joy will stand for a fee of $100,000 for the third straight year in 2016, Ramsey Farm announced Nov. 5.
English Channel tops the Calumet roster at $25,000, followed by Oxbow ($17,500) and Red Rocks ($12,500).
Empire Maker has returned to what appears somewhat of a transitional time in the U.S. stallion colony.
Frosted is a son of Tapit, the first sire from the Seattle Slew line to benefit consistently from inbreeding to Seattle Slew.
Bloodroot's title as the inaugural Kentucky Broodmare of the Year added one of the last of many laurels to the career of her breeder Edward Riley Bradley, who died in August 1946.
Sired by half brothers and out of full sisters, Ah Day and Ben's Cat share three of their four grandparents, and the differences between them may have a lot to do with that quarter they don't share.
Topped by a $170,000 colt by first-crop sire The Factor, the Keeneland September yearling sale's 11th session posted gains as the auction continued to stay in positive territory overall.
Super Saver represents the male line of 1969 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Majestic Prince, a branch of the Raise a Native sire line that has been overshadowed by the much more numerous Mr. Prospector tribe.
Keeneland's September yearling sale wrapped up its one-day Book 5 session Sept. 24 in Lexington with similar figures to last year's Book 5, and overall figures are still rolling ahead of last year's returns.
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