Category Archives: Bloodstock

When the handsome gray colt Jack and Noah won the Atlantic Beach S. with ease at Aqueduct on November 9, he represented what might be a first wave of invaders by the young Dansili stallion, Bated Breath. North Americans may not be aware of Bated Breath, but he is a beautifully bred sprint specialist (five and six furlongs were his best distances) from the truly admirable Juddmonte breeding program.

Given her three Group One wins in Ireland, Iridessa seemed a huge overlay in the Filly and Mare Turf-G1. Then again she was up against one of the horses, along with Midnight Bisou and Omaha Beach – Sistercharlie, who seemed a mortal lock to close out her unbeaten season with a win

Was there really ever any doubt as to who would be the leading freshman sire of 2019? American Pharoah was always the stand-out among the first crop sires. The surprise is that he’s turned out to be a great turf sire.

This past weekend’s jam-packed racing schedule, the last gasp of the win-and-you’re-in Breeders’ Cup stakes races, created many surprises, but at the top of that list may be the drama in the leading freshman sires list.

Who didn’t love Lady Eli? So many reasons to adore her: her ten wins and three seconds from 14 starts, her many Grade One wins, at least one for every year she raced, her devastating turn of foot down the stretch, her $2,959,800 in earnings.

On Saturday, September 28, Smart Strike sired the winner of the John Henry Turf Championship S.-G2 at Santa Anita. His spectacular son, Curlin, sired the winner, before disqualification, of the Jockey Club Gold Cup S.-G1 at Belmont, Vino Rosso. And his freshman sire grandson, Palace Malice, sired the winner of the Pilgrim S.-G3, at Belmont, Structor.

The big racing news of Saturday, September 21, occurred when both Grade One races at Parx, the Cotillion S. for three-year-old fillies and the Pennsylvania Derby for three-year-old colts were won by longshots, both by near-forgotten stallions.

Vast, a daughter of Claiborne Farm’s first crop sire Lea, won the Hollywood Wildcat S. on September 22 at Monmouth by 2 ¾ lengths, to become the popular young stallion’s first stakes winner. Lea stands for $7500 at Claiborne, and his yearlings have been well-supported, with an average of over $75,000 at auction.

It doesn’t take Albert Einstein to realize some genetics are, simply, magical. Juddmonte Farms advertised Empire Maker, when he first went to stud, as a “genetic masterpiece,” and they were correct, but Empire Maker isn’t Juddmonte’s only genetic masterpiece. The full brothers Frankel and Noble Mission represent more great art.

The frenzy over discovery of the next big thing in the thoroughbred industry—note the competitive if not frenzied bidding at the Keeneland September Sale for the offspring of Runhappy, Nyquist and Frosted—frequently obscures the great older sires and their achievements. On Saturday, September 14, old school sires shone, with Tiznow’s son Dennis’ Moment taking the Iroquois S.-G3 at Churchill in dominant, if not downright easy, fashion.