Covering all bases – US stallions in focus

There’s no doubt that the Thoroughbred is more versatile than we give it credit for.

It’s a rich part of racing lore how John Magnier, Vincent O’Brien and Robert Sangster originally tapped into the American yearling market to source ‘baby stallions’, coming away with the likes of Storm Bird, The Minstrel and El Gran Senor in the process. For all the brilliance of Nijinsky, the first to bring Northern Dancer to attention in Europe when sent out by O’Brien to win the Triple Crown in 1970, it was still initially a gamble. Northern Dancer was a dirt runner through and through, as had been his sire Nearctic and damsire Native Dancer before him. But European horses such as Nearco, Hyperion and Mahmoud also weaved in and out of his pedigree and as the Magnier triumvirate and then latterly the Maktoum family went to great lengths to bring his stock back to Europe, it didn’t take long for him to prove himself as a sire of elite turf horses and become a global force.

There continues to be good cross-Atlantic trade today but it remains very much the domain of some of the larger operations and the breeze-up community. Yet if results from recent weeks have taught us anything, then disregard some of the current American stallions at your peril. Granted, a line such descending from a horse like A.P. Indy is always going to be most at home on dirt. However, there are plenty of other dirt runners, notably Justify and Not This Time to go with the veterans Medaglia d’Oro, Quality Road and War Front, who are proving capable of bridging the divide.

Triple Crown winner Justify owes much of his global prominence to the belief of Coolmore, who ensured he received a number of high-performing and well-bred European mares in his early books while attracting a similar base of domestic dirt types at its Ashford Stud in Kentucky.

Justify was a big, powerful dirt runner but he is, after all, a son of Scat Daddy and therefore goes back to Storm Bird. Scat Daddy, in particular, was quick to develop into an influence for all jurisdictions, with his early status as the ‘Galileo of Chile’ swiftly complemented by a raft of top-flight winners in the US and Europe.

Justify had raced for a partnership that included WinStar Farm but ultimately it was to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, already by then home to another Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, that he retired in 2019 at an opening fee of $150,000. Coolmore were quick to gamble on his ability to become effective with turf mares by sending him the likes of Ballydoyle, Brave Anna, Clemmie, Gagnoa, Immortal Verse, Together Forever and Virginia Waters in his first season and Alice Springs, Liscanna, Maryinsky, Misty For Me, Roly Poly, Silk And Scarlet, Wedding Vow and Winter alongside returns for Brave Anna, Clemmie, Gagnoa and Together Forever in his second.

It’s quite a roll call of mares and was a move that showed signs of paying off early on when Aidan O’Brien sent out Statuette, the filly out of Immortal Verse, to win the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes on her second start in June 2022.

By the end of that July, there had also been a Saratoga highlight in the Grade 2 Schuylerville Stakes winner Just Cindy while back in Ireland, Aspen Grove won the Group 3 Newtownanner Stud Stakes.

Thus the foundations for the versatility that we’re seeing now from Justify were laid early on, which was further underlined when his first two Australian crops yielded the Group 2-winning two-year-olds Learning To Fly and Storm Boy.

It hasn’t always been plain sailing. Strangely, there was a spell between early March and mid-June last year when there was just the one stakes winner in the Northern Hemisphere – and a non Graded one at that in Wonderful Justice. But then the breakthrough arrived on a major stage when Arabian Lion ran away with the Grade 1 Woody Stephens Stakes on dirt and not long after that, Aspen Grove won the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks on turf.

Of course, the best was still to come by that stage in City Of Troy. Out of Together Forever and a brilliant unbeatan two-year-old for Aidan O’Brien, City Of Troy became the first American-sired winner of the Derby since Kris Kin (by Kris S) in 2003 when putting a dismal display in the 2,000 Guineas behind him with a highly impressive win at Epsom. Since a workmanlike winner of the Eclipse Stakes, there remains the sense that connections are still keen to tap into the Justify angle and try him on dirt. As it is, his presence consolidates Justify’s place as one of the world’s most important stallions, especially as he sits within a powerful second crop that also contains the Prix Marcel Boussac and Nassau Stakes winner Opera Singer, tough Classic-placed filly Ramatuelle and last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Hard To Justify on turf. Another daughter, Just F Y I, also won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

City Of Troy is also further evidence of how – crucially for Coolmore – he clicks with Galileo, being one of five stakes winners bred on the cross.

Justify was understandably a very busy stallion at Ashford this season, where he stood for a private fee rumoured to be in the region of $300,000.

 

‘Prevail on any surface’

Like Justify, American Pharoah was an American Triple Crown winner for Bob Baffert, in his case the first since Affirmed some 37 years before. Despite his dirt profile, he’s been quick to forge a fine reputation as a source of turf runners and on an international scale. Harvey’s Lil Goil, Marketsegmentation and As Time Goes By are Grade 1 winners on turf in the US, Riff Rocket won last season’s Group 1 Victoria Derby, Australian Derby and Rosehill Guineas in Australia and Van Gogh won the Criterium International for Aidan O’Brien.

The horse’s racing owner Ahmed Zayat once shed some light on how this turf affinity could develop in an article with the Blood-Horse. “John Magnier asked Bob Baffert if American Pharoah could (run on) turf, and Bob told them, ‘He can do anything.’,” said Zayat. “That’s why they sent so many turf mares to him. We always felt he would prevail on any surface.”

Now 12, the son of Pioneerof The Nile stood the past season for $50,000.

Away from the Triple Crown winners, Coolmore’s Ashford roster offers several other interesting options for European eyes. Munnings ($75,000) works on both surfaces, in keeping with the Speightstown and Gone West sire line, while Uncle Mo ($150,000), a rare representative of the Grey Sovereign sire line but via In Excess, remains one of the most consistent sources of top-flight performers in the US, his 16 Grade 1 winners including the likes of Kentucky Derby hero Nyquist and Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal. He’s primarily a dirt influence but he’s not without his turf representatives either, as Grade 1 winners Golden Pal and Mo Town illustrate. He’s also become a particularly effective sire of sires while he’s worth keeping an eye on as a broodmare sire given his early representatives in that department include this year’s Grade 1 winners Muth and Thorpedo Anna.

Claiborne gems

It was back in 1926 that Arthur Hancock imported Sir Gallahad from France to stand at his Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Bought for $125,000, the son of Teddy sired 1930 Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox out of his first American crop and in the years that followed, the Hancock family successfully repeated the trick with Blenheim, imported in 1941, and Nasrullah, who was acquired by Hancock’s son Arthur ‘Bull’ in 1950.

Since then, the availability of a blend of dirt and turf lines have been a cornerstone of the Claiborne Farm roster. Today it remains underpinned by the veteran War Front, the source of European Group 1 winners such as Air Force Blue, Brave Anna, Declaration Of War and War Command, but Blame also remains popular, especially in light of his growing prowess as a broodmare sire, while the likes of Demarchelier, First Samurai and Annapolis appeal as value options.

“My great-grandfather and grandfather imported stallions from Europe,” says Claiborne Farm president Walker Hancock. “That’s what we became known for then and it’s great to see one of our stallions continue that transatlantic influence.

“War Front is doing fantastic. He doesn’t look a day over 15 years. We’ve always managed his book and he doesn’t breed as many mares as he used to but his fertility is holding strong. When they get to this age [22], you’re holding your breath but he was just as good this year as he ever was.”

War Front’s year so far includes five stakes winners including the Grade 3 scorers First World War, Fort Washington and Goliad.

“He can still produce a top level horse. He’s still the leading active sire by stakes horses and stakes winners and he has sons standing all over the world. I think there are 23 sons of his who have produced stakes winners, which is pretty incredible. We’re proud of him for many reasons but particularly for his influence on an international scale. His legacy will not only continue here in America but globally as well.”

One name on the cusp of becoming the 24th stakes-producing sire-son if early results are anything to go by is Claiborne’s War Of Will ($25,000). The former European breezer was remarkably versatile himself, winning the Preakness Stakes on dirt and Maker’s Mark Mile on turf, and has already been represented by the stakes-placed juveniles Garden Of War and My Emmy out of his first crop of two-year-olds.

“War Of Will has every right to continue that War Front legacy,” says Hancock. “Some of the trainers are saying they want to run a little bit further and those types of races will start to be written out for two-year-olds shortly.

“He’s a big for a War Front – he’s a War Front with more leg and more substance – and a lot of his offspring have that size as well so they should be better as they get older. They’re nice horses and those stakes-placed two-year-olds have run some pretty good numbers so they’re something to look forward to when they run again.” Richard Fahey and George Scott are among the trainers in this part of the world with War Of Will two-year-olds in their care.

Claiborne added another Grade 1-winning son of War Front earlier this season in Annapolis ($12,500), the Bass family’s homebred winner of the Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland.

“Annapolis came to us only in the middle of January and ended up covering 150 mares,” says Hancock. “He’s a gorgeous horse from a prolific dirt family. The Bass family sent him some lovely mares that could have gone to any stallion in Kentucky and because of that investment and belief in him, outside breeders gained the confidence to support him as well. So he’s going to have a huge chance of making it.”

Another young inmate, Silver State ($15,000), gained his Grade 1 victory in the 2021 Metropolitan Mile on dirt but as a son of Hard Spun, could well end up working on both surfaces. He has first yearlings this year.

At the other end of the age spectrum, veterans Blame and First Samurai ($7,500) have also long served as fine dual-surface stallions. Blame ($25,000) in particular has enjoyed something of a resurgence recently as the market becomes more cognisant of his potential as a broodmare sire, a record that so far comprises of 19 stakes winners led by champion Forte. A welcome outlet of the Roberto sire line, his own stud record also boasts an eclectic collection of Group/Grade 1 winners highlighted by last year’s Kentucky Oaks heroine Wet Paint and the Niarchos’ homebred Prix de Diane heroine Senga.

“Blame has a couple of nice horses in France at the moment in [Listed winners] Ribaltagaia and Sibayan,” says Hancock. “The Aga Khan [owner-breeder of Sibayan] has always used him and done well with him.”

He adds of the horse who famously defeated Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic: “Blame had a decent start at stud but people got off him because he didn’t probably live up to their initial high expectations. But now people realise how good his fillies are – not that his colts are too shabby. However, his fillies are exceptional and now they’re looking very good as broodmares. Actually he’s the leading active sire by AEI [average earnings index on 1.84] right now ahead of some really prominent broodmare sires. And he’s still a young horse at 18 by their standards.”

Now is the time

If there’s one stallion with the potential to join Justify in changing the dynamic of the cross-Atlantic divide in the short term, then it’s Taylor Made Stallions’ Not This Time.

The son of Giant’s Causeway was thrust into the European spotlight at Royal Ascot as the sire of Norfolk Stakes winner Shareholder. However, in American racing circles he has been on the rise for some time as one of the most versatile and potentially elite stallions of his time.

A snapshot of his versatility can be gleaned from the fact that out of five crops of racing age he is the sire of 35 stakes winners ranging from a top dirt two-year-old in Princess Noor, a champion three-year-old on dirt in Epicenter, an older champion on turf in Up To The Mark and Grade 1-winning sprinter Cogburn, who recently earned the moniker of ‘fastest horse in the world’ when clocking 59.80 over 5 ½ furlongs for his victory in the Grade 1 Jaipur Handicap on turf.

None of the above were sired at a fee of greater than $15,000, which means the stallion has offered a helping hand to many smaller breeders. Indeed, Shareholder hails from the season that his fee was raised to $40,000; it currently sits at a career-high of $150,000.

“We’re very lucky and fortunate to have what could be in time one of the best stallions in the world,” says Travis White, director of stallions at Taylor Made Stallions. “It’s his versatility that sets him apart. And we’re all hoping that as the quality of his mares rises, the results on the track and success will follow that.”

Not This Time covered a full book of 191 mares this season, several belonging to some of the larger European outfits including Imad Alsagar’s Blue Diamond Stud.

“He’s such a good breeder, he can cover his fair share of mares,” says White. “We picked up some European and Japanese interest, including some breeders who hadn’t bred to the horse previously. He’s a predominantly dirt stallion but he’s also offering an opportunity to some of those turf type mares – in years past, those powerhouse operations may have taken those types of mares back over to Europe.”

Campaigned by the Albaugh Family Stable, Not This Time was an accomplished dirt performer himself during his sole season of racing for Dale Romans, running second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in which he suffered a career-ending soft tissue injury. However, as a son of Giant’s Causeway, there was always the possibility that he could work as a stallion on both surfaces. He also belongs to a highly successful female family that owes much of its former cultivation to John Nerud and Tartan Farms, the combination behind the iconic 1960s American runner Dr Fager.

With Giant’s Causeway, you have that versatility, soundness and will to win. And on the bottom side of his pedigree, you have that speed

“There’s a lot of pretty cool dynamics within his pedigree,” says White. “With Giant’s Causeway, you have that versatility, soundness and will to win. And on the bottom side of his pedigree, you have that speed. Physically, he’s also tremendous. I remember watching him train one day and the way he got over the ground was effortless.”

He adds: “The Albaugh family have been great to work with. They’ve supported him heavily from the beginning and tried to find the best stock by him at the sales. And we have a really good base of shareholders in the horse too.

“He was at the right price point initially and he also gets a good sales horse. Because of that, he got good early support from some very successful commercial breeders and that helped him get off to the right start. And what is so good is that he’s made a lot of people money every step of the way, from the people who bred to him to those who pinhooked his progeny. There’s a lot of people who have benefitted from his success.”

Next year, there will be at least three sons of Not This Time at stud in Kentucky following the announcement that Cogburn is to retire to WinStar Farm. Ashford already stands Epicenter, who covered 262 mares in his first season last year, while Lane’s End Farm welcomed Up To The Mark to its roster this year. Up To The Mark’s championship four-year-old season consisted of a trio of turf Grade 1 wins as well as a runner-up effort to Auguste Rodin in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, and he was reportedly extremely popular at his opening fee of $25,000 this season.

Award-winning stats

By the statistics, ignore Mill Ridge Farm’s Oscar Performance at your peril. Increasingly a worthy heir to his sire Kitten’s Joy, he was at the time of writing a top five American third-crop sire by earnings but is top of the class by number of Graded stakes winners (four) and percentage of black-type winners to runners (6.4%), both figures which trump even Justify.

Oscar Performance’s profile was interesting in that he ran free of Lasix in a career that featured eight wins, including the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at two, Belmont Derby Invitational and Secretariat Stakes at three and Woodbine Mile at four. Upon his retirement to stud in 2019, he was launched with the backing of a syndicate that included his breeders John and Jerry Amerman, George Strawbridge, the Coolmore-affiliated Orpendale, Glennwood Farm and Mike Ryan.

Now he is rewarding that support with a roll call that includes the turf runners Trikari, the recent winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational and Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes, and current Grade 3 winner Endlessly. There is also a high-class dirt filly in Red Carpet Ready, last year’s winner of the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes.

What makes me really excited is that he’s moving his mares up

Oscar Performance covered a career-high of 160 mares at $20,000 last season and was fully booked again this year.

“We ended up with 169 mares,” says Price Bell of Mill Ridge Farm. “We got a little bit of a flurry at the end and there were some really nice mares coming his way as well. It was hard as we had to say no to a lot of people.

“He started the year at $25,000 and in mid-March, we moved to $35,000 off demand, and even then it didn’t slow down.

“We’ve had a really good shareholder base supporting him throughout. Conformationally, he’s very correct and he always has thrown an attractive horse. But people still didn’t really know what to think. They thought he was going to be a turf horse so you didn’t really have any of the American two-year-old pinhook market on him to begin with.”

Recent results, headlined by Red Carpet Ready and current Grade 3 winner Tumbarumba, are changing that perception.

“Last year, he started getting more dirt-type mares,” says Bell. “Physically, he’s straight in his hind leg which helps them get over the dirt better – I think his physical type has been very helpful in that regard.

“What makes me really excited is that he’s moving his mares up – Endlessly’s dam was looking exposed and Trikari’s mother was the same. And trainers like them. People like Graham Motion and Brian Lynch rave about them because they all try.”

On the rise

Also worthy of a second look from a statistical view is Airdrie Stud’s Collected ($10,000), whose black-type winners to runners ratio sits at 4.1 per cent. Although a Grade 1 winner on the dirt himself, Collected is a son of the versatile City Zip and his own first crop, now four-year-olds, include a pair of grass Grade 2 winners in Kalik and Conclude.

Spendthrift Farm’s Bolt d’Oro ($60,000) was another to underline his versatility from an early point, an attribute in keeping with his sire Medaglia d’Oro. His first two-year-olds were quick out of the blocks to the point that he actually ended 2022 as America’s leading first-crop sire ahead of Justify. To date, he is the sire of 11 black-type winners ranging from last season’s Grade 1-winning two-year-old Tamara to the Jessica Harrington-trained Irish Group 3 winner Bold Discovery.

Darley’s Hard Spun ($35,000), meanwhile, remains a consistent yet underrated source of winners. Now 20, he has 15 Group/Grade 1 winners to his credit including the top turf filly Hard Not To like.

Underrated could also be applied to describe Karakontie, a descendant of Miesque and an exceptional miler for the Niarchos family himself who stood the past season for $15,000 at Gainesway Farm. Although well supported throughout by his connections, none of his crops of racing age hold the numerical weight of some of his contemporaries. Yet the son of Bernstein has sired three very accomplished turf fillies in She Feels Pretty, Spendarella and Princess Grace, all of whom are proven Grade 1 performers, as well as British Group 3 winner Kenzai Warrior.

Within the same price bracket, the Storm Cat sire line is also responsible for Kantharos, a member of the Tale Of The Cat branch who stands at Hill ’n’ Dale Farm. A speed influence, his turf resume contains the Grade 2 winners Bucchero – himself now a successful sire – Ancient Secret and Lady Grace.

 

‘Demarchelier is holding his own in a tough marketplace’

Demarchelier ($7,500) looked a Grade 1 winner in waiting when suffering a career-ending injury in the 2019 Belmont Derby Invitational. Peter Brant’s colt, a yearling purchase from Newsells Park Stud as a Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling, had rattled off three consecutive victories culminating in the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park. That saw him go off favourite for the Belmont Derby, his first step into Grade 1 company, but he took a bad step and was pulled up with an injury that necessitated his immediate retirement.

An inexpensive turf horse is hard to market in Kentucky but Demarchelier has at least got the backing of Brant and Claiborne Farm. He’s also in possession of a serious pedigree being a Dubawi grandson of blue hen Jude.

Installed initially at $5,000, Demarchelier has made an eye-catching start as the sire of four first-crop black-type performers including Brant’s classy French colt De Sica.

“Demarchelier is holding his own in a tough marketplace,” says Walker Hancock, president of Claiborne Farm. “Peter Brant sent a few mares in his first and second year but he’s never bred a huge book so he’s doing well for the limited numbers that he’s had.

“He’s great if you’re breeding to race. We’ve had a couple of breeders this year use him because they want to breed on the turf, and he certainly fits that bill.

“It’s so hard to bring European stallions over here. So we figured perhaps we can bring them to American breeders if they’re homegrown, and hopefully people will realise that this horse is doing well and give him a chance.

“The commercial market is unfortunately lagging behind the reality, which is that turf racing in America is increasing in popularity and the purses are astronomical, especially at somewhere like Kentucky Downs. Hopefully the commercial market will start to follow suit and people will realise that the turf cheques cash just as well as the dirt cheques! Once they realise that, perhaps we can have some more turf-type sires here. We are seeing a change – Up To The Mark has just finished his first season at Lane’s End and he was popular so it will be interesting to see what happens.”

Another horse who is doing particularly well in light of limited opportunities is Airdrie Stud’s Divisidero.

Despite a race record underpinned by durability and class, in which he won seven races over five seasons including the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Turf Classic and over $1.6 million, Divisidero has just 28 foals in his first crop of three-year-olds. Yet two, Vote No and Abrumar, are already stakes winners. Divisidero has just 15 two-year-olds and 12 yearlings on the ground but his start at stud, race record and pedigree – by Kitten’s Joy, he’s from the extended female family of Northern Dancer and Danehill – should make him of interest, especially at his current fee of $5,000.

Also at $5,000 is Coolmore’s Grade 1 winner Mo Town, a Graded stakes scorer on both turf and dirt whose first two crops contain ten stakes winners, five of them at Graded stakes level.

Mo Town, as a son of Uncle Mo, offers something a little bit different as far as background is concerned.

Similarly, there are also several value representatives of the Roberto sire line, blood which has long been renowned for its durability.

The Dynaformer horse Temple City can be used at Spendthrift Farm for just $5,000 despite a record headlined by the Grade 1 winners Annals Of Time, Bolo and Miss Temple City. He will turn 20 next year but luckily several younger representatives of the same line are also coming through in Preservationist and Instilled Regard, both Grade 1-winning sons of Arch who have made bright starts to their fledgling careers. Airdrie Stud’s Preservationist, who stands for just $5,000, came into his own as an older horse, winning the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes as a six-year-old. However, his first crop of three-year-olds already contain three stakes winners led by the recent Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes scorer Antiquarian. Instilled Regard, who stands at Taylor Made Stallions with the backing of his owner Larry Best of OXO Equine for $7,500, was also a Grade 1 winner as an older horse so it bodes well that he is already the sire of two winners from his first three runners.

Like Demarchelier, Grade 1-winning miler Raging Bull ($10,000) will also benefit from the backing of Peter Brant, in his case at Gainesway Farm. The son of Dark Angel was a tough horse, winning the Maker’s Mark Mile, Hollywood Derby and Shoemaker Mile and filling the frame in another nine Grade 1 races. His first crop, now yearlings, have sold for up to $100,000.

An European flavour is also added by War Horse Place’s Sacred Life, a son of Siyouni who stands for just $2,000. Unbeaten in three starts at two in France, when his successes included the Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon, he was also a Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed as an older horse in the US. Overall, this tough horse won eight of 27 starts and his first crop are foals this year.