Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
FIRST-CROP SIRES A QUALITY GROUP
Even without Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the mix, this year’s class of first-crop yearling sires is among the strongest in recent memory. The rest of the group has combined to win two editions of the Belmont Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Breeders’ Cup Mile, Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Breeders’ Cup Sprint, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint; international classics that include the French 2000 Guineas and Chilean Triple Crown; two editions each of the Metropolitan Handicap, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Donn Handicap; and other major events including the Whitney Handicap, Woodward Stakes, Cigar Mile Handicap, and Dubai Golden Shaheen.
“It’s as good a group of first-crop sires as I can ever remember,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning said. “It’s a special group of horses, both in terms of race record and pedigree. This group has all the attributes to become major, major stallion influences. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to look up in seven or eight years and say, ‘Wow, this is one of those vintage crops.’”
The strength of the group is shown by their numbers among those chosen for the boutique Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale. There are 66 youngsters by first-crop sires among a catalog of 255 horses, or nearly 26 percent of the catalog. By contrast, last year’s catalog of 227 featured just 20 yearlings by first-crop stallions – or just under 9 percent of the total.
“It’s a hell of a group of freshman sires,” Andrew Cary of prominent consignor Select Sales said.
One of the strongest hands in this year’s class belongs to Lane’s End Farm, which debuted a quartet of Grade 1 winners in 2016 in Honor Code (by A.P. Indy), Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song), Mr Speaker (Pulpit), and Tonalist (Tapit). Honor Code earned 2015 Eclipse Award honors as champion older dirt male, with ontrack rivals Liam’s Map and Tonalist the other two finalists. All three have yearlings in the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga catalog.
“Tonalist and Liam’s Map – we were at each other all year,” Lane’s End owner William S. Farish said while accepting Honor Code’s Eclipse trophy. “I had great respect for both of them and for their owners, and am also very happy that they get to join Honor Code at Lane’s End and spend the rest of their stud careers . . . . It’s just been a fabulous year.”
Lane’s End bought into Honor Code, a member of its flagship sire A.P. Indy’s final crop, as a yearling from breeder Dell Ridge Farm. A graded stakes winner as a juvenile, the horse put together his best season as an older horse in 2015, with dramatic late charges to win the Met Mile and Whitney Handicap. He now resides in the stall beside his pensioned sire at Lane’s End.
Honor Code made a strong debut with weanlings from his first crop last year. His youngsters averaged $179,375 at the twoweek Keeneland November breeding stock sale, which tests the market at all levels. That was second among first-year sires at the auction only to American Pharoah, who averaged a staggering $416,000.
Honor Code’s group of nine yearlings at Fasig Saratoga includes a colt out of multiple Grade 1 winner and multiple stakes producer Hollywood Story. The yearlings cataloged from his solid first book of mares also include a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Egg Drop, a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Appealing Tale, a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Quantum Miss, and a half-sister to Canadian classic winner Blue Heart.
Front-running Liam’s Map rebounded from a narrow loss to Honor Code in the Whitney to win the Woodward and the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He has 11 yearlings cataloged at Fasig Saratoga, the second-most for a first-crop sire behind only American Pharoah’s 15. Tonalist, third in the Whitney, went on to repeat in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, then added the Cigar Mile in his career finale. Tonalist is from the family of Horse of the Year Havre de Grace, champion Plugged Nickle, Grade 1 winners Riskaverse, Sauce Boat, and Christiecat, and leading sire Raja Baba.
Another Belmont Stakes winner is represented at Fasig Saratoga in Palace Malice (Curlin). He captured the 2013 edition of the classic, and returned the following season to win the Met Mile, displaying brilliance along with his stamina. Now standing at Three Chimneys, Palace Malice had a breakout performance at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale, the first auction of the season. His offerings were led by a filly sold to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners for $275,000 – not only the top price for a first-year sire, but the seventh-highest price of the auction overall. He landed another yearling in the top 15 prices with a filly sold for $250,000 to bloodstock agent Steven Young.
WinStar Farm is another operation with a strong hand of first-crop yearling sires. Constitution (Tapit) dominated at Gulfstream Park, winning the 2014 Florida Derby and the next year’s Donn Handicap with a Beyer Speed Figure of 111. Multiple graded stakes winner Commissioner (A.P. Indy), also from his sire’s final crop, finished a close second to Tonalist in the Belmont. Daredevil (More Than Ready) and Carpe Diem (Giant’s Causeway) were both Grade 1-winning juveniles, and Carpe Diem added
the Blue Grass Stakes the following spring. Constitution and Carpe Diem both had multiple yearlings selected for Fasig Saratoga. Carpe Diem’s group includes a halfbrother to Grade 1 winner Include Betty and a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Soldat.
Spendthrift Farm, which has revolutionized the stallion business with its incentive programs such as Share the Upside and Breed Secure, added six new stallions to its Kentucky roster two years ago. That group is led by a pair of classic-placed performers in Grade 1 winner Danza (Street Boss), who was third in the Kentucky Derby, and multi-surface stakes performer Medal Count (Dynaformer), who was third in the Belmont. The farm also added Grade 1 winners Palace (City Zip) and Wicked Strong (Hard Spun), plus multiple Grade 2 winner Race Day (Tapit). Spendthrift, which has expanded its operations into Australia in recent years, also shuttled Hampton Court (Redoute’s Choice) to stand in Kentucky, with his resulting first Northern Hemisphere foals yearlings now. The Group 1 winner, by one of that continent’s leading sires, is from the family of champion Makybe Diva.
Hampton Court is one of several international influences with his first Kentuckysired yearlings coming to auction later this year. French 2000 Guineas and Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Karakontie (Bernstein) stands at Gainesway, near Millennium Farms, which brought in Hakassan (Sir Cat), winner of the Chilean Triple Crown. Both are from outstanding female families, with Karakontie produced from the line launched by two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Miesque, and Hakassan from the family of Triple Crown winner and prominent sire Seattle Slew.
Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild) and Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Juvenile Sprint winner Secret Circle (Eddington) were stablemates during their racing careers and have remained together in retirement at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms.
Other Grade 1 winners retiring to stud in Kentucky for 2016 were Competitive Edge (Super Saver) at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, Jack Milton (War Front) at Crestwood Farm, and Lea (First Samurai) at Claiborne Farm.
Bayern, Competitive Edge, and Lea all have yearlings at Fasig Saratoga, along with Grade 2-winning first-crop sires Tapiture (Tapit) of Darby Dan and Summer Front (War Front) of Airdrie Stud. While not all of this year’s strong racetrack performers had yearlings chosen for the boutique auction, consignors are looking ahead to the fall sales, such as the bellwether Keeneland September auction and the rapidly rising FasigTipton Kentucky October sale, to give others a chance to shine.
“It’s a very exciting group,” Cary said. “Even some under-the-radar horses are really nice – like Palace at Spendthrift, I’ve heard some really good things about him. Competitive Edge, a horse who was a super-good 2-year-old, an expensive 2-year-old. I like the Palace Malices a lot. Commissioner is throwing a lot of nice babies, Tapiture as well, and Lea.”