Northern Dancer (169 GSW, 38.4%)

Stallions descending from three branches of Northern Dancer – Storm Cat (66), Danzig (46) and Sadler’s Wells (31) – sired nearly 85% of the line’s graded-stakes wins in 2019. Until a decade or so ago, many if not most of Danzig and Sadler’s Wells’s graded victories were recorded by horses bred overseas. With the success of War Front (a son of Danzig), Medaglia d’Oro

and Kitten’s Joy (both grandsons of Sadler’s Wells), the two branches are now well-established in the US. Medaglia d’Oro’s 63 graded wins over the past five years (including 13 in 2019) rank second only to Tapit’s 85.

Despite the early deaths of Scat Daddy and Harlan’s Holiday, and the recent passing of Giant’s Causeway, Storm Cat remains Northern Dancer’s most successful American branch line. Although last year’s 66 graded victories were well below the high of 87 in 2014, the Storm Cat line’s 21 Grade 1 scores last year were its most ever. The line’s current poster boy is Into Mischief, a three-time champion sire of 2-year-olds. With an average winning distance of 6.71 furlongs, however, it remains to be seen how much of a factor the 15-year-old stallion will be in longer, more significant races.

Mr. Prospector (146 GSW, 33.2%)

For the 16th straight year, Fappiano racked up the most graded-stakes wins (47 in 2019) of any branch of the Mr. Prospector male line. Descendants of Fappiano’s son Unbridled accounted for a plurality of these graded wins, primarily through Empire Maker and Unbridled’s Song. The most successful individual Fappiano-line stallion in recent years, however, has been Candy Ride, a great-grandson of Fappiano through Cryptoclearance. Candy Ride’s 54 graded wins over the past five years, including eight in 2019. are the second-most of any Mr. Prospector-line stallion during this period.

Candy Ride trails only Curlin, a grandson of Mr. Prospector through Smart Strike whose 63 graded wins since 2015 included 15 last year. With multiple Grade 1 winners Palace Malice, Exaggerator,

Good Magic and Vino Rosso either at or soon to be at stud, Curlin may be on his way to establishing a prominent branch line of his own.

Bold Ruler (51 GSW, 11.6%)

Over the past two decades, the Bold Ruler male line narrowed first to Seattle Slew, then to A.P. Indy, whose descendants accounted for all 51 of Bold Ruler’s graded victories last year. With A.P. Indy’s sons Bernardini and Malibu Moon without successful heirs, the Bold Ruler line may be in the process of narrowing further to A.P. Indy’s grandson Tapit, who remains a force at the age of 19. Last year, Tapit sired the winners of 13 graded races. His total of 85 over the past five years is the most by far of any stallion.

The big question is who among Tapit’s many stallion sons will carry this line forward. Constitution, who sired a remarkable four 2-year-old graded winners in his initial crop in 2019, looks like the most likely candidate at present.

Turn-to (30 GSW, 6.8%)

The Turn-to male line owes much of its recent success, if not its continued existence, to two stallions, one each representing the Roberto and Halo branches, respectively. Arch, who died at 21 in 2016, accounted for seven graded wins in 2019, a career high. Twentythree-year-old shuttle stallion More Than Ready, coming off his best two Northern Hemisphere seasons, also had seven graded wins last year.

Most of the best Turn-to male runners of the past several years are now retired. New stallions Catholic Boy, Preservationist and Yoshida (probably the last chance for Sunday Silence in the Western Hemisphere), along with the moderately successful Blame, represent the best hopes for Turn-to going forward.