Written by Matt Bernier
As we continue down the Road to the Kentucky Derby, some of
the most common discussions are about young three year old colts and fillies
and their pedigrees. Is (fill in the blank) bred to stay the ten, grueling
furlongs of the Kentucky Derby? (Fill in the blank) was a precocious filly that
displayed brilliant speed as a two year old, but does she have the ability to
carry that speed for nine furlongs the First Friday in May at Churchill Downs
on Oaks Day? With such a small sample size with which to create an opinion, one
of the few factors that potentially sheds some light on the matter is a three
year old’s lineage.
As I go through and look at the potential contenders for the
Derby and the Oaks and their pedigrees, it gets me thinking – if money wasn’t
an issue and I owned a mare, which sire would I have her bred to? Without
getting too deep into the world of breeding and crosses and whatnot, I’m going
to assume my hypothetical mare happened to handle dirt, turf and synthetic
surfaces equally well. As far as her preferred distance, she excelled at eight
furlongs – respectable at 6-7 furlongs as well as 8.5-9 furlongs, but truly
excelled at a flat mile. Having that information regarding the background of “Mare”,
I came up with a list of ten of North America’s top sires that are still active
that I would consider breeding her to.
Giant’s Causeway
Storm
Cat-Mariah’s Storm, by Rahy
Champion sire in 2009, 2010 and 2012, Giant’s Causeway is one of the
rare horses whose offspring have performed at the absolute top level on dirt,
turf and synthetic surfaces. From an earnings standpoint, the best runner he’s
produced to date has been the Japanese raced Eishin Apollon, who excelled at
middle distances on the grass. More recently, some of Giant’s Causeway’s most
famous runners domestically have been Fed Biz, Book Review and Creative Cause.
Speightstown
Gone West-Silken Cat, by Storm Cat
As far as versatility is concerned, Speightstown may be at the head of
the class. Speightstown’s famous runners have ranged from Bridgetown winning
graded stakes sprinting on the grass, to Haynesfield taking the Jockey Club
Gold Cup on dirt, to Jersey Town winning the Kelso at a flat mile. At the
moment, his most recognized runner may be Golden Ticket, who dead heated to win
the 2012 Travers Stakes and recently destroyed an allowance field while making
his four year old debut at Gulfstream Park.
Tapit
Pulpit-Tap Your Heels, by Unbridled
It’s difficult to miss any of Tapit’s children on the race track,
seeing as 95% of his offspring are gray/roan. The first of his kids that
probably comes to mind is Hansen, if for no other reason because of the
publicity that was created for the colt by his owner, Dr. Kendall Hansen. Tapit’s
progeny have had success all over the world, as evidenced by the success of
Testa Matta, who won the Group 1 February Stakes in Japan last year.
Domestically, some of his more famous offspring include Tapitsfly, who is a
multiple Grade 1 winner on turf, Dance Card, who is an up and coming filly that
won the Grade 1 Gazelle in November, and Tapizar, winner of the 2012 Breeders’
Cup Mile. The Tapit’s are making some noise early on the Road to the Kentucky
Derby, as well. Flashback, He’s Had Enough and Honorable Dillon are all young
three year olds that seem to have loads of potential.
Smart Strike
Mr. Prospector-Classy ‘n Smart, by Smarten
Smart Strike is another stallion whose progeny have shown the ability
to handle multiple surfaces. Quite clearly, the most famous son of Smart Strike
is North America’s highest money earner of all time, Curlin. More recently,
Champion Two Year Old filly My Miss Aurelia and Champion Two and Three Year Old
male Lookin at Lucky come to mind. As far as turf ability is concerned, Smart
Strike has sired some great runners. English Channel and Never Retreat are just
a couple that come to mind. The one constant that seems to be evident with the
best of his progeny is the fact that a route of ground seems to suit them best.
Smart Strike has had some successful sprinters, but it’s clear that his most
successful children have excelled routing.
Malibu Moon
A.P. Indy-Macoumba, by Mr. Prospector
Malibu Moon is a stallion that has gained steam over the past few
seasons. While he doesn’t boast the list of monster offspring that some of the
others may have already established, Malibu Moon hasn’t been a slouch by any
stretch of the imagination. To date, the mare Life At Ten has been his most
successful descendant. However, her title may be in serious danger because of a
young filly by the name of Kauai Katie. Early in her three year old campaign,
it could be argued that Kauai Katie is one of the top five sprinters in the
country, let alone her division. Another three year old of Malibu Moon’s that I’m
very fond of is Orb. While many of Malibu Moon’s children have had their best
success sprinting, I’m hopeful Orb will excel at the classic distances.
Distorted Humor
Forty Niner-Danzig’s Beauty, by Danzig
Distorted Humor has one acknowledgement that no other active sire can
stake claim to. He’s the only active stallion to have sired winners of the
Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. How’s that for being able
to handle a route of ground? Turf isn’t necessarily his strong suit as a
stallion, but his offspring’s ability to handle dirt more than makes up for
that. With the likes of Commentator, Any Given Saturday, Funny Cide, Flower
Alley, and 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer to his credit, it’s
plain to see why Distorted Humor still commands a $100,000 stud fee in 2013.
Medaglia d’Oro
El Prado-Cappucino Bay, by Bailjumper
When people hear the name Medaglia d’Oro, they immediately think of
2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (get well soon, champ), and rightfully
so. What many people often overlook is the versatility of Medaglia d’Oro as a
sire. While Rachel Alexandra and Plum Pretty, both dirt horses, top the list of
all time earners of his, he’s also had some outstanding turf runners. Of the
lot, the five year old mare Marketing Mix is probably his best overall. Add in
the likes of Al Khali and C.S. Silk, and it’s plain to see why Medaglia d’Oro is
still such a highly regarded stallion. By the way, did I mention one of this
year’s early Derby favorites, Violence, is by Medaglia d’Oro?
Ghostzapper
Awesome Again-Baby Zip, by Relaunch
It could be argued that, because of his versatility, Ghostzapper was
the best thoroughbred of the 2000’s. Horses don’t come around very often that
win Grade 1’s at 6.5 furlongs, 8 furlongs, 9 furlongs and 10 furlongs over a
twenty month span. While he was brilliant on the track, Ghostzapper’s progeny
haven’t quite reached his level of racing success. Having said that, he had the
second most graded stakes wins in the nation last year as a sire, led by Grade
1 Test champion Contested. Throw in a graded stakes winner on the turf in La
Cloche and a grade one winner in Stately Victor, and it’s hard to argue with
Ghostzapper as a top level stallion.
Bernardini
A.P. Indy-Cara Rafaela, by Quiet American
As the relatively new kid on the block, Bernardini has taken the
breeding world by storm. His overall numbers may be slightly lower than some of
the other’s listed here, but his upside has already been witnessed on the race
track. His most successful son to date has been Stay Thirsty, winner of the
2011 Jim Dandy, 2011 Travers, and 2012 Cigar Mile. Not to be outshined,
Bernardini has sired graded stakes winners in To Honor and Serve, Alpha and Wilburn,
as well. One of his more popular runners at the moment has to be Eblouissante,
a two-for-two half-sister to the great Zenyatta, who is awaiting her stakes
debut. He’s just had a foal out of Rachel Alexandra and we’re all awaiting his
foal from Zenyatta in the near future – Bernardini is most definitely the hot stallion
at the moment.
Street Cry
Machiavellian-Helen Street, by Troy
How many stallions can be credited with producing a Kentucky Derby
winner, a Travers winner, a Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic winner, a Breeders’
Cup Classic winner, a Melbourne Cup winner, and a two time Grade 1 winning
sprinter over synthetics? I’m not sure what the exact number is, but I’m going
to go out on a limb and say it’s probably less than two – and Street Cry is one
of them. For the most part, in the United States, breeding revolves around
horse’s potential on dirt. It’s very rare that you find a sire that not only
can produce top level dirt horses, but can also produce the very best on turf
and synthetic surfaces. Zenyatta is obviously Street Cry’s “Mona Lisa”, but
when you add horses like Street Sense, Shocking and Street Boss to his
credentials, you’ve got yourself a beast of a stallion.
Clearly there are other noteworthy stallions that could be listed
here, but these were the ten I chose to proceed with. If I were to choose one
of these ten, I’d send “Mare” off to be bred to Speightstown. Obviously everyone would like to think that the
healthy colt or filly they’re getting back is classic bound, but odds are that
isn’t the case. Knowing this, I’d want to take my best shot at getting a top
notch racehorse, regardless of the distance or the surface, and I believe
Speightstown would give me my best chance at getting that. I’m anxious to see
which sire other people would choose if they were in this position – maybe they
select one of the stallions listed here, or maybe they go with a “write in”,
such as Tiznow, Arch, Big Brown, Curlin or Candy Ride. I’d select Speightstown –
who would you select?