Mineshaft (TrueNicks,SRO)’s first two years with runners didn’t go exactly the way supporters of the Horse of the Year might have hoped. However, the following year, 2009, he began a revival that gained further pace in 2010, and juding by the victory of Dialed In in the Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III) at the weekend, is set to maintain momentum in the coming year.
Actually, on reflection, the first crop sired by Mineshaft was not at all bad. From what these days counts as a relatively modest crop of 69 foals, he sired five stakes winners, including Cool Coal Man, a graded winner of over $900,000; Casino Drive, an impressive winner of the Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II), but whose subsequent career was compromised by injury; and graded stakes-winning and grade I-placed Coal Play (TrueNicks,SRO). The second crop produced seven stakes winners from 73 foals (very near the these days rarely attained 10% stakes winners to foals figure), including multiple graded winner Redding Colliery. The third crop of 76 foals has so far yielded the graded I-winning speedster Discreetly Mine (TrueNicks,SRO), and five other stakes winners, including classic-placed millionaire Fly Down, and stakes-winning Bonnie Blue Flag.
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