Michael Burns

Queen's Plate contender King and His Court is by Court Vision, who began his stud career in Ontario.

The Queen’s Plate is restricted to Canadian-bred runners, but their sires can reside anywhere in the world. The sires of this year’s contenders have a decidedly U.S. leaning, but a trio of hopefuls are by current or former Ontario residents.

The only stallion in that group still active in Canada is 2007 Queen’s Plate winner Mike Fox, sire of maiden winner Spirit of Caledon.

Four-Footed Fotos

Pool Play, winning the 2012 Hawthorne Gold Cup, has 18 foals in his first crop.

As the calendar moves into the summer months, juvenile races will become more plentiful at Ontario’s racetracks, and the province’s freshman stallions will begin to sort out who will be the stars of the class.

At least eight Ontario stallions are represented by their first crop of 2-year-olds in 2017.

Andrew Watkins

Arrogate has won four major Grade 1 or Group 1 races in his last four starts, including the Dubai World Cup in March.

John G. Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm has acquired a 50 percent interest in Bubbler, the dam of champion Arrogate.

The 11-year-old Distorted Humor mare is in foal to perennial leading sire Tapit for what would be her fifth foal. She was previously owned entriely by Clearsky Farms.

Barbara D. Livingston

Lord Nelson missed the 2017 breeding season.

Lord Nelson retired to Spendthrift Farm as one of the hottest stallion prospects of the 2017 class, but things didn’t go as planned.

The Grade 1-winning son of Pulpit was the morning-line second favorite behind Masochistic for last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but was scratched and subsequently retired after a cut in his right front foreleg developed an ill-timed infection.

Barbara D. Livingston

The late Scat Daddy was the sire of four winners from only eight starters at last week's Royal Ascot meeting.

In a racing milieu dominated by Europe’s two best sires Galileo and Dubawi, the undoubted star sire of last week’s Royal Ascot meeting was the late, much lamented Scat Daddy. Winner of the 2007 Grade 1 Florida Derby, Scat Daddy died Dec. 15, 2015, at Ashford Stud, only 11 years old, just as his stud career was hitting high gear on the international stage.

Horsephotos

Benchmark sired 15 crops with 436 winners.

Benchmark, a multiple Grade 2 winner and California sire, was euthanized Friday due to the infirmities of old age. He was 26.

The son of Alydar resided as a pensioner at Ballena Vista Farm in Ramona, Calif., and covered his final book of mares in 2014.

Bred in Kentucky by North Central Bloodstock, Benchmark was a $475,000 weanling purchase by Pam and Martin Wygod at the 1991 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, and was later put into training with Ron Ellis.

Megagray

Langfuhr—Megavista, by Medaglia d’Oro

(Bred in Ontario by Gustav Schickendanz)

Megagray is a product of the Gustav Schickedanz breeding program on both sides of the family, and given the Canadian Hall of Fame horseman’s two wins in the Queen’s Plate as an owner, that’s not bad.

Norumbega, a Grade 2 winner and young Maryland stallion, was euthanized June 6 due to complications from colic surgery. He was 7.

The son of Tiznow had been sent to New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa., for surgery for a cecal impaction on May 26. He was in the midst of his debut season at stud, residing at Bonita Farm in Darlington, Md. He was advertised for $3,000 and has 14 mares confirmed in foal.

Stormin Fever, a Grade 3 winner and pensioned California sire, was euthanized Thursday due to the infirmities of old age. He was 23.

The son of Storm Cat was pensioned at the end of the 2016 breeding season and was owned by Golden Eagle Farm.

Stormin Fever ran as a homebred for Virginia-based Edward P. Evans and won eight of 21 starts for earnings of $484,664. Racing for trainer Mark Hennig, he won the Grade 3 Sport Page Handicap at Aqueduct and placed in five additional graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Vosburgh Stakes in 1998 and 1999.

Barbara D. Livingston

Elusive Quality set a world record for the mile in the 1998 Poker Stakes.

Classic sire and former world record-holder Elusive Quality has been pensioned from stallion duty. The 24-year-old stallion will live out his retirement at Darley’s American base at Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Ky.