California Stallions 2015: Leading sires, statistics, regional coverage, more
Daily Racing Form's complete look at California sires, including leading sire profiles, regional coverage, and statistics.
DRF StaffJan 23, 2015
Daily Racing Form's complete look at California sires, including leading sire profiles, regional coverage, and statistics.
The horse with the ideal name has become the perfect ambassador for California Thoroughbred breeding. When the immensely popular California Chrome was named 2014 Horse of the Year on Jan. 17, he gave California breeding a much-needed boost in recognition after several years of declining foal crops in one of the nation’s most important racing regions.
California’s top 10 general sires of 2014 averaged 124 starters each last season. Lucky Pulpit checked in significantly below that, with just 73 representatives on the track in 2014. But when one of those runners is California Chrome, numbers don’t matter.
Through all the changes in California racing over the past 17 years – shuttering tracks, shuffling of racing dates, new surfaces, and new leadership – one of the state’s pillars of consistency has been Unusual Heat.
Bluegrass Cat, already well traveled in his relatively young stallion career, will stand his first season in California in 2015 – but comes with a ready-made advertisement for local breeders.
Officials of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and its president-elect have filed responses to an appeal lodged by Terry Finley into the conduct of the association’s latest election for president, arguing that Finley’s claims are without merit.
It took little for Grace Upon Grace to lead California’s freshman sires in 2014.
Madame Giry might not win the Sunday feature at Gulfstream Park with Jose Lezcano riding, but in the long run, a wager on Lezcano on the grass has been a pretty solid investment.
A season of transition for the Barretts sales company in Pomona, Calif., begins on Monday with a familiar launch – the January mixed sale that has started the California auction season for more than two decades. Monday’s sale of breeding stock, 2-year-olds, yearlings, and horses of racing age will be the second-to-last sale at the Barretts facility on the Los Angeles county fairgrounds. Following the select sale of 2-year-olds in training on Feb. 23, no further sales will be held at that site. The company will permanently shift its sales events to Del Mar.
There are some competitive fields on this California Cup card, which present some opportunities. The trouble is you have to wait a bit – three of the first four races are for maidens and chockfull of first-time starters, so wading in too deep there seems risky business.