Lucky Pulpit's reign atop the California sire ranks was cemented less than a quarter of the way through 2016, when California Chrome stormed down the stretch to dominate the $10 million Dubai World Cup.
Haynesfield, a former Kentucky stallion and Grade 1 winner, was recently moved to California for the 2017 breeding season. The millionaire racehorse could draw significant attention from the state's breeders after recent changes among the leading stallions.
California's freshman sire class of 2017 sits poised to be one of the most competitive groups in recent memory, not only among its own ranks, but for the state's overall leading juvenile sire title.
California owner and breeder Richard Barton has amassed a massive broodmare band in recent years and has sent many of them to young stallion Champ Pegasus, whose first foals race next year. By next Christmas, Barton is hoping the stallion will be the talk of California racing.
Charles Fipke, who bought his first Thoroughbred in 1981, is not afraid to take risks in his racing and breeding business – and some of his longshots have proven to be diamonds in the rough.
Few horses have been better named than Saturday’s Tenacious Handicap winner Honorable Duty. Honorable Duty is a perfect description of the stud career of his sire and of the service his female family has provided for his breeder, Juddmonte Farms.
Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Stopchargingmaria has been booked to Pioneerof the Nile for her first season as a broodmare, joining an outstanding book of mares committed to the young classic sire.
Curlin's book for the 2017 breeding season will include a pair of Grade 1-winning daughters of Bernardini from the Stonestreet Farm broodmare band – Rachel's Valentina and Cavorting.
Western Reserve and Honorable Duty scored in back-to-back stakes at Fair Grounds on Saturday. Both were bred by Juddmonte Farms from some of that operation's most noteworthy families; were born at that operation's Kentucky base in spring 2012; and were originally raced by Juddmonte and trainer Bill Mott before being sold to their current connections.
Laoban, a Grade 2 winner whose retirement due to a soft-tissue injury was announced this week, will begin his stallion career at Sequel Stallions in New York in 2017.
