Several American-bred horses, led by champion Tepin, will be in the spotlight at this week's Royal Ascot meeting – and the British racecourse has announced new initiatives to honor the breeders of winners at the renowned event.
New York-breds fared well against open company during Belmont Park's extravaganza of stakes, led by a rising star in the 2-year-old, Silver Mission.
New York-based owner-breeders Patricia and Frank Generazio not only watched homebreds Pure Sensation and Disco Partner run one-two, separated by a neck, in the Grade 3 Japiur Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park – they watched Pure Sensation established a North American and course record, completing the six furlongs on turf in 1:06.76.
A Peruvian-bred horse has never won a Grade 1 event in the United States, but the South American nation has made a major impact on some of the Northern Hemisphere's biggest events through outstanding broodmares. The latest example came when Creator, out of Peruvian champion Morena, nosed out Destin to win the Belmont Stakes.
Through the first two legs of the Triple Crown, the stories told were of freshman phenom Uncle Mo, whose scores of stakes performers from his first crop include Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, and of young classic juggernaut Curlin, whose latest top runner is Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator. Suspiciously quiet was Tapit, as North America's two-time reigning leading sire failed to record a placing with three individual starters in those two races.
Two-time leading American sire Tapit had a very good day Saturday. Not long after his 4-year-old son Frosted ran away with the prestigious Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, his 3-year-old son Creator became Tapit’s second Belmont Stakes winner with his final-stride victory over Destin. Those two victories assured Tapit of his accustomed place atop the American general sire list.
Freshman sire Mission Impazible was represented by his first stakes winner when Silver Mission ran away to a 6 1/4-length victory in the $181,000 Tremont Stakes for 2-year-olds at Belmont Park today. Silver Mission went off as the 2.30-1 third choice in the short, four-horse field, and he completed the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:03.78. He is trained by Todd Pletcher.
Mike, who was entered to run in an allowance event on Saturday at Woodbine, would be making his stakes debut in the Queen's Plate, should he punch his ticket with an impressive performance. But one glance down his page reveals some familiar names that certainly make him a classics contender on paper.
In the United States, the three classics – the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes – have long been used by breeders as measuring sticks for potential stallion prospects. A classic victory is worth millions in future stud fees, which is why these races – especially the Kentucky Derby – draw sizable fields almost every year.
Without prior form to divine those most capable of getting the Belmont Stakes demanding distance, pedigree becomes an especially important part of analyzing the field. A helpful way to quantify and compare stamina capability for a Belmont contender is by measuring the average winning distance of his sire and dam's progeny.
