The consistent Shipsational, a statebred stakes winner who reaches for the brass ring in this weekend's Tampa Bay Derby, is from a family that has found success at a variety of pursuits.
Grade 1 winner and sire Get Stormy died on Sunday at Crestwood Farm in Lexington, Ky., from a suspected cardiac event. The son of Stormy Atlantic was 16.
Pioneerof the Nile died three years ago, at the age of 13, but in that relatively short life, he accomplished much. A Grade 1 winner at ages 2 and 3, Pioneerof the Nile delivered the sport's long-awaited Triple Crown winner, siring 2015 hero American Pharoah. Still represented on the track by his final crops, Pioneerof the Nile also left behind a bevy of sons to carry on his legacy. That was apparent on Saturday's busy day of racing nationwide, as Pioneerof the Nile and three of his sons recorded stakes winners, including capturing a pair of Kentucky Derby points races.
Un Ojo sprang a $152.80 upset in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes last Saturday to earn his debut on the Derby Watch list. However, the New York-bred gelding is from a young sireline that has already had its share of classic success, and from a classy family that has produced several dirt route stakes winners.
Emblem Road, the $229 shock winner of the Group 1, $20 million Saudi Cup for local connections last Saturday, is the latest top level-winning grandson of the late champion Bernardini, who has left behind a powerful legacy as a broodmare sire.
The cross of Argentinian champion Candy Ride over European champion Giant's Causeway proved potent with Horse of the Year Gun Runner. Mixing the bloodlines of these stallions has continued to pay dividends, producing an American classic winner last year and a number of stakes-performing 3-year-olds already this year.
European Horse of the Year Giant's Causeway has not yet sired an American classic winner, but his legacy is playing an even bigger role on this Derby trail. His son Not This Time is the sire of four horses in this week's Derby Watch Top 20, with Epicenter, recent winner of the Grade 2 Risen Star, climbing the chart and Chasing Time looking to move forward in the Grade 2 Rebel.
Grade 1 winner Hog Creek Hustle arrived this week at Buck Pond Farm in Versailles, Ky., where he will debut at stud this breeding season, which recently got underway.
The Jockey Club has rescinded a controversial rule that would have capped the number of mares bred by a single stallion at 140 during a single breeding season, only two years after approving it.
2022 Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Smile Happy
