Classic sire Malibu Moon, a foundation sire for B. Wayne Hughes's program at Spendthrift Farm, died Tuesday in his paddock of an apparent heart attack, the farm reported that evening. The son of A.P. Indy was 24 and was owned by Spendthrift, fellow Kentucky farm Castleton Lyons, and Country Life Farm, all of which played a role in building his career.
The 15 stakes races at Pimlico between Friday and Saturday were won by runners representing 15 different sires and 15 different broodmare sires. Only one stallion was represented on both lists, as Congrats sired Grade 3 Pimlico Special winner Last Judgement and is the broodmare sire of The Very One winner Caravel.
Ultrafleet, a daughter of Afleet, became the foundation root of a family tree that has expanded to include six graded/group stakes winners worldwide, with its brightest stars including late European Horse of the Year Roaring Lion and the newly minted Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer.
With his victory in the Preakness Stakes, Rombauer is now a winner on dirt, turf, and synthetic racing surfaces. He has followed in the footsteps of sire, Twirling Candy, a graded stakes winner on all three surfaces and a similarly versatile sire who can now also be called a classic sire.
The global coronavirus pandemic turned life, including the Thoroughbred racing and sales calendar, upside down in 2020. But the shuffling of the sales calendar actually played out in favor of the small breeding program of John and Dian Fradkin.
One day before Rombauer runs in the Preakness Stakes, his older half-brother Treasure Trove will contest the Grade 3 Pimlico Special.
Several Maryland-breds, including defending winner Harpers First Ride, will fly the flag for their home state in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on Friday.
Mandy Pope has spent well over $50 million on broodmares for her Whisper Hill Farm operation in the last nine Novembers at Kentucky's elite sales. The total purse of Saturday's Preakness Stakes is $1 million, with $600,000 going to the winning connections. But a victory by Pope's homebred Unbridled Honor would be priceless.
Champions Gun Runner and Classic Empire each sired his first winner in the past week at Churchill Downs.
Six years after the 2015 Kentucky Derby victory that kicked off his Triple Crown sweep, an already huge month of May for American Pharoah could get even more significant.
