Tapit, among the most successful sires in modern classic history, has three individuals in the first Derby Watch Top 20 list. That trio is led by Godolphin's homebred Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and Eclipse Award champion Essential Quality, already a multiple Grade 1 winner around two turns.
Multiple Grade 1 winners Blue Prize and Elate each produced her first foal, both fillies, early Tuesday morning in Kentucky.
Our annual Eastern Stallions special edition, presented by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, takes a closer look at the leading sires in that state of New York, as well as the Mid-Atlantic region of Maryland and Pennsylvania, the Florida market, and other states.
Uncle Mo was expected to be a fine sire of juveniles. However, no one could have predicted the scope of his early success, as he broke the mold with a record-setting freshman season. Five years later, Uncle Mo, firmly ensconced as a successful general sire, is breaking the mold once again.
As a sire, American Pharoah has already connected for an impressive double by leading his class of young sires in consecutive years – and, with momentum coming into 2021, he could be heading for a third.
Into Mischief was represented by his first classic winner in 2020 – but also sired top sprint performers and turf performers. He rewards grateful backers with picture-perfect commercial yearlings and rock-solid racehorses who regularly bring home paychecks. And, at a relatively early curve in his career, he is continuing to reward his connections, including B. Wayne Hughes's Spendthrift Farm, as a sire of sires.
Champion Zenyatta lost the foal she was carrying earlier this month, her connections reported Tuesday morning, the latest incident in a streak of bad luck for the Hall of Fame racemare as a broodmare.
Four Wheel Drive, a Breeders' Cup winner as a juvenile, has been sold to begin a stallion career in Japan. The 4-year-old by American Pharoah will become the first son of his Triple Crown-winning sire to stand at stud.
Caddo River threw his name into the ring for Kentucky Derby consideration with a 10 1/4-length score in Friday's Smarty Jones Stakes, the first race in Oaklawn Park's series of Kentucky Derby prep races. In the process, the Shortleaf Stable homebred continued nearly a century of success for his tail-female line.
On one of the first major racing weekends of 2021, the incoming stallion class of 2016 continued its major success. Colonel Liam, from the first crop of Liam's Map, won the Grade 1, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park. One race later, his classmates Tapiture and Constitution were represented by Jesus' Team and Independence Hall, second and third, respectively, in the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup.
