Calumet acquires Americain, Melbourne Cup winner, for stallion duty

Group 1 winner Americain, retired earlier this month, will begin his stud career in 2013 at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Ky.

A 7-year-old Dynaformer horse who captured Australia’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup in 2010, Americain is scheduled to arrive in Kentucky in December. Americain becomes the second stallion added to the Calumet roster since Brad Kelley acquired the operation. In May 2012, Kelley purchased Calumet for about $36 million from a trust that had been established by the late Henryk de Kwiatkowski, and he moved his Hurricane Hall and Bluegrass Hall breeding and racing operations to the historic property. Earlier this month, it was announced that multiple graded stakes winner Aikenite will enter stud at the farm next year.

Calumet purchased a half-interest in Americain, with Gerry and Val Ryan and Kevin and Colleen Bamford, who campaigned the horse on the track, retaining the other half. The Ryan and Bamford concerns plan to send mares to the Northern Hemisphere to breed to Americain, while Calumet owns several mares purchased with the intent of breeding to the late Dynaformer who will now visit Americain.

The globe-trotting Americain won 11 of 34 career starts and earned $5,780,679 while competing on four continents. His biggest victory came in the 150th anniversary edition of the Melbourne Cup, which he won by 2 3/4 lengths. The Melbourne Cup was the third consecutive group stakes victory at that time for Americain, who prepped by winning the Group 2 Prix Kergorlay in France and the Group 3 Geelong Cup in Australia.

Americain, who also won the Group 2 Sandown Classic and Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup in Australia in 2011 and the Group 2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier in France in 2009, was Group 1-placed on three other occasions. He was named Europe’s champion stayer of 2010 and Australia’s champion stayer in 2011.Out of the Group 2-winning Arazi mare America, American is a half-brother to Group 2-placed winner Spycrawler and stakes-placed winner Amarak.