Four Wheel Drive will stand stud in Japan

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.

Four Wheel Drive was privately purchased by the Thoroughbred Breeders Club in Monbetsu, on the island of Hokkaido. The stallion deal was first reported by the BloodHorse, which also noted that Four Wheel Drive is currently in quarantine prior to export. The Northern Hemisphere breeding season begins next month.

Four Wheel Drive raced throughout his career for Breeze Easy LLC, and was trained by Wesley Ward. He won all three starts in his juvenile campaign in 2019, all in stakes on turf. After winning the Rosie's Stakes at Colonial Downs and the Grade 3 Futurity at Belmont, he won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita, then a Grade 2 event in its second running.

Four Wheel Drive made his only subsequent start in May 2020 at Churchill Downs, finishing seventh in an allowance race. He was pre-entered in last fall's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, but was not selected into the field, and was entered in a race in December at Turfway Park, but was scratched. He had been working regularly, most recently breezing Dec. 29 at Palm Meadows.

Four Wheel Drive was the top earner for American Pharoah as the stallion finished as the leading freshman sire of 2019. American Pharoah continued on to be the leading second-crop sire of 2020.

Japanese breeders and owners strongly supported American Pharoah early in his career, and the results have been visible in that country. His top runners in Japan are Cafe Pharoah, winner of the Grade 3 Sirius Stakes, Grade 3 Unicorn Stakes, and Hyacinth Stakes; and Danon Pharoah, winner of the Japan Dirt Derby. Cafe Pharoah, who is out of a More Than Ready mare, is bred on the same cross as Four Wheel Drive.

In addition to his sire's popularity in Japan, Four Wheel Drive is from the female family of Gold Allure, who won four Grade 1 races there, including the Japan Dirt Derby and the prestigious February Stakes. He also is from the family of Japanese Grade 1 winner Persian Knight.