Freshman sire class boasts standout credentials

Even setting aside Triple Crown winner American Pharoah for a moment, the freshman sires of 2019 have to be considered among the most anticipated in recent memory. The other stallions who entered stud in Kentucky in 2016 combined to win two editions of the Belmont Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Breeders’ Cup Mile, Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Breeders’ Cup Sprint, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint; international classics that include the French 2000 Guineas and Chilean Triple Crown; two editions each of the Metropolitan Handicap, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Donn Handicap; and other major events including the Whitney Handicap, Woodward Stakes, Cigar Mile Handicap, and Dubai Golden Shaheen. Now, it is time to look beyond their racetrack accomplishments and focus on those of their progeny, as the 2-year-old sales and racing seasons are set to begin.

“It’s as good a group of first-crop sires as I can ever remember,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning has said of the class. “It’s a special group of horses, both in terms of race record and pedigree. This group has all the attributes to become major, major stallion influences. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to look up in seven or eight years and say, ‘Wow, this is one of those vintage crops.’ ”

The strength of the group is shown by their strong representation in boutique sales. At last summer’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale, there were 66 yearlings by first-crop sires placed in a catalog of 255 horses, or nearly 26 percent of the catalog. By contrast, the 2017 catalog of 227 hips featured just 20 yearlings by first-crop stallions – just less than 9 percent of the total. This month’s single-session Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale of 2-year-olds in training has 52 juveniles by first-crop sires from an initial catalog of 185 horses, or 28 percent of the group. Last year’s final sale catalog of 166 horses featured 28 juveniles by freshman sires, for 17 percent.

Lane’s End and WinStar Farm each have a quartet of freshman sires in this highly anticipated group. All of those young Lane’s End sires are Grade 1 winners – Honor Code (by A.P. Indy), Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song), Mr Speaker (Pulpit), and Tonalist (Tapit). Honor Code earned 2015 Eclipse Award honors as champion older dirt male, with ontrack rivals Liam’s Map and Tonalist the other two finalists.

“Tonalist and Liam’s Map – we were at each other all year,” Lane’s End owner William S. Farish said while accepting Honor Code’s Eclipse trophy. “I had great respect for both of them and for their owners, and am also very happy that they get to join Honor Code at Lane’s End.”

Farish bought into Honor Code, a member of Lane’s End’s flagship sire A.P. Indy’s final crop, as a yearling from breeder Dell Ridge Farm. A graded stakes winner as a juvenile, the horse put together his best season as an older horse in 2015, with dramatic late charges to win the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile Handicap and Whitney Stakes. The young stallion, who is out of the stakes-winning Storm Cat mare Serena’s Cat, a granddaughter of Hall of Famer Serena’s Song, now resides in the stall beside his pensioned sire at Lane’s End.

Honor Code, who covered 144 mares in his first season, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred, has had strong commercial results from his first crop. His yearling average across all sales last year finished at $220,782 from 62 sold, led by an $850,000 colt out of Grade 1 winner Hollywood Story. Now named Hollywood Hero, the colt sold to CRK Stable at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. Honor Code was the only first-crop sire other than American Pharoah to break into the top 10 prices at that sale. Testing markets beyond the elite, boutique level, Honor Code’s average finished at $228,095 at the bellwether Keeneland September yearling sale, led by a $650,000 colt now named Creed who was purchased by Ingordo Bloodstock. His average ranked second among first-year sires to American Pharoah, who averaged a staggering $416,702.

Front-running Liam’s Map rebounded from a narrow loss to Honor Code in the Whitney to win the 2015 Woodward and the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Liam’s Map, who finished third among first-crop sires by average at Keeneland September at $175,098, has a dozen juveniles cataloged at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream. He will attempt to become the second consecutive son of the late Unbridled’s Song to earn the freshman sire title, following Cross Traffic.

Tonalist, third to Honor Code and Liam’s Map in the Whitney, went on to repeat in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, then added the Cigar Mile in his career finale. The 2014 Belmont Stakes winner is one of several multiple Grade 1-winning sons of leading sire Tapit with their first runners this year. He is from the family of Horse of the Year Havre de Grace; champion Plugged Nickle; Grade 1 winners Riskaverse, Sauce Boat, and Christiecat; and leading sire Raja Baba.

Another of those standout sons of Tapit stands at WinStar Farm, as Constitution is part of its quartet of freshmen with classic influences and ties to leading sires. Constitution dominated at Gulfstream Park, winning the 2014 Florida Derby and adding the 2015 Donn Handicap with a Beyer Speed Figure of 111. He covered a solid book of mares, including Kentucky Oaks winner Summerly, whose colt is cataloged at OBS March. A mating with Winning Call produced a half-sibling to Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tapizar, and that filly is offered at Fasig-Tipton’s Gulfstream sale.

Multiple graded stakes winner Commissioner (A.P. Indy), also from his sire’s final crop, finished a close second to Tonalist in the Belmont. Daredevil (More Than Ready) and Carpe Diem (Giant’s Causeway) were both Grade 1-winning juveniles, and Carpe Diem added the Blue Grass Stakes the following spring.

“The one thing about them is three of the four have different sire lines – Giant’s Causeway, Tapit, and More Than Ready – then Commissioner is an A.P. Indy, so he’s similar to Constitution at a different price point,” WinStar president and CEO Elliott Walden said. “In some ways it’s been good, because it allows people to come and look at two or three horses. I feel like from a competition standpoint, if we didn’t stand them, they’d be standing somewhere in Kentucky anyway, so I don’t feel like it’s a detriment to have four new horses at the same time. I’m really excited about these four horses because they all bring something to the table, and I think that gives them a chance to be successful sires. It’s like anything else, they have to do it now, but they’re all going to get their chance.”

Behind some of those names as an early commercial leader from his class was Claiborne Farm’s versatile Grade 1 winner Lea (Giant’s Causeway), who was represented by a colt sold for $650,000 to Harris Training Center at Keeneland September. The colt, now named Trove, is from the family of champion Zenyatta and was the top price among first-year sires other than American Pharoah at the sale. Lea’s yearling average last year was $85,782 – more than six times his entry-level stud fee of $12,500.

Another Belmont Stakes winner in this freshman class is Palace Malice (Curlin), who stands at Three Chimneys. The horse captured the 2013 edition of the classic and returned the following season to win the Met Mile, displaying brilliance along with his stamina.

Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild) and Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Juvenile Sprint winner Secret Circle (Eddington) were stablemates during their racing careers and remained together in retirement, both joining the stallion ranks at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms. Bayern has six first-crop representatives at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream.

Spendthrift Farm’s six Kentucky freshmen are led by a pair of classic-placed performers in Grade 1 winner Danza (Street Boss), who was third in the Kentucky Derby, and multi-surface stakes performer Medal Count (Dynaformer), who was third in the Belmont. Also in the group are Grade 1 winners Palace (City Zip) and Wicked Strong (Hard Spun), plus multiple Grade 2 winner Race Day (Tapit).

Standing a Northern Hemisphere season for Spendthrift in 2016 was Australian-based Hampton Court (Redoute’s Choice). The shuttling Group 1 winner, by one of that continent’s leading sires, is from the family of champion Makybe Diva. Hampton Court is one of several international influences with their first North American-sired juveniles preparing to run this season. French 2000 Guineas and Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Karakontie (Bernstein) remained stateside to begin his stallion career at Gainesway, while Hakassan (Sir Cat), winner of the Chilean Triple Crown, stood at Millennium Farms. Both are from outstanding female families, with Karakontie produced from the line launched by two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Miesque, and Hakassan from the family of Triple Crown winner and prominent sire Seattle Slew.

Other Grade 1-winning freshman sires standing in Kentucky are Competitive Edge (Super Saver) at Ashford Stud and Jack Milton (War Front) at Crestwood Farm.