Harness: Diamond Creek first-year stallions look to make their marks

If there ever was one true futures market, it would have to be related to breeding horses. Virtually one of the most difficult outcomes to predict, breeders annually try to mate horses hoping to hit upon the exact combination and produce a champion. Often there is some predictability when horses have previous examples on the racetrack, but on other occasions two unknowns are matched and it's anybody's guess what the net result will be.

For Diamond Creek Farm, 2026 represents a challenging yet revealing chapter in the dramatic impact the nursery has had on the sport. With three first-year sires set to offer yearlings from diverse backgrounds at the Lexington Selected Sale, there is tremendous anticipation that the reception from buyers will match the enthusiasm from the farm.

For Diamond Creek's Vice President Shaun Laungani, the arrival of the first yearling crop from Horse of the Year Confederate has been the buzz for some time. "He was the best horse of a generation," said Laungani of the Diamond Creek-bred son of Sweet Lou. "From the yearlings we have and the ones I've seen videos of, there's a lot to like. They are incredibly-athletic and so much like him."

Confederate is the next generation of Diamond Creek's leading stallion Sweet Lou, and the hope is his sons and daughters will extend the family into the next decade. "His horses are like Sweet Lou but in a more refined way," said Laungani. "I think they are going to be very well-received at the sales."

Confederate stamped himself on the racetrack as a horse with incredible speed and amazing consistency. With 18 wins in 22 career starts, Confederate was virtually unstoppable with earnings over $2 million and a career-best 1:46 1/5 clocking.

Confederate was an instant star when he first hit the racetrack in 2022, and that path is likely to continue as he embarks on a second career that begins essentially on Monday, October 5 with the first day of the Lexington Selected auction. A total of 16 sons and daughters are projected to sell on opening night, and the number alone suggests the confidence the sales company has in not just Confederate but any first-year pacing stallion. The Lexington Selected sale is known to command a large international audience, and high-priced trotting blood generally dominates the first night of the sale.

HIP 90 Kountry Lynn is a filly and a first for both Confederate and the $2.1 million-earning mare Lyons Sentinel. As great as Confederate was on the racetrack, Lyons Sentinel was a star for three years and was a sub-1:50 winner in all of them. As a daughter of Captaintreacherous, Lyons Sentinel should cross quite well with the Sweet Lou-sire line.

Coast Guard, HIP 75, is Diamond Creek's lone offering by Confederate on opening night, and that suggests the breadth of breeders that participated in Confederate's first crop. Coast Guard is a colt out of another Captaintreacherous-sired mare named My Little Captain. She's from the immediate family of the successful sire Stay Hungry, from a rich maternal line.

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Confederate had the flash on the racetrack, and Laungani expects him to receive his due this fall when yearlings are on the block.

In Cannibal there is a different story line, but the arc suggests a bright future. "When they were both babies (Confederate and Cannibal) most of us on the farm thought that Cannibal would be the better one," said Laungani, reflecting on the Diamond Creek homebreds before they were sent to train.

On the racetrack Cannibal showed a ruggedness that Laungani is hopeful will extend to the next generation. "When you look back at the Jug (2023) and the way he got tortured in the second heat, then came back the next week to win at The Red Mile, you respect what the horse was made of," said Laungani.

Cannibal won the first heat of the Jug that year in 1:49 1/5 but was parked mercilessly from the start in the second heat. He captured a division of the Bluegrass in 1:48 4/5 just nine days after the two-heat affair.

Cannibal's versatility on the racetrack led to him being placed in New York, and his offspring are likely to have the body-types and pedigree to shine on the circuit that requires plenty of half-mile track excursions.

"He's produced a thicker individual," said Laungani. "They are good-bodied and unlike Confederate have a bit more white on them like the Sweet Lou's. I think you can see a bit more of the A Rocknroll Dance and Arterra in his foals."

Arterra is the dam of No More Losses, Cannibal's dam, and a half-sister to millionaires Western Terror and If I Can Dream. Arterra is also a daughter of the prolific broodmare Delinquent Account.

Cannibal opens the door to the Sweet Lou-stallion line in New York, with his foals hopefully having the versatility to race on smaller tracks and the tenacity to compete at the highest level on a week-to-week basis. Laungani singled out one from the quintet of yearlings by Cannibal that Diamond Creek has in the Lexington Selected sale.

"HIP number 459 is my favorite," said Laungani, gushing over the filly named Pink Venom, the first foal from the Always B Miki-sired dam Cimarron Rose. Eligible in New York and Kentucky, Pink Venom not only looks the part but also has a pedigree that oozes an Empire State vibe. Her dam is out of Rodeo Beach, a full sister to Meadowlands Pace winner Huntsville, who also happens to be the current leading pacing stallion in New York and respected beyond.

On the trotting side, the numbers are light for Tactical Approach but Laungani believes he can overcome that. "I think he's stamped his horses a lot like his sire Tactical Landing," said Laungani.

Tactical Landing's initial numbers on the racetrack were small, but they developed into stars with the ability to win classic races like the Hambletonian, and buyers shouldn't be sleeping on Tactical Approach's first crop.

"They are long-legged and well-balanced," said Laungani of the foals he's seen by Tactical Approach.

Diamond Creek will sell three by Tactical Approach, with the first being HIP 165 selling on Tuesday (October 6). Named Event Horizon, the colt is the first foal from the 1:53 2/5 performer Bella Macchiato and hails from the maternal line of Triple Crown winner Marion Marauder.

Crawford Farms sells a Pennsylvania and Kentucky eligible Tactical Approach-sired filly on opening night as Tallulah Blu, HIP 10, gets the ball rolling early. Tallulah Blu is the first foal from the Chapter Seven-sired Sadie Hanover, herself a 1:51 3/5 winner as a sophomore.

The foundation has been put in place and in the coming weeks horsemen will decide the paths forward and what destiny has in store in the budding stallion careers of Confederate, Cannibal and Tactical Approach.