The Factor had a lot going for him as a stallion prospect when he went to stud. He was fast, was a Grade 1 winner, and had a nice pedigree. One of the unknowns was his sire, War Front, because The Factor was from that sire’s first crop, and at the time it was not known if War Front would be a good sire, or, more importantly, be a good sire of sires. As it turns out, War Front has risen to be one of the top sires in North America, and especially good as a sire of grass runners. Though War Front, by Danzig, never raced on turf and was at his best sprinting, he has been able to sire runners that win at routes in top company worldwide, which is why he stands at Claiborne Farm for a fee of $250,000, highest in North America this year. As a sire, The Factor has been a combination of his racing ability – able to sire sprinters – and the traits of his sire – able to sire good turf runners though he never raced on turf. This has enabled The Factor, who stands at Lane’s End in Versailles, Ky., to rise to be the leading third-crop sire in North America. In 2018, The Factor topped that list over Tapizar, Dialed In, Union Rags, and Creative Cause. The Factor had progeny earnings of $6,762,798, with 46 percent of the total, $3,128,058, coming in turf races. The latter figure put The Factor seventh on the list of leading sires of turf runners in 2018, with Kitten’s Joy on top and War Front fifth. The Factor last year finished 30th on the general sire list and was represented by seven stakes winners. Three of them won stakes on turf, with Bound for Nowhere being his leading earner. Trained by Wesley Ward, Bound for Nowhere, at age 4 in 2018, won the Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Keeneland with a Beyer Speed Figure of 107, and later in the year won the $681,400 Tourist Mile on grass at Kentucky Downs. In between his stakes wins, he went to England and ran third, beaten less than a length, in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Ascot. For the year, Bound for Nowhere earned $676,617. The Factor also was represented by 2018 stakes winners Hogan’s Holiday, winner of the Cellars Shiraz Stakes at a mile on turf at Gulfstream; A Different Style, winner of the seven-furlong Jimmy Winkfield at Aqueduct; Kroy, winner of the six-furlong Sunshine Millions Sprint Preview at Gulfstream Park West; Nine Route, winner of the Gander Stakes at a mile at Aqueduct; the juvenile filly Northwest Factor, winner of the 1 1/16-mile Gottstein Futurity over males; and Factorofwon, winner of the Black Pearl Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf at Santa Anita. The Factor figures to be prominent on leading sire lists for years to come since he will have an abundance of foals reaching the races. The Factor has shuttled to Australia for the Southern Hemisphere seasons from 2014 through 2017, standing at Newgate Farm in the Hunter Valley, and will have four crops racing Down Under. In 2018, The Factor was leased for a one-year term by his owners, George Bolton, Stonestreet, and Fog City Stables, to stand at the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association Shizunai Stallion Station on the island of Hokkaido, which is home to a number of former North American-based stallions, such as Johannesburg, Stravinsky, Eskendereya, and Aldebaran. The Factor stood the 2018 season for 2 million yen, approximately $17,800. He returns to Lane’s End for the 2019 season and will stand for a fee of $15,000.