Kitten's Joy claws his way to top sire title

On Jan. 27, 2018, it seemed a fait accompli that Candy Ride would be the leading general sire of the season, as his son Gun Runner stormed to a win in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup, taking home the winner’s share of $7 million in his career finale. After all, that was the case the year prior, when the late Unbridled’s Song was unable to be caught atop the earnings list after his son Arrogate won the $12 million Pegasus and $10 million Dubai World Cup, with Candy Ride unable to overhaul Unbridled’s Song even after Gun Runner was second in Dubai and captured the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

But this time around, the race was far from over.

While the makeup of the general sires earnings list has shifted drastically in recent years thanks to massive prize money on offer in a handful of races – which J.A. McGrath for Godolphin calls “a trend that will shape the allied industries of racing and breeding in those countries for generations to come” – a handful of perennial leading sires showed that a strong and consistent season with high-level runners can still turn the tide. Kitten’s Joy was represented by several standouts worldwide to seize the earnings title away from Candy Ride. And meanwhile, as longstanding leading sire Tapit was fighting an uphill battle against earnings statistics, Daily Racing Form’s exclusive stallion metrics, the Beyer Sire Performance Standings, powered by Darley, show that the stallion’s dominance has not slowed at all in terms of quality.

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Kitten’s Joy, who has reigned as North America’s leading turf sire each year since 2013, overhauled Candy Ride in earnings, $19,083,421 to $17,972,878. It was his second time atop the general sires list, which he also led in 2013. He has finished in the top five each year since.

Champion turf horse Kitten’s Joy, by El Prado, raced as a homebred for Ramsey Farm and stood the first decade-plus of his stud career at the family’s farm in Nicholasville, Ky., with runners such as Eclipse Award champion Big Blue Kitten, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Filly and Mare Turf winner Stephanie’s Kitten, and Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Bobby’s Kitten carrying those same red-and-white colors. Kitten’s Joy moved to John Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm near Lexington, Ky., for the 2018 season, after the Ramseys sold a 50 percent interest in the horse to the operation.

“It was not a matter of money, as we received higher offers from other farms,” Ken Ramsey told Daily Racing Form at that time. “John Sikura is operating on an international level and has developed a reputation of being second to none in the stallion business. This horse is my family’s legacy.”

The deal ensured that Kitten’s Joy would remain in the United States, after Ramsey expressed dissatisfaction with how the domestic commercial market, primarily perceived as valuing speed on dirt, was receiving yearlings by his stallion. Ramsey had considered options including moving the stallion to Europe or taking on partners.

“I think it’s a great win for American breeders for him to stay here and to not have gone to Europe,” Sikura told DRF. “I think it would have been an indictment of the industry, it would have been short-sighted, and we would have regretted the loss. We shouldn’t forfeit this market. There’s no reason to. We used to lead this market, and there’s no reason we can’t lead it again.”

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Kitten’s Joy rewarded his new co-owners with a huge season in 2018. The stallion did get a boost from the world’s richest purses – his top earner, Hawkbill, won the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic on his way to bankrolling $3.9 million on the season. But the stallion’s nine graded stakes winners also included European Horse of the Year Roaring Lion, who ripped off four consecutive Group 1 victories in the Coral Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion, and Queen Elizabeth II. Oscar Performance began his season with a sizzling victory in the Grade 3 Poker Stakes at Belmont, clocking the mile on turf in a course-record and a North American record-tying 1:31.23. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 104 for that performance to lead his sire’s figures, which he later matched winning the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, making him a Grade 1 winner at ages 2, 3, and 4.

Multiple Grade 2 winner Catapult also earned a 104 Beyer for Kitten’s Joy in winning the Del Mar Mile. He continued on to finish second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, beaten a half-length by Expert Eye. Kitten’s Joy’s graded stakes winners also included Grade 2 winner Sadler’s Joy, whose four Grade 1 placings on the season included a third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Likewise, Candy Ride, a son of Ride the Rails standing at Lane’s End, wasn’t a one-hit wonder, either. Candy Ride did not rest on his laurels after Gun Runner exited the stage in January. Among Candy Ride’s standout offspring, Game Winner captured his third Grade 1 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and the unbeaten colt is the heavy favorite to be voted the Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old male of the season. Leofric and Separationofpowers were also Grade 1 winners, capturing the Clark Handicap and Test Stakes, respectively. Both Candy Ride and Kitten’s Joy finished the year with 17 black-type stakes winners.

The late Scat Daddy, who died in 2015 at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, checked in third on the general sires earnings list, led, of course, by unbeaten Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year finalist Justify. He was followed by Spendthrift Farm resident Into Mischief, who again reigned as leading juvenile sire, and Tapit.

More Than Ready, a worldwide success while shuttling for WinStar Farm, finished sixth on the list, with a season highlighted by three Eclipse Award finalists in Breeders’ Cup Sprint repeat winner Roy H (male sprinter) and Grade 1 winners Catholic Boy (3-year-old male) and Rushing Fall (3-year-old female). The repatriated Empire Maker, whose return crop of U.S.-sired foals is 2 this year, is seventh on the list at Gainesway, followed by Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Curlin, who continued a remarkable streak of having a classic winner or classic-placed runner from each of his crops, thanks to Kentucky Derby runner-up Good Magic and Preakness Stakes third-place finisher Tenfold. Rounding out the top 10 were Quality Road at Lane’s End and Lookin At Lucky at Ashford Stud. Quality Road matched More Than Ready with three Eclipse Award finalists, thanks to Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner City of Light (older dirt male), 2017 divisional champion Abel Tasman (older dirt female), and Grade 1 winner Bellafina (2-year-old female). Meanwhile, Lookin At Lucky was represented on the year by five-time Grade 1 winner and Horse of the Year finalist Accelerate, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He is bound for a clash with City of Light in this year’s Pegasus.

Tapit led the earnings list each year from 2014 to 2016, establishing and then breaking his own single-season earnings record for a North American sire in each of those years. With the advent of the Pegasus, however, he finished fifth on that list in both 2017 and 2018. Remarkably, even with massive purses up for grabs, his single-season record of $19,245,198 still stands.

The Beyer Sire Performance Standings, DRF’s exclusive metric to examine stallion progeny performance in-depth, also demonstrate that Tapit’s dominance in terms of quality has not lessened. Beyer Speed Figures were incorporated into DRF’s past performances in 1992 and are now an industry standard for the comparison of one horse’s performance to another. The Beyer Sire Performance Standings provide the breeding industry with an additional tool to compare stallion progeny performance beyond wins and earnings. The standings provide totals and percentages for progeny who surpass specific Beyer benchmarks in North American races. While traditional sire lists based on earnings can be slanted by one or two major runners – or casino-inflated purses on some circuits – the Performance Standings look beyond these factors. Beyers are assigned to all runners in a race, allowing DRF’s sire lists to include all performances.

Tapit, a son of Pulpit, was represented by 43 individual runners to earn benchmark Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or higher in 2018. He easily outpaced Candy Ride, represented by 32 individuals to meet that mark. Raising the bar even higher, Tapit had six individuals to earn triple-digit Beyers, tied with More Than Ready and fellow WinStar Farm stallion Speightstown. Kitten’s Joy finished in the top five in both those categories.

Among Kentucky stallions who were represented by more than 50 runners in 2018, Tapit and his biggest commercial rival, Claiborne Farm’s War Front, were neck-and-neck in terms of the percentage of their runners to meet or exceed the 90 Beyer threshold, both checking in at 17 percent. They easily outpaced Candy Ride at 14 percent, with the WinStar duo of Distorted Humor and Speightstown tied at 13 percent.

Tapit’s top-earning runner of 2018 was Unique Bella, who also posted his highest Beyer when she earned a 109 winning the Grade 2 Santa Maria in February by nine lengths to start her season. The champion female sprinter of 2017, Unique Bella went on to add Grade 1 scores in the Beholder Mile and Clement L. Hirsch before injury ended her career.