Milestones for freshman sires

Caravaggio and Astern, among the stallions adding international flavor to this North American freshman sire class, were among the several in that class to record early career milestones over the past week.

Caravaggio recorded his first stakes winner on Sunday in France. Meanwhile, Astern, already represented by a pair of stakes winners in his native Australia, recorded his first U.S. winner on Friday – one of five North American freshman sires to do so thus far in the month of June.

Two-time Royal Ascot winner Caravaggio, by Scat Daddy, stood his first three seasons at Coolmore’s Irish headquarters. A strong reception for the handful of his first yearlings offered at auction in Kentucky last year prompted the international operation to move him to its Ashford Stud in Kentucky for this year. Meanwhile, his European-sired first crop has come out flying, with a class-leading six winners to date. Those include Dizzy Bizu, who, after a debut win in May at Chantilly, returned to win the listed Prix la Fleche on Sunday.

Australian Group 1 winner Astern, by Medaglia d’Oro, began his stud career during the 2017 Southern Hemisphere season in his native country for Darley before shuttling to the operation’s Kentucky farm for the 2018 Northern Hemisphere season. From that initial Australian crop, he is the sire of stakes winners Danger Strykes and Seradess. He is now represented by Mainstay, a 7 3/4-length debut winner on Friday at Monmouth Park to be the first winner among his Northern Hemisphere foals.

Also represented by their first winners recently were Greenpointcrusader (Ocala Stud), whose Robbing Robin won Thursday at Gulfstream; Klimt (Darby Dan Farm), whose Loveherheart won Friday at Santa Anita; Midnight Storm (Taylor Made), whose Parfait won Saturday at Belterra; and Neolithic (Pleasant Acres Stallions), whose El Profe won Sunday at Gulfstream.