From the time Jump Start arrived in Pennsylvania, he has been among the state’s leading sires. His popularity with the region’s breeders is evident by the size of his book of mares. Last year, for example, he was bred to 102 mares, the second most by any horse standing in the state, behind only second-year sire El Padrino. The common denominator for the two is they both stand at Northview Stallion Station’s Pennsylvania division in Peach Bottom. The two were so popular that they accounted for 35 percent of all mares bred to Pennsylvania stallions in 2015. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage and video of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale “Jump Start became the easy choice for breeders looking for a proven stallion,” said David Wade, Northview’s general manager. “El Padrino was a different story. He’s become more of a regional phenomenon. He was very popular his first year at stud. But, typically, you start to see a drop-off in numbers of mares covered by any young stallion in their second and third years. It hasn’t been the case with El Padrino. When his foals started hitting the ground last year, our phones began ringing with clients wanting to send their mares back to him. El Padrino actually covered 20 more mares in his second season than he did in his first. That’s a great start.” Jump Start led the 2015 Pennsylvania sire list by progeny earnings with $4.82 million, which placed him 51st nationally. His leading runners in 2015 included stakes winners Pants On Fire, Bound, and Sea Shadow. As a dual-hemisphere stallion, he also was represented by Argentine Horse of the Year and champion older horse and champion stayer Idolo Porteno, plus Argentine group stakes winners Dona Joya, Icebox, and Long Jump. His progeny totals do not include Southern Hemisphere earnings, but if included they would have added another $1 million to his credit. Wade said Jump Start’s success is directly related to his ability to produce runners who have long careers. “Consistency and the ability to get sound runners,” Wade said about what makes Jump Start so successful. “Every year, he is at or near the top of the leading sire list in the Mid-Atlantic region, and he gets nationally prominent racehorses that don’t quit. Prayer for Relief has earnings of over $2 million, and this year, at age 8, has placed in a Grade 2 stakes. Willet, another 8-year-old, has already placed in two stakes in New York this year, and Idolo Porteno, age 6, placed in the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap earlier this year. They just keep running.” Jump Start got a jump start on his stud career by starting at his breeder’s Overbrook Farm in Lexington, Ky. A son of the influential sire of sires A.P. Indy, Jump Start raced for W.T. Young’s Overbrook Farm and won the Grade 2 Saratoga Special in 2001 and was second to Officer in the Grade 1 Champagne. He did not race at 3 and started his stud career in 2003 for a fee of $5,000. His fee was $10,000 in 2009, and in 2010 he moved to Pennsylvania to stand at Ghost Ridge Farm. After two years there, he moved to Northview in 2012 and stands today for a fee of $10,000. Jump Start turns out numerous winners and stakes winners annually, and some of his best are 2011 Super Derby winner Prayer for Relief; Grade 2 Louisiana Derby winner Pants On Fire; and Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap winner Rail Trip. He has sired 16 graded stakes winners and 51 total stakes winners in his first 10 crops of racing age, with average earnings per runner of $59,979. Deceased Rockport Harbor, who stood at Pin Oak Lane Farm, was a close second on the 2015 state sire list. The son of Unbridled’s Song had the most black-type winners in the state, with six. His leading earner in 2015 was stakes-placed Majestic Harbor, who won this year’s Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes to run his career earnings to $1,248,814.