At almost 30 years old, dual leading sire A.P. Indy enjoys a well-earned reputation as a sire of sires. His first good son Pulpit has, of course, passed on the baton to three-time leading sire Tapit, but Pulpit’s paternal half-brothers Bernardini, Camden Park (in South Africa), Flatter, Indygo Shiner (Argentina), Jump Start (United States and Argentina), and Malibu Moon must all be considered highly successful sires in their own right. As Horse of the Year and champion older male of 2003, Mineshaft is arguably A.P. Indy’s best son, but his stud career cannot quite match those of A.P. Indy’s best sire sons. He is far from a failure, however, and Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday Stakes winner Sir Anthony was his 47th career stakes winner and 20th graded stakes winner in an honorable, if not spectacular, career. Bred at Lane’s End in Kentucky by Lane’s End’s owner, William S. Farish, and frequent partners James Elkins and Temple Webber Jr., Mineshaft was the best of only five foals, all stakes winners, out of 1992 Grade 1 Acorn Stakes winner Prospectors Delite, by Mr. Prospector. His full sister, Tomisue’s Delight, also was a Grade 1 winner, and Prospectors Delite was half-sister to European highweight Flagbird, by Nureyev, Grade 1 Alabama winner Runup the Colors, by A.P. Indy, Grade 2 winner Top Account, by Private Account, and stakes winners Allied Flag, by Danzig, Long View, by Damascus, and Fold the Flag, by Raja Baba, from the great branch of La Troienne descending from one of Farish’s early purchases from the Phipps family, The Garden Club, by Herbager. With such a regal pedigree and first-rate conformation, it is no surprise that Mineshaft was chosen to represent Farish in Europe when he was named ambassador to the Court of St. James by President George W. Bush. He showed ability for trainer John Gosden, winning his maiden on his second outing at 3 at Newbury and running third in the Grade 3 Prix Daphnis, but that was a long way off the high-class form he exhibited almost immediately when he was transferred to trainer Neil Howard and American dirt courses near the end of his 3-year-old season. Mineshaft won his first three starts on dirt, culminating in the Diplomat Way Handicap at Fair Grounds, before a momentary setback when beaten by the talented Balto Star in the Grade 3 Whirlaway. He rebounded with three more progressively impressive victories in the Grade 2 New Orleans, Grade 3 Ben Ali, and Grade 1 Pimlico Special before suffering an honorable defeat, conceding eight pounds to the top-class gelding Perfect Drift, in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster. Now recognized as the top older horse in the country, Mineshaft raced only thrice more, winning the Grade 1 Suburban, Woodward, and Jockey Club Gold Cup, all by open daylight. Although a minor injury precluded an attempt at the Breeders’ Cup Classic, that was enough to earn Horse of the Year and champion older male honors. Mineshaft’s race record, pedigree, and conformation earned him a first-rate opportunity at stud, and his Grade 1 winners Effinex (out of What a Pear, by E Dubai), It’s Tricky (Catboat, by Tale of the Cat), Dialed In (Miss Doolittle, by Storm Cat), Discreetly Mine (Pretty Discreet, by Private Account), Weep No More (Crosswinds, by Storm Cat), and Bond Holder (Cielo Girl, by Conquistador Cielo) are ample proof that he can sire a top horse, but his overall strike rate of 5.3 percent is not as consistent as commercial breeders prefer. Among his sons, Dialed In has shown high promise as a young sire. Sir Anthony was bred in Illinois and races for his breeder, Richard Otto, and trainer Anthony Mitchell. He is the first foal out of Otto’s Smart Strike mare Mourette, who placed in the Indian Maid Stakes and the restricted Illini Princess Stakes. Mourette is half-sister to Illinois-bred stakes winner Alette, by Lemon Drop Kid, and her dam, Amourette, by El Gran Senor, won the Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park. Amourette’s stakes-winning dam Chase the Dream, by Sir Ivor, did not produce a stakes winner, but her winning daughter Love the Chase, by Not for Love, is dam of Horse of the Year and dual classic winner California Chrome, by Lucky Pulpit. Sir Anthony’s fourth dam, La Belle Fleur, by Vaguely Noble, is half-sister to champion Cascapedia, by Chieftain, from the great family of foundation mare Judy-Rae, by Beau Pere. Mourette has since produced the once-raced 2-year-old colt Cambre, by Arch, a 2018 filly by Smiling Tiger, and was bred back to A.P. Indy’s last champion son Honor Code.