Three Chimneys goes back to family well with freshmen Funtastic, Sharp Azteca

Three Chimneys Farm struck gold with Gun Runner, as the Horse of the Year, who it co-campaigned, dominated the juvenile scene last season, setting a record for freshman-season earnings and finishing as the overall leading 2-year-old sire. Now, Three Chimneys brings a pair of Grade 1 winners with ties to the same family to this year’s freshman class in Funtastic and Sharp Azteca.

Funtastic, by More Than Ready, scored his signature win in the Grade 1 United Nations going 1 3/8 miles on turf. He is one of a pair of Grade 1 winners out of the prolific mare Quiet Dance, a Grade 2 winner who is known as the dam of 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam. Her line, cultivated by the late Ned Evans, produces quality stallions.

Saint Liam, who tragically died after suffering a broken leg in a freak farm accident, produced 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace and nine other stakes winners in his only crop, while Quiet Dance’s Grade 2-winning daughter Quiet Giant is the dam of the white-hot Gun Runner.

“I have long believed in the importance of foundational female families as a cornerstone for long-term success in the breeding business,” Three Chimneys chairman Goncalo Torrealba said. “The racing dynasties of the past were all built upon these rock-solid foundational families. In the case of Funtastic, it was the Evans family who devoted limitless passion and capital, which resulted in a family that stands to reshape the breed for years to come.

“At the end of the day, it’s about breeding Saturday afternoon racehorses. I am in awe of the genetic dominance represented by Funtastic’s family. If you consider that Horse of the Year Saint Liam sired Horse of the Year Havre de Grace – one of only a handful of mares to earn that title – in his only crop, there is clearly a concentration of dominant traits that pervades multiple generations of this important pedigree.”

Sharp Azteca was produced by a daughter of Saint Liam, So Sharp. The stallion is by Giant’s Causeway’s full brother Freud, who has dominated New York’s stallion ranks for more than a decade.

Sharp Azteca, who won five graded stakes, displayed the miler brilliance so valued in the American marketplace. In 2017, after finishing third in the Godolphin Mile and second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, he broke through with a win in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile, defeating standouts Mind Your Biscuits and Practical Joke.

“We believe that Sharp Azteca can be another offshoot branch of the Storm Cat line through Giant Causeway’s full brother Freud, similar to what Harlan, Harlan’s Holiday, and Into Mischief did,” Torrealba said.

Good Magic looks for fast start

Precocity is a valued trait in American bloodstock – and those who have supported recent Eclipse Award 2-year-old champions at stud have been richly rewarded. Coming from that well this season is champion Good Magic, who will look to continue these trends with his first crop of juveniles.

Good Magic, who stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm, won his maiden in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to secure a divisional championship. He ran a stellar race when finishing second in the 2018 Kentucky Derby, having the bad luck to run into a buzz saw like Triple Crown winner Justify. Good Magic, by Curlin, did have the distinction of being a Grade 1 winner that season, taking the Haskell Invitational.

Good Magic has had solid numbers from his first crop to represent him commercially. He covered 164 mares in his first book, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred, at an advertised fee of $35,000. From just 10 weanlings sold at public auction in 2020, he averaged $104,000, even in a pandemic-hampered environment. Last year, the number sold through the ring ballooned to 102 first-crop yearlings, and he still maintained a six-figure average, at $144,133.

John Sikura of Hill ‘n’ Dale called Good Magic “Curlin’s best son. He’s got everything you could want in a horse.

“We hope [his foals] sell well, but more importantly, we hope that they run well,” Sikura continued. “All you can do is have a representative crop on the ground. It’s like sending your kids away to college. You can’t do their grades. But now we’ll see what happens.”

Preceding Good Magic as the other 10 most recent Eclipse champion juveniles with foals of racing age are Classic Empire (2016), Nyquist (2015), American Pharoah (2014), Shanghai Bobby (2012), Hansen (2011), Uncle Mo (2010), Lookin At Lucky (2009), Midshipman (2008), War Pass (2007), and Street Sense (2006). That list includes several successful stallions, including Uncle Mo, who established what was then a earnings record with his freshman crop, led by Nyquist. The latter went on to win the Kentucky Derby before becoming a leading freshman sire in his own right.

Triple Crown winner American Pharoah has been a leading young sire in each year of his stud career and is among the top 10 general sires early this season, with four graded stakes winners already. Lookin At Lucky had a breakthrough year in 2018, siring champion Accelerate and promoted Kentucky Derby winner Country House. Midshipman is a consistent sire of stakes runners, including stakes winner and producer Lady Shipman. Street Sense is the sire of Grade 1 winners Maxfield, McKinzie, Sweet Reason, and Wedding Toast.

Classic Empire joined this group with his first runners last year, finishing fourth on the freshman sire earnings list with a pair of stakes winners.

Girvin tops Florida freshman stallions

Florida takes center stage as the 2-year-old marketplace opens with sales hosted by the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. and by Fasig-Tipton at Gulfstream Park. A dozen Florida-based stallions have their first 2-year-olds this season, including Grade 1 winner Girvin, who has quietly been a solid commercial success with his first crop.

Girvin won three graded stakes and placed in two others during his career, with victories in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational and Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. The millionaire son of Tale of Ekati retired to Ocala Stud for the 2019 season, with owners Brad and Misty Grady partnering with that farm and with Kentucky’s Airdrie Stud in a deal brokered by West Bloodstock.

Girvin was represented by 42 first-crop yearlings sold at public auction last year for an average price of $31,345. That was more than four times his introductory stud fee of $7,500.

Other freshman sires standing in Florida include Grade 1 winner Long On Value and world-traveling graded stakes-winning turf sprinter Bucchero at Pleasant Acres Stallions; and graded stakes winners Ami’s Flatter and Awesome Slew, both also at Ocala Stud.