Wiseman’s Ferry, sire of Wise Dan, dies in Pennsylvania

Multiple Grade 3 winner Wiseman's Ferry, best known as the sire of two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, died March 17 at Dana Point Farm in Lenhartsville, Pa. A cause of death has yet to be determined for the 16-year-old Hennessy stallion.

Group 3-placed as a juvenile in Ireland for Coolmore, Wiseman's Ferry was later purchased by trainer Niall O’Callaghan for the partnership of Swifty Farms, Dell Ridge, and Morton Fink to race in the U.S. the following year. He was a multiple Grade 3 winner, taking the Lone Star Derby and West Virginia Derby, and finished second in the Grade 2 Ohio Derby. In all, he won 4 of 16 career starts for earnings of $825,266.

Wiseman’s Ferry began his stallion career at Empire Stud in Hudson, N.Y., in 2004 before moving to Castleton Lyons in Lexington, Ky., for the 2006 breeding season. He stood in Kentucky – where Wise Dan was conceived – for three seasons before moving to Dana Point.

Fink, part of the racing partnership behind Wiseman's Ferry, was a shareholder in the horse's stallion career. While standing in Kentucky, Wiseman's Ferry covered Fink’s winning Wolf Power mare Lisa Danielle, with Wise Dan the result. The gelding was named Horse of the Year, champion older male, and champion turf male in both 2012 and 2013. To date, he has won 23 of 31 career starts for earnings of $7,552,920. His 11 Grade 1 victories include two editions of the Breeders' Cup Mile.

Wiseman's Ferry is also the sire of Canadian champion grass male Riding the River, a multiple Grade 2 winner who has bankrolled nearly $1 million.

The stallion is also represented by Wisemans Cure, a champion in Panama; and Fallera Mayor, a champion in Ecuador.

In all, Wiseman’s Ferry is represented by 183 winners, including six stakes winners, for combined earnings of $20,363,239 from his first eight crops of racing age to date. Between current 2-year-olds and yearlings, foals arriving this year, and a handful of foals expected next year from early covers, he could have up to another four crops to race.