Hopes have been high for sons of the late Scat Daddy at stud, with No Nay Never a breakout success as Europe’s leading freshman sire of 2018 and Triple Crown winner Justify tied as the most-active stallion in North America in his first season at stud in 2019, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred. Scat Daddy’s son Frac Daddy, who displayed the versatility the sire line is known for, is Canada’s leading freshman sire of 2019.

It’s not quite Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, but the stallions Silent Name and Old Forester have established a rivalry atop the Canadian sire ranks.

Old Forester and Silent Name have both been among the top 10 Ontario sires for eight consecutive years, with Old Forester atop the list in 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Silent Name steadily closed in. After finishing second on the list in 2017, he took over the top spot last year, with Old Forester second.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Elate has been retired, but her family continues to be active on the racetrack. Correctness, who is bred on a close cross to Elate, emerged as the latest winner for that family with a maiden victory Saturday going one mile on the Tampa Bay Downs turf.

Graded stakes winner Copper Bullet will enter stud at Darby Dan Farm this season, with a unique incentive program in place to attract solid mares to his book in a competitive market.  

Bricks and Mortar potentially sealed his title as Horse of the Year with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, his fifth Grade 1 win of the year on his fifth different course. By the time the award is presented in late January, he’ll be on the opposite side of the globe preparing to begin his stud career as his travels take him to Shadai Farm in Japan, which struck a deal for his stallion rights over the summer.

Godolphin homebred Thunder Snow, the only two-time winner of the Dubai World Cup, will begin his stallion career at the international operation’s Darley in Japan.

Thunder Snow retired with more than $16.5 million in earnings, thanks largely to his two scores in the Dubai World Cup. He rolled by 5 3/4 lengths over 3-year-old champion West Coast in 2018, and a year later defeated classic-placed Gronkowski by a nose.

Coolmore’s No Nay Never was Europe’s leading freshman sire of 2018, raising the hopes for other sons of his late sire, Scat Daddy, worldwide – including, of course, Triple Crown winner Justify, who entered stud this season.

Graded stakes winner Demarchelier will become the first son of Dubawi, one of the leading sires in the world, to stand in Kentucky when he enters stud at historic Claiborne Farm.

Grade 1-winning millionaires Preservationist and Divisidero both rewarded the patience their connections took in shaping their careers with multiple high-end wins as older horses. The responsibility for shaping their second careers now falls to Airdrie Stud, which welcomes both to its roster for 2020.

It’s Tricky was a stellar racemare in Godolphin blue, winning three Grade 1 events and placing in four others while competing in the same crop as Hall of Famer Royal Delta. She defeated that runner, along with Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty, and multiple Grade 1 winner Love and Pride.