Although Storm Cat was a successful sire of sires, plentiful conduits to the future of his male line beyond his best son Giant’s Causeway are not currently obvious. His great-grandson Scat Daddy (by Johannesburg, by Hennessy, by Storm Cat) was a highly successful sire but died young, almost as soon as his opportunities improved due to his early success.
New Vocations has a major presence in Ohio and is celebrating a quarter-century of operations in the Buckeye State this year. The program recently announced that the Ohio Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association has donated $50,000 to support aftercare efforts at its Marysville facility.
In 2016, New Vocations took in more than 450 retired racehorses, 66 of whom came directly from an Ohio racetrack or farm.
Exclusive Quality, with 95 representatives on the track in 2016, finished 10th on Florida’s general sire list based on earnings. However, he factored prominently in Daily Racing Form’s Beyer Sire Performance Standings unveiled last month – an exclusive metric to examine stallion progeny performance in-depth, often highlighting under-the-radar sires.
As rapidly rising young classic sires with major contenders on this year’s Kentucky Derby trail, Curlin and Pioneerof the Nile are among the most in-demand stallions in Kentucky this year. Each has a classic-placed son entering stud this year in Florida, giving a big kick to the Sunshine State’s program.
High Cotton started strong six years ago as Florida’s leading freshman sire of 2011, and he followed through on the potential in 2016 as the state’s top returning sire by overall progeny earnings.
The 14-year-old son of Dixie Union had 92 winners last year – also the most in the state for a returning sire – with earnings of $3,485,516. His five stakes winners and six stakes wins also led or tied all Florida stallions.
High Cotton stands at Ocala Stud in Ocala for an advertised fee of $4,000. He has seven crops of racing age.
Louis Quatorze, the winner of the 1996 Preakness Stakes and a perennial top sire in Maryland, died suddenly in his paddock on Feb. 17 at Murmur Farms in Darlington, Md. The 24-year-old son of Sovereign Dancer was buried at Murmur Farms.
Bred in Kentucky by Georgia Hofmann, Louis Quatorze was campaigned as a homebred in a partnership between Hofmann, William Condren, and Joseph Cornacchia, and was trained by Nick Zito.
As far as showcase races go, the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby last weekend at Golden Gate Fields was about as good as it gets for young sire Slew’s Tiznow.
Zakaroff, a gelding who entered the race while still eligible for an allowance for non-winners of two races lifetime, rallied to give Slew’s Tiznow his first stakes winner at odds of 48-1. About 4 1/2 minutes of deliberation later, the stewards promoted More Power to Him to second place following the disqualification of runner-up Ann Arbor Eddie.
Mo Town
Uncle Mo-Grazie Mille, by Bernardini
(Bred in Kentucky by John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock; $200,000 purchase by Team D at 2015 Keeneland September yearling sale)
Curlin, who has rapidly made his ascent among North America’s elite sires, had another stellar year in 2016. The Hill ‘n’ Dale stallion hasn’t lost momentum with the turn of the calendar and is one of the leading sires of this nascent season.
