The male line of perhaps America’s most celebrated racehorse of the 20^th century, Man o’ War, survived to the 21^st century by a somewhat serpentine route. It was Man o’ War’s second-rate son War Relic - not his Triple Crown winner War Admiral or champion 3-year-olds American Flag and Crusader - who passed on the line to his son Intent, a formidable stayer who handed genes of Man o’ War on to his son Intentionally, who was, somewhat paradoxically, the champion sprinter of 1959.

Lord of Greatness, a stakes-placed earner of $591,327, has been retired from racing and will stand the 2017 breeding season at Stonewall’s Prestige Stallions in Ocala, Fla., for an advertised fee of $2,000.

The 11-year-old son of Greatness won 18 of 74 starts over nine campaigns, racing most recently for owners Candice Warwick and Tish Gonzalez and trainer Nicholas Gonzalez Jr. He finished third last year in the Bob Summers Memorial Cup Stakes at Fort Erie.

Classic Empire

Pioneerof the Nile-Sambuca Classica, by Cat Thief

(Bred in Kentucky by Steven and Brandi Nicholson; $475,000 purchase by John Oxley at 2015 Keeneland September yearling sale)

Classic Empire, who debuts as the favorite on Mike Watchmaker’s Kentucky Derby future line, became the second Eclipse Award champion juvenile in three seasons for sire Pioneerof the Nile.

The sudden death of Lucky Pulpit, among the most active stallions in California in recent years, will have a number of mare owners hustling to make timely alternate plans as the breeding season begins.

California stallion Lucky Pulpit, sire of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, has died of a heart attack at age 16.  

The Pulpit stallion was covering his first mare of the season at Harris Farms in Coalinga, Calif., which he had called home for the past decade, when he collapsed. Farm manager David McGlothlin and stallion manager Raul Rosa were there when it happened, according to a statement from Harris Farms.

Grade 2 winner Unified will stand at Lane’s End in Versailles, Ky. upon his retirement from racing.

The 4-year-old son of Candy Ride has won three of four starts, all for owner Centennial Farms and trainer Jimmy Jerkens, earning $328,500. Last year he won the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park and Grade 3 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct.

Unified is training toward his 2017 debut at Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida.

Grade 3 winner Midnight Hawk will enter stud at Rising Sun Farm in Portmore, Jamaica, for the 2017 breeding season.

The 6-year-old son of Midnight Lute retired with five wins in 17 career starts and earnings of $591,750. He won the Grade 3 Sham Stakes in 2014 and notched placings in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes and Robert B. Lewis Stakes, as well as the Grade 3 Sunland Derby, Illinois Derby, and Razorback Handicap.

Dr. Kendall Hansen unveiled his namesake colt, Hansen, at Turfway Park in 2011. The son of leading sire Tapit won his first two starts, including the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, by a combined 15 1/2 lengths before taking the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile over eventual classic winner Union Rags to lock up an Eclipse Award.

Ghostzapper, whose sons swept last weekend’s graded stakes for Kentucky Derby hopefuls, is off to a solid start to 2017.

The Adena Springs stallion ranks second on the general sire list by earnings for 2017 and leads all active sires in that category, fueled by Shaman Ghost’s runner-up effort in the $12 million Pegasus World Cup to champion Arrogate, by the late Unbridled’s Song.

Sire lines must be adaptable to survive and thrive.

Northern Dancer, the greatest sire of the last half of the 20th century, was a small, blocky horse who won his races with instant acceleration. Although 13 of his 14 victories were on dirt, his many top-class offspring usually inherited that ability to accelerate in a stride or two, an ability perfectly suited to European grass racing, and, as a result, he led the English sire list four times while achieving the same distinction only once in North America.