Dual classic-placed Grade 1 winner Bodemeister displayed brilliance during his own racing career, earning triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in four of his six career starts, led by a 109 when second in the Preakness. He just missed the triple-digit cutoff with a 99 for his runner-up effort in the Kentucky Derby.
There is little doubt that Northern Afleet has amassed a fine résumé at stud.
The 23-year-old son of Afleet has sired a dual-classic winner in Afleet Alex, a champion sprinter in Amazombie, and a Brazilian Horse of the Year in Barolo.
However, Northern Afleet’s commercial appeal is limited, leading his stud fee to be set at $6,500 by Taylor Made Stallions. For those looking to breed a runner, or bet on one by the stallion, the price could be right.
Tapit’s latest record-setting year atop the North American sire ranks was led by Frosted, who dazzled the racing world with a romp in the Metropolitan Handicap that earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 123 – the highest number of the year.
But Tapit, who commands the highest fee on the continent at $300,000, has a stablemate in the Gainesway stallion complex who quietly put together a solid year based on Beyers in 2016.
It’s no revelation to say European-sired horses tend to have a natural advantage in North American turf races over their domestic contemporaries.
The major racing jurisdictions on the other side of the pond breed almost exclusively for the grass, and the above-average European runners regularly travel to North America to become forces in graded stakes races.
Tapit continues to set the bar higher for himself as he reigns atop the North American sire charts.
Tapit broke his own single-season progeny earnings record in 2016, establishing a new mark for the third consecutive year by leading Kentucky’s stallions with a bankroll of $19,896,996 – more than $7 million ahead of his closest pursuer, Curlin, with $12,772,052. Along the way, he surpassed a milestone in career earnings and notched a rare accomplishment in top-level company.
The big gray colt had just served notice that he was sitting on a big season. Against just two rivals who cared to challenge him in the Olympic Handicap, he coasted by four lengths. He was expected to be a favorite in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap.
The string of announcements from Kentucky farms ushering stallions to a better fit in regional or international markets is a common sight in the months between breeding seasons.
Less common is the stallion who gets a call-up to the North American breeding industry’s major leagues and settles into a stall in the Bluegrass State after entering stud in another market.
In a year with several outstanding fillies and mares on the track, some of the most brilliant propelled their respective sires atop the rankings of Kentucky stallions by percentage of individual runners earning triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures.
A visitor to Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in recent years would have found the number 114 inescapable.
The three digits adorn baseball caps, posters, print advertisements, and Hill ‘n’ Dale-branded jackets, begging onlookers to inquire about the meaning.
Those who ask learn that the number is what makes the young stallion Maclean’s Music special.
