Donald Sucher, who bred Hall of Fame racemares Chris Evert and Winning Colors, died Feb. 15 in Georgetown, Ky., at age 89.
Sucher, along with his wife, Shirley, owned Echo Valley Horse Farm in Georgetown. Among their top runners was stakes winner Miss Carmie, named for their daughter. Miss Carmie went on to become their foundation mare, producing Chris Evert, and multiple stakes winner All Rainbows, the dam of Winning Colors.
Horse Chestnut, South Africa’s 1999 Horse of the Year and a U.S. Grade 3 winner and sire, died Feb. 20 from heart failure at Drakenstein Stud Farm in South Africa.
The 19-year-old, from the first crop of Fort Wood, had resided at Drakenstein since 2009 after beginning his stud career at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky.
After a fairly mild start to winter, the season arrived with a vengeance in Lexington, Ky., the heart of the nation's Thoroughbred industry, this week.
Some areas of Lexington received more than a foot of snow on Monday, Feb. 16, and the region is now bracing for record cold. The forecast in Lexington predicted temperatures of minus 14 overnight on Wednesday, and wind chills as low as minus 29 on Thursday.
The record low air temperature - not counting wind chills - for Lexington is minus 21 on Jan. 21, 1963.
Henny Hughes’s top runner has not yet seen action in 2015, but it’s already been a productive year for the stallion.
According to DRF’s SirePowered Results, Henny Hughes, best known as the sire of two-time champion Beholder, registered three victories over the weekend, led by Merry Meadow’s score in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.
Horse of the Year Havre de Grace delivered her second foal, a colt by popular young commercial sire War Front, early Feb. 14 at Timber Town Farm near Lexington, Ky.
The 8-year-old Saint Liam mare, whose first foal is a yearling Tapit filly, is boarded at Wayne and Cathy Sweezey’s facility for owner Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm.
News coverage
- Looking for the next generation of flagship sires - By Joe Nevills
- A.P. Indy carrying on for Bold Ruler line - By John P. Sparkman
Profiles - 2014 Kentucky stallion honors
Leading Kentucky general sire by progeny earnings and stakes wins
When looking back on the year Tapit and his progeny had in 2014, the only problem is finding a place to start.
Perhaps it’s best to start with his runners. The 14-year-old son of Pulpit was represented by his third Eclipse Award winner in the champion 3-year-old filly Untapable, whose four Grade 1 victories included the Kentucky Oaks and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Tapit also picked up his first American classic when Tonalist won the Belmont Stakes.
Leading Kentucky juvenile sire by earnings and average earnings
Leading Kentucky general sire by winners
For all he has achieved at stud, there were a few accomplishments Giant’s Causeway had yet to check off his list. He was able to cross one off in 2014.
Leading Kentucky general sire by stakes winners
Leading Kentucky juvenile sire by stakes winners (tie)
Leading Kentucky turf sire by earnings, winners, stakes winners, and stakes wins
Success can be a moving target.
On the sire list, Kitten’s Joy fell from first to third by total progeny earnings in 2014, a year removed from the season that made him a household name.
By just about any other measure, it was the best season Kitten’s Joy has had as a sire.
Leading Kentucky freshman sire by earnings and average earnings
Leading Kentucky turf sire by average earnings
It was a competitive season for freshman sires, with a deep group battling it out in the division. In the end, Quality Road, himself a multiple Grade 1 winner, prevailed atop the earnings list, thanks to runners who excelled over a variety of surfaces and distances.
