In discussing the thorny problem of stallion selection and success, one of the loyal readers asked about stallions who went to stud the same year as Tapit, which was 2005, with first foals of 2006.
This was a robust group of entering stallions, with twice as many as will enter stud in 2012, and the quality wasn’t bad, either. Classic winners, major G1 winners, high-class 2yos, as well as the rugged campaigners, all found a place at stud.
That list is presented below alphabetically by name, with the farm where they initially retired:
Action This Day Castleton
Birdstone Gainesway
Bowman’s Band Lane’s End
Canadian Frontier Airdrie
Candy Ride Hill ‘n’ Dale
Champali Glencrest
Chapel Royal Ashford
Congaree Stonerside
Cuvee Gainesway
During Claiborne
Eavesdropper Walmac
Even the Score Millennium
Friends Lake Airdrie
Hero’s Tribute Buck Pond
Johar Mill Ridge
Lion Heart Ashford
Medaglia d’Oro Hill ‘n’ Dale
Newfoundland Brookdale
Ocean Terrace Highclere
Olmodavor Adena Springs
Perfect Soul Darby Dan
Pleasantly Perfect Lane’s End
Saarland Darby Dan
Scrimshaw Millennium
Seattle Fitz Buck Pond
Sir Cherokee Crestwood
Smarty Jones Three Chimneys
Soto Highclere
Speightstown WinStar
Stroll Claiborne
Strong Hope Claiborne
Tapit Gainesway
Ten Most Wanted Gainesway
Tenpins Walmac
Teton Forest Spendthrift
The Cliff’s Edge Vinery
Toccet Castleton
Although this list is as complete as I can make it, there’s doubtless a missing critter or two. The majority of those above are no longer in Kentucky. Several, including the high-class Lion Heart, have been exported, and many are now serving mares in regional programs.
That is not entirely bad. Congaree, for instance, is a pretty big fish in the New York breeders’ pond, especially in the context of his first G1 winner over the weekend in California in the Hollywood Starlet.
In selecting which horses from this crop that retired to stud in 2005 have become “successful sires,” different people are going to set the bar at different levels. By my most rigid reckoning, I’d say that at least six of this group (one in six) would count as successful. That’s actually pretty good, especially since there are a few more who would qualify if we stretched the criteria just a bit.
Your thoughts?
And the winners are?
I have no bone in this discussion, but reflecting on your post, I guess the business plan is to get the horse to stud make as much as you can early on…. and then move him out. Because five in six will not be a success??
Every day I get Thoroughbred Times and on the right side not far down from the top is a stallion a day. It is fun to review them and see their pedigrees, racing records, their stud fees and progeny, if they have any…. For some of these horses, offspring sell for a third or so of their advertised fee.
If this was a sport, owners would retain ownership and retire them to stud. Breed 30 to 40 mares a year to the stallion, maybe a third or less of the mares would be owned by the stallion owner.
Maybe to save the sport it will have to become more of a sport again and less of a syndication business. I know, not practical in this modern day of business school case studies for maximizing the scale of production and profit.
From this list can anyone identify specific racing traits or pedigree aspects that would help to guide one towards a good selection of stallion for the upcoming breeding season. Or simply what made the winners in this list. Also what traits do the losers have in common. Lion heart speed , candy ride speed, medaglia d’oro speed, Birdstone serious speed at two. Tapit is the only one of the winners that did not show gate speed, and that is more than likely dickinson. Paddy o’prado 17,500 stud fee, plodder, closer, MALIBU MOON 5 furlongs in 57 change , may of two year old year. Check the stallions at Hughes and look at race records, then compare to the winners on the list. What do you think. Thanks FOR LIST, Mr. Frank
Forgot Speightstown, big time speed.
Apparently, those standing a new stallion prospect should pay a Broodmare fee to defray the cost of wasting a year of the mares life.
I love it.
Here are their progeny earnings from highest to lowest. I was most surprised by Tapit claiming the top spot. These totals are approximate, as they involve currency conversions from foreign currencies.
Tapit $23,932,096.00
Medaglia D’Oro $19,759,222.00
Speightstown $17,881,251.00
Lion Heart $16,774,833.00
Candy Ride $15,528,568.00
Smarty Jones $12,723,633.00
Birdstone $8,532,460.00
Pleasantly Perfect $7,829,216.00
Chapel Royal $7,477,617.00
Cuvee $7,346,509.00
Congaree $7,287,544.00
Even The Score $6,449,248.00
Toccet $6,322,408.00
Perfect Soul $5,692,901.00
Friends Lake $5,676,984.00
Johar $5,243,344.00
Bowman’s Band $5,068,933.00
Tenpins $4,592,628.00
Canadian Frontier $3,996,646.00
Strong Hope $3,878,836.00
The Cliff’s Edge $3,359,613.00
Saarland $3,297,155.00
Olmodavor $2,975,014.00
Soto $2,742,669.00
Scrimshaw $2,675,713.00
Champali $2,615,285.00
Action This Day $2,452,267.00
During $2,275,869.00
Stroll $2,093,963.00
Ten Most Wanted $1,943,264.00
Newfoundland $1,814,690.00
Seattle Fitz $1,593,377.00
Ocean Terrace $1,592,770.00
Eavesdropper $1,557,566.00
Sir Cherokee $1,079,866.00
Teton Forest $741,522.00
Hero’s Tribute $507,538.00
Thank you for this illuminating set of stats.
The surprise to my mind is Smarty Jones, who is highly ranked without a major money winner, and he is not even going to be in Kentucky in 2012. Still, considering the stud fee he retired with ($100,000), the horse covered some serious mares.
Frank, I didn’t save my work, but I believe Smarty Jones had the longest list of starters. He and Lion Heart certainly outdistance the field in number of starters (again, my recollection).
Very interesting. I know that Lion Heart was both a very fertile stallion and one who imparted considerable soundness to offspring that showed good racing ability.
Lion Heart was a true bargain for the Turkish Jockey Club because he is a good stallion and will be so important for their program. Too bad we don’t have him still.
That is too bad about Lion Heart. But then again the business model is to cash out your original stallion investment in four years, then move him and buy another one to do the same thing. Business business business. Thoroughbreds are like cats I guess…. the owners feel they are disposable….
All these things are businesses, just like all other sports. But breeding has had several changes to its business model the past 20 years.
In particular, it only took one or two farms pushing the number of mares bred to 100 and past to force other farms to make similar changes. It took only one farm initially shuttling to force many other farms to do that if they wanted to compete for the same stallion prospects.
Mr. Frank, thats right , just like , share the upside begins at Hughes, now spreads to the the resting place of Roberto, now who knows, where and when it will stop. Maybe a database on the web, where there is a page that lists when a popular stallion has a free morning or afternoon due to the cancellation of a planned cover, the stallion owners will give a % off the fee to an approved mare. That would be another way to maximize profit from a stallion. Or maybe just go the qhorse route , and go to artificial insemination. Then you could save the shuttle expense, and the stress on the stallion.
Actually, the pragmatic angle that AI would reduce danger to the stallion, handlers, and save farms money, etc., is the primary benefit that I can see. As well as the greater access for breeders not in Kentucky.