By Frances J. Karon When, in June of 2016, Brave Anna won the Group 3 Albany at Royal Ascot, I noted on Twitter that the full sister to G1 winner Hit it a Bomb (now a Spendthrift stallion with first 2yos in 2020) was, at the time, the fourth stakes winner sired by War Front (who … Continue reading Invader is the latest success for War Front and Galileo
By Frances J. Karon On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Uncle Mo was represented by his 53rd SW when Carressa, owned by Mercedes Stables, West Point Thoroughbreds, Scott Dilworth, Dottie Ingordo, David Ingordo, and Steve Mooney, won the G3 Megahertz on the turf at Santa Anita for trainer John Shirreffs. It was the 4yo filly’s … Continue reading Uncle Mo takes Carressa’s family to new heights
By Frances J. Karon Last April, I wrote about the late Scat Daddy, who had just gotten his 116th stakes winner in Jo Jo Air, a then-3yo filly from his last crop. I noted that Jo Jo Air’s black-type win had boosted Scat Daddy into the elite sire territory of 10% stakes winners to foals, … Continue reading Ten is the new 20
By Frances J. Karon Competition at most levels of the stallion game is tough. Mare owners who breed commercially, which seems to be most of them these days, are at the mercy of an unforgiving market that is quick to judge, and they must choose mates carefully or risk getting burned in the sales ring. … Continue reading The Freshman sire game: what’s in a number?
By Frances J. Karon Much has been written recently about Into Mischief’s success as a sire. Suffice to say that Spendthrift’s flagship stallion merits every bit of praise that he has received, as this look at his stud fee history and number of mares bred per Northern Hemisphere season can attest to: 2009: $12,500; 61 … Continue reading Into Mischief shoplifts his first leading sire title
By Frances J. Karon I’ve written previously about the 2019 first-season sires in the US, where American Pharoah is the leader by progeny earnings and stakes horses (11), and is the co-leader by number of SWs with four, tied with Constitution (second on the list overall), Competitive Edge (third), and Race Day (fourth). Although he … Continue reading Dubawi: Sire of the leading first-season sire in Europe and of a new stallion in the US
By Frances J. Karon Over the weekend, Karakontie got his third SW from his first crop (88 named 2yos of 2019) when Sole Volante (dam by Kingmambo) won the Pulpit S. at Gulfstream Park. Sole Volante is the second SW bred on the Karakontie/Kingmambo cross, after G3SW Kenzai Warrior (Lemon Drop Kid), following a no-brainer pedigree … Continue reading Karakontie: A family affair
By Frances J. Karon I heard from a friend asking if it could really be true that a stallion in his mid-to-late teens, a top sire of G1SWs, only has a handful of SWs as a broodmare sire. Because the stallion is into the latter half of his stud career and is already a successful sire-of-sires, it seemed … Continue reading How soon is too soon to judge a broodmare sire?