One of the last two commercial sons of the great sire Danzig (by Northern Dancer) still at stud, along with War Front, Hard Spun had a cracking weekend at Woodbine in Ontario.
On Oct. 14, two daughters of the Darley stallion won graded stakes at Woodbine. The 6-year-old Spun Glass won the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion Stakes, with another daughter of Hard Spun, the stakes-winning 4-year-old Loyalty, in third place. On the same card, the 5-year-old Millie Girl won the G3 Ontario Matron.
Each of those three is bred on the most popular mating pattern of the past few decades: Northern Dancer crossed with Mr. Prospector.
Hard Spun provides the Northern Dancer, and his successful daughters are out of mares by Elusive Quality (Loyalty), Songandaprayer (Spun Glass), and Smart Strike (Millie Girl). In addition, Elysian Field (Hard Spun), winner of the Woodbine Oaks in July, also was produced by a daughter of Smart Strike.
Of course, Hard Spun himself is bred on the related cross of Northern Dancer with Mr. Prospector's sire Raise a Native through that stallion's great son Alydar and his champion son Turkoman. The latter is the broodmare sire of Hard Spun, and Turkoman is responsible for much of the physical type of Hard Spun.
The stallion is not the most typical son of Danzig, whose most common good performers were strongly made, lengthy and well-muscled horses, and frequently not especially tall. Although quick and quite talented, Hard Spun took the height and scope and bone of Turkoman; as might be expected, this son of Danzig frequently presents a mix of physical types among his foals.
But they have a common trait: many of them are quite effective athletes.
From 13 crops of foals of racing age, Hard Spun has 1,948 foals in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and 1,046 winners who have earned nearly $150 million. Among them are 100 stakes winners at present, and these include such as champion Questing (G1 Alabama Stakes, Coaching Club American Oaks); Silver State (G1 Metropolitan Handicap), Aloha West (G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint), Spun to Run (G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile), and the current-year stakes winner Two Phil's. The latter won a trio of G3 stakes, including the Ohio Derby, but is best-known for his effort in the 2023 Kentucky Derby, staying within striking distance of the leaders, taking the lead off the turn, and then battling through the stretch and holding second against winner Mage (Good Magic).
The latter quartet above are all young horses at stud. Two Phil's enters stud for 2024 at WinStar at a fee of $12,500. Top sprinter Aloha West entered stud at Mill Ridge for the 2023 season and covered a full book at a fee of $10,000. Silver State entered stud at Claiborne in 2022. His first foals will be yearlings in 2024, and he will have a stud fee of $15,000. Spun to Run entered stud at Gainesway in 2021, and his first crop of foals will be 2-year-olds of 2024. He will stand for a fee of $10,000 next year.
So Hard Spun will have a likeable group of sons competing for success at stud in the coming years, just as his daughters are acquiring a reputation as broodmares.
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.And Hard Spun himself comes from a fine producing family. His stakes-winning dam Turkish Tryst also produced the stakes winner Our Rite of Spring (Stravinsky), who is the granddam of champion Improbable (City Zip). Hard Spun's second dam is Darbyvail, a Roberto half-sister to champion and classic winner Little Current (Sea-Bird), and the third dam is Luiana (Our Babu).
Although unraced, Luiana had a champion pedigree; two of her earlier siblings had been champions. Her half-sister Primonetta, from the first crop by Horse of the Year Swaps, was unbeaten and highly regarded at two, then was one of the top fillies of 1961, and she was named champion older filly in 1962.
The following season, Primonetta's full brother, the two-years younger Chateaugay, won both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes and was named champion 3-year-old colt of 1963.
Both of these champions were bred and raced by Darby Dan Farm, which had acquired their dam, Banquet Bell (Polynesian), for $9,000 as a yearling at the 1952 Keeneland summer sale. Primonetta was the mare's second foal, Chateaugay her third, and Luiana was the fifth.
A source of distinguished achievement, Banquet Bell produced champions for Darby Dan and continues as a fount of athleticism for breeders in America and abroad.
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